RVers can re-create the culinary magic of the famous Orlando resort.
By Janet Groene, F47166
March 2016
When I camp at Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World, some of the planet’s best chefs prepare my dinner order. Dine-out options at Fort Wilderness include a Disney character breakfast, a dinner show, and a casual restaurant. Dozens more Disney eateries can be reached via the resort’s free transportation network.
On a recent Walt Disney World stay, I focused on great cuisine that might translate for camping use. Celebrity chef Todd English has a restaurant at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Resort, which features many other indoor and outdoor dining venues. Cooking superstar Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant is in Disney Springs, formerly Downtown Disney. No admission is charged at this festival shopping, dining, and entertainment center. You can enjoy the party atmosphere and pay a la carte for food, drink, and tickets to shows such as Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba.
Famous names at Disney Springs include Starbucks, Ghirardelli Chocolate, sushi star Masaharu Morimoto’s Asia, and a clone of the Animal Kingdom’s iconic Rainforest Cafe. When Disney Springs is completed this year, it also will feature restaurants by Chicago’s Rick Bayless and Oprah Winfrey favorite Art Smith.
Inspired by the culinary magicians of Walt Disney World, I tested or adapted the following recipes.
Lentil Sausage Soup A La Boma
Boma – Flavors of Africa, a restaurant in Animal Kingdom, serves gallons of hearty, tasty soups. This is my adaption of Boma’s recipe. It’s a good choice for the stove, slow cooker, or pressure cooker.
1 cup cooked lentils (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup celery
½ cup carrots
1 pinch black pepper
2 pinches ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
2 pinches nutmeg
1 cup chopped, cooked, smoked sausage
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 32-ounce cartons beef broth
Put everything in a covered pan and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Makes six servings.
What I learned: “Pinch” is a word I encountered often with Disney chefs. Tiny amounts of nutmeg and curry powder add a mildly exotic taste to this soup. Save time by using canned lentils.
Trail’s End Malted Waffles
Trail’s End is a casual-dining restaurant at the Fort Wilderness campground. I carry two stove-top waffle irons on board. (Coleman makes nonstick waffle irons that can be used on the stove or campfire.) This recipe is also perfect for electric waffle makers, or you can just use the batter to make pancakes. Here’s my version of their batter.
2 cups flour
¼ cup malt powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
¼ cup melted butter
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Put the dry ingredients in a clean bag to mix. Whisk the wet ingredients until smooth and stir in the dry ingredients to make a batter. Bake as for waffles or pancakes. Makes four to six servings.
What I learned: Do not confuse malt powder (King Arthur is one brand) with malted milk powder. Malt powder adds oomph and staying power to the rising of breads and other products.
Wolfgang Puck’s Braised Red Cabbage
Wolfgang Puck Grand Café in Disney Springs serves deftly created comfort classics, from wood-fired pizza to chicken and seafood. Here I learned to serve chicken stew in chewy bread bowls and to wrap meatloaf in bacon.
This is my stove-top version of a signature recipe that the restaurant makes from scratch and finishes in the oven. My shortcut is to use shredded cabbage from the supermarket. To enjoy the real thing, visit the restaurant.
¼ cup peanut oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 cup brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 cups red wine
2 cups orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 to 4 14- to 16-ounce packages shredded red cabbage or mixed red and green cabbage
Use a large skillet or wok to heat the oil. Saute the onion until it is limp, then stir in the brown sugar and stir until it caramelizes. Add the apples to coat, and then add the vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add the wine, orange juice, cinnamon, and ginger. Boil for five minutes. Add the cabbage in batches as it cooks down and makes room for more. When it’s all in the pan, cover and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve. Makes eight to 12 servings.
What I learned: For stove-top cooking, use less wine and orange juice. Baked in the oven, the dish loses more moisture and forms a sweet glaze.
Le Cellier Maple Glaze
Le Cellier Steakhouse, a popular eatery in the Canada pavilion at Epcot (ticket required), has an international menu. Its native salmon and maple dishes are outstanding. This is my version of their popular dish.
4 servings salmon, cooked to your liking
Maple glaze:
1 cup maple syrup
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
Stir together in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves.
Candied pecans:
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup broken pecans
¼ cup apple juice
¼ cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
Melt the butter in a skillet and sizzle the pecans until toasty. Add the apple juice, sugar, and salt, and boil about 5 minutes to thicken.
Plate the salmon and top it with the candied pecans. Drizzle with maple glaze. Makes four servings. At Le Cellier, the salmon is served on a bed of greens.
What I learned: Salmon’s natural sweetness is enhanced further by this sinfully sweet topping. Even people who don’t like seafood smack their lips over this dish.
Rhubarb-Strawberry Crumble
Used by permission, this recipe is from Todd English. His Bluezoo restaurant in the Swan and Dolphin Resort is the place to go for gourmet cuisine in an elegant setting. About this recipe, he says, “Resist the temptation to add more sugar. Let the tart rhubarb flavor shine through.”
Crumble topping:
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of baking powder
Fruit:
1 pound fresh rhubarb, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and chopped
1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Mix the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the pecans, flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder and mix until creamy. Spread the mixture evenly on an ungreased 8-inch-by-11-inch baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes. Turn the pan end for end and bake until golden, about 20 minutes more. Let it cool.
Toss the rhubarb and strawberries with the 1 tablespoon flour, the white sugar, and the lemon juice. Spread the fruit evenly in another baking pan and bake until the fruit is tender, about 30 minutes. Crumble the topping over the warm strawberry mixture and serve immediately. Makes six to eight servings.
What I learned: Baking the topping separately makes a world of difference. It’s crunchy and buttery all the way through. I make a double batch and sprinkle it on this and other desserts as well as fruit, yogurt, and pudding.
Dining At Walt Disney World
- If you tow a vehicle, you can park it and forget it while staying in Fort Wilderness. Disney’s free transportation is frequent, convenient, and saves having to pay parking fees at hotels and Disney Springs. Besides, the system’s boats and monorail are part of the fun of sight-seeing around Walt Disney World.
- Not all Disney restaurants take reservations, but they’re essential at hot spots. During heavy travel times, some restaurants (and the limited number of pet-friendly campsites in Fort Wilderness) sell out weeks in advance. Book before you go.
- Stock your own pantry at ordinary Orlando-area supermarket prices before entering the expensive Walt Disney World orbit.
- You don’t have to be a guest at Disney’s hotels to dine in their restaurants. Use your campsite as a base camp for fine dining at places such as Todd English’s Bluezoo and Shula’s Steak House in the Swan and Dolphin, or the elegant Victoria & Albert’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian. Tickets are not required to enter Disney Springs.