Hello and welcome to the world famous Jungle Cruise. My name is Donna and I’ll be your captain, cruise director and dance instructor for the next five exciting days and six romantic nights.
This is a very big month for one of the more endearing rides at Disneyland. Since it was one of the original attractions on Opening Day, it turned 66 years young on July 17, has recently received a new makeover and has it’s very own movie coming out on July 30 starring Dwayne Johnson (voice of Maui in “Moana”) and Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins Returns”) which takes place in Brazil in 1916. I am already in love with Emily’s character, Dr. Lily Houghton, and tried to recreate one of her outfits in the film.
Did you know that you can get a FREE map of the Jungle Cruise when you disembark the attraction at the Skipper desk? One of my favorite memories of the Jungle Cruise is when they ran out of paper maps and Skipper Jay didn’t want us to walk away empty handed, so he fetched a nearby fallen leaf off the ground and proceeded to draw us a map on the leaf. Disney magic!
Last month, while I was in Walt Disney World, I had dinner at the Skipper Canteen in Magic Kingdom. It is a Jungle Cruise and Society of Explorers and Adventurers (I am a bonafide member of the S.E.A.) themed restaurant and all of the servers are dry docked skippers. It’s so wonderful to have your own private skipper where the puns and jokes fly faster than a cheetah can run. One of the things I enjoyed was an appetizer off the “not-so-secret” menu…Brazilian Cheese Bread balls. I think I have the perfect copycat recipe that you can recreate at home for your hungry animals.
Copycat Brazilian Cheese Bread ( Pão De Queijo) from Skipper Canteen
Makes 16 bread rolls
Ingredients:
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- 1 1/3 cups Tapioca flour
- 2/3 cup Milk
- 1/3 cup Oil
- 1 Egg, large
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2/3 cup Grated mozzarella cheese or any other cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
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- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl place tapioca flour. Set aside.
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- In a large pan place milk, oil and salt. Bring to a boil. Pour into the tapioca and stir until combined. Add egg and stir until combined. Add cheeses and stir until incorporated and a sticky dough forms.
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- Shape the dough into balls (about 2 teaspoons) and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden and puffed.
Notes:
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- There are other cheese you can use for Pão De Queijo: such as mozzarella, cheddar cheese, gruyere cheese, combination of serval cheese or any cheese that you like.
- The best way is to eat them warm while the cheese is melted. You also can reheat them before serving.
- You can store Pão De Queijo at room temperature up to 3 days.
- To freeze them, shape into balls, place on the baking try and bring to the freezer. Once they are frozen, transfer to a ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer up to 3 months.
Chimichurri Cream Cheese Spread
Ingredients:
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- 8 oz. container whipped cream cheese
- 6 garlic cloves, roasted and divided
- ½ cup flat leaf parsely with stems removed
- 1-2 t. olive oil
- ¼ t. red pepper flakes
- Salt and Pepper
Directions:
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- To roast the head of garlic, preheat oven to 400. Cut 1/2” off top of head of garlic, place on baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme leaves (optional) Cover with foil and bake for 40 min. until the cloves are soft and brown.
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- Mash 3 cloves of garlic with a fork and mix into the cream chesse. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside.
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- In a food processor, combine parsley, olive oil, 3 roasted garlic cloves, red pepper flakes and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pulse until it resembles a paste. Add more oil if needed.
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- Serve bread warm from the oven, top the cream cheese mixture with the chimichurri and dig in!
Schweitzer Falls Mocktail (named after the famous African explorer, Dr. Albert Falls)
Ingredients:
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- POG juice, equal parts passionfruit, guava, and orange juice(It may also be available already mixed in a carton at your local trading post.)
- Sprite
- Maraschino cherries and mint sprigs, for garnish
Directions:
Fill an ice-filled tall glass halfway with POG juice and then fill to the top with Sprite. Add a marishino cherry and sprig of mint for garnish.
Feel that mist on your face? Don’t worry that’s only the monkeys in the trees.
And now, probably the most dangerous part of our journey- the return to civilization! I certainly hope you’ve enjoyed our cruise. If your in-laws are still with you, you’ve missed a golden opportunity. However, bring them back later tonight for our “in-law” special… halfway for half fare, no questions asked.
If you feel your feet getting wet as you leave the boat, you’ve probably gone out the wrong side. Don’t fall in the water as you leave… we’ll have to charge you extra.
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