Disneyland's Blue Bayou Seafood Salad

Blue Bayou Seafood Salad

Ingredients

6 oz. Lobster Tail, cooked, no shell
1 tablespoon Celery, finely diced
1 tsp. Green Onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. Lemon Juice
2 tsp. Mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
Dash White Pepper
Dash Tabasco sauce
Salt To taste

Directions

Slice four thin (1/8") lobster medallions for garnish. Dice the rest into 1/4" cubes for use in salad mixture. Combine all ingredients and store in refrigerator.


Garnish

Ingredients

Cucumber, thinly sliced (approx. 22 pieces)
1/2 small Smoked Salmon
2 slices Cooked shrimp, shell off
2 Cooked crab claws
2 Enoki mushrooms
12 pieces Diced Tomato
2 tblsp. Radish sprouts
1 dozen springs Edible flower
1 Whole dill
1 sprig

Directions

Place cucumber slices around inside of a 2-3" cookie cutter on plate. Fill with lobster salad mixture. Remove cookie cutter. Lay lobster medallions on top. Garnish mold with tomato, flower, and dill. Roll salmon slice around six mushrooms and garnish one on each side. Lay shrimp and crab claws on sides of plate, garnishing with radish sprouts.

Disneyland's Blue Bayou Jambalaya

Jambalaya

Blue Bayou, French Market Restaurant

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 lb boneless fresh pork, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
3 T. vegetable oil
1/4 t. black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 t. thyme, dried
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 16-oz. can tomatoes, crushed
4 c. water
1 1/4 c. rice, uncooked
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 c. onion, diced
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. green bell pepper, diced
3/4 c. zucchini, diced
1 t. yellow chili pepper
1/4 c. scallions, chopped
1 T. parsley, chopped
1 c. ham, diced
1 c. Polish sausage, cooked & diced
1 c. Italian sausage, cooked & diced
1 c. okra, frozen, cut
1 1/2 c. small shrimp, cooked

Directions

In a large saucepan, sauté pork in oil over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add pepper, thyme, garlic powder, and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Add water, rice, bouillon cubes, onions, celery, green pepper, zucchini, chili peppers, scallions, and parsley. Bring to a boil.

Stir to blend ingredients, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir once or twice and add remaining meat ingredients.

Cook for another 10 minutes and add okra and shrimp.

Heat well and serve hot.

Shrimp Fried Rice

What's your favorite kind of fried rice?

I have a thing for fried rice. I used to be able to eat an ungodly amount once upon a midnight dreary. But those days are long gone. Now I just enjoy it every now and then and in less ungodly portions.

My personal favorite kind of fried rice is Thai. There's just something about it that I can't help but love. So when we make it at home I try to add in the little flavors that I think make it Thai. Like fish sauce. MMM!

If you don't have any on hand, it's pretty cheap to pick up at your local Asian market. Be careful, some brands have a lot more sodium than others, if you're watching that kind of thing. It's all about the flavor, not the salt, with fish sauce.

What's your favorite kind of fried rice?

Disneyland's Blue Bayou Gumbo

So here's the deal. I got Disney's Blue Bayou Gumbo recipe. Yeah that Disney, and yeah that Blue Bayou. Whoa, right? Long story short, I have it. It tweaked it down to the correct proportions because they make it in HUGE batches all day. I had to cut it down by 8 or 12.

This is superb gumbo. The best I've ever had at a restaurant, at least. I know you're thinking "Seriously? Disneyland?" but yes! It's really just that good. And now you'll know how to cook it yourself. There are two styles of cooking it, so experiment with both. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Disneyland's Blue Bayou Gumbo

Yield: A lot!
Ingredients

• 2 ounces roux (¼ cup room-temperature butter and ¼ cup flour - see note and instructions)
• 1 cup (2 medium) yellow onions, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1 cup celery, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 2 quarts (8 cups) chicken stock
• 1 cup (12 ounces) cut okra
• 12 ounces meat (chicken and/or andouille sausage and/or shrimp)
• 1 6-ounce can diced tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper AND 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper (OR 1 tsp. cajun seasoning replaces both)
• 1 teaspoon gumbo file
• 1 tablespoon salt, divided use (OR to taste)
• 2 cups cooked rice
• optional: 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
• optional: ¾ pound green bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut into ¼-inch dice
• optional: 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• optional: 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

Cooking Directions

Two ways to cook:

Directions 1 (the Disney way - how un-imagineering, if you ask me)


1. Place room-temperature butter in a small saute pan or saucepan over very low heat. Slowly whisk in flour until very smooth. Continue whisking until the roux is the color you desire (blond to brown).
2. Add the onion and celery. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock and make sure the roux is dissolved completely. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add remaining ingredients (except file and salt) and return to a simmer. Adjust salt to taste.
5. If you are adding seafood, add it at the very end and make sure it is completely cooked.
6. Add file. Mix well and serve over rice.

Directions 2 (the non-Disney way)


7. Place room-temperature butter in a small saute pan or saucepan over very low heat. Slowly whisk in flour until very smooth. Continue whisking until the roux is the color you desire (blond to brown).
8. In a large pot, heat half of the oil over medium heat, add half of the okra and saute until light brown and slimy looking. Add onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and andouille. Saute until the vegetables become translucent. Be careful not to burn.
9. Add the diced tomatoes, white pepper/cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning and ¾ tablespoon of the salt. Mix well.
10. Add roux to the chicken stock. Whisk until the roux is completely dissolved. Mix chicken stock/roux mixture with vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer 10 minutes. Stir frequently so the gumbo doesn't burn into the bottom of the pot.
11. In a saute pan, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add chicken and remaining salt. Saute until the chicken is cooked through and slightly brown. Add the rest of the okra and cook until hot.
12. Drain well, add to the gumbo. Add/cook seafood. Add the file. Mix well. To serve, divide rice evenly among bowls (a couple of tablespoons per bowl) and ladle gumbo over rice. Garnish with parsley.

And there you have it. If you liked this, I'm sure you'll like all the other things we have in store here. Feel free to come back often and subscribe to the updates on our culinary journey of discovery.