As I stated in my last column, the California Food & Wine Festival should be in full swing right now. Just a few weeks left, everybody! Get there now! But don’t, of course. That festival is only chugging along like Casey Jr. in our dreams these days. Yes, Disney said they’re going to extend it once they reopen, but we have a way to go before that happens. As such, here are a few more recipes I concocted during these days of uncertainty and home-bound vices.
I have been working on this first recipe for a while now. My wife is genetically endowed with the superpowers that are gluten and lactose intolerance, so I rarely have such things around the house. Thankfully, I can still come up with a decent solution for this next recipe, the Amaretto Stout-Cream Cold Brew from the festival’s LA Style Marketplace.
Can I take a moment and comment on the name here? Thanks, explorers. "LA Style Marketplace" is almost as bad a name as "Schmoozies". The puns that inundated DCA in its early days are enough of a crime. Enough to warrant a full podcast episode. You know, should I ever be invited back to the podwaves. LA Style just reeks of an attempt by Disney to distance itself from its crimes, but not too fully. The stand offered (and may offer) Asian-style street tacos, bacon barbecue beef loco moco over rice, and monkey bread in addition to the Blue Angeleno and this cold brew concoction, but are any of them truly Los Angeles-specific? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just jealous and want to eat and drink all of the options at this kiosk.
Anyway.
The cold brew coffee is easy enough. I used my Pico Brew to whip up a giant batch of coffee. You can find plenty of online tutorials to craft similar magics. That’s the base. To make the drink, I added one half ounce of amaretto liqueur. It’s a delicious and sweet addition to your coffee drink over ice. You can add more if you’re one of those folks who enjoys a sweeter and more alcoholic coffee on occasion. I’m willing to bet Disney had a little bit more in the mix.
The whipped cream portion is not all that tricky for most:
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons stout beer
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Add ingredients to your stand mixer or whip with a hand mixer in a large bowl. It takes from three to five insteps on high. For more fun, whip by hand! It takes approximately forever, but you get a good arm workout.
For those of you who are lactose intolerant, try some coconut cream. I haven’t been successful making whipped coconut cream, but I’ll keep it up. Total honesty here, after a few cans from different brands and different temperatures, I gave up on the stout cream and used some RediWhip made with almond milk. Still pretty tasty!
Take your liquory coffee and ice. Add the whipped cream on top. Sprinkle some cocoa power on top. Bam.
Not to be outdone with the kiosk names, there’s Nuts About Cheese. At this location, guests could purchase a honey bourbon lemonade that looks pretty great. Reviews told a different story about the syrupy, premixed drink. Let’s do this one justice.
I don’t like flavored liquor, so I’m going to avoid using honey-flavored Jim Beam in this one. The advantage is, you can add as much or as little honey as you want. Just heat the honey up first to let it mix in better with the rest of the ingredients. Here’s my take:
½ oz honey
2 oz bourbon
6 oz lemonade
Add to a shaker with ice. Shake for 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into a glass with ice and garnish with fresh mint. You can garnish with a lemon, but why not mix it up?
If you’re sick of the virtual crowds in the Parks, head out to Downtown Disney where Ralph Brennan’s is more than happy to see you. They made a little ditty called the Creole Cobbler. This title cocktail was likely served in a glass, unlike most of what you would actually get in DCA.
2 oz Beefeater gin
1 oz crème de peche liqueur
½ oz fresh lemon juice
Dash of orange bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a glass with a bit of orange peel. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
I get that Disneyland is going to extend the festival. I do. I even hope to visit this spring’s California Food & Wine Festival. In the summer, of course. I might be a little nervous being around more than ten people, but I will be brave. I will stand near people. I will eat and drink and ride attractions and revel in the audacity of it all.
I hope you explorers will be able to join me.
Until then, the libations must be explored! At home!
