Empress Lilly Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe from Disney

Disney

The Empress Lilly Riverboat, moored at Disney Springs, was named after Walt Disney’s wife Lillian. The Riverboat opened as three restaurants and a jazz lounge in 1977. Although it closed in 1995, (it's now the Paddlefish restaurant) you can make their famous Empress Lilly Au Gratin Potatoes at home. 

Empress Lilly Au Gratin Potatoes

Serves 4

2 large baking potatoes

1 cup half and half

½ tsp coarse salt

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp celery salt

1 Tbsp finely grated onion, optional

3 Tbsp grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake potatoes 50 to 60 minutes, or until soft enough to pierce with a fork. Refrigerate to cool, then peel and coarsely grate.

Bring half and half almost to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, celery salt, and onion. Mix in grated potatoes.

Reduce oven heat to 350°F. Spoon potatoes into buttered 1-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Quote of the Week

The world is a dangerous place,

not because of those who do evil,

but because of those who look on and do nothing.

- Albert Einstein

Photo of the Week

The Night Blossom, from Pongu Pongu in Pandora the World of Avatar, is a delicious slushy drink made with limeade, apple and desert pear, topped with passionfruit boba balls. It's my favorite treat at Disney World.

Positively Minnie’s Polka Dot Park

Disney

The Positively Minnie shorts are so cute and cheerful.

Delicious Dishes Are Coming To The EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival

All images: Disney

It's nearly time, once again, for the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival. From beautiful gardens to delicious dishes, the festival is always a lot of fun. This year's festival runs from March 2 through July 4. With 20 different Outdoor Kitchens to tempt the taste buds, there's something for everyone. 

Flavor Full Kitchen Hosted by AdventHealth (Between Imagination! and Refreshment Port)

• Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with savory garlic spread 🥖🥕🍍
• Seared Salmon with farro risotto and micro herbs
• Strawberry Mousse with chocolate-crisp pearls
• Blood Orange Agua Fresca🧋
• Cookie Butter Worms and Dirt🧋

The Honey Bee-stro Hosted by National Honey Board

• Tupelo Honey and Sweet Corn Spoon Bread with jalapeños, bacon, and house-made whipped honey butter 🥖
• Lavender Honey Mustard-marinated Chicken Flatbread with whipped honey-ricotta cheese, marinated vegetables, and goat cheese
• Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with orange blossom honey whipped cream, whipped honey, crystalized honey, honeycomb, dehydrated honey, and fennel pollen meringue kisses
• Honey-Peach Freeze in a Souvenir Spike the Bee Sipper Cup🧋
• Lemonade MeadOrange Blossom Honey WineHoney-Peach Freeze with Blueberry Vodka

The Citrus Blossom (Near Port of Entry)

• Crispy Mojo Marinated Pork Belly, with avocado cream, corn salsa, salsa verde, and plantain chips 🥖🧁
• Tuna Tataki Bowl with spicy yuzu glaze, mango, avocado, and pappadam crisp
• Grapefruit Tart: Grapefruit curd, lychee jam, ginger mousse, and yuzu cream🧁
• Orange-Lemon Smoothie in a Souvenir Orange Bird Sipper Cup🧋
• Key Lime Hibiscus Ale
• Orange Peel Ale
• Citrus Honey Cream Ale
• Orange Sunshine Wine Slushy
• Beer Flight

Pineapple Promenade (Near Port of Entry)

• Spicy Hot Dog with pineapple chutney and plantain chips
• DOLE Whip 🥕
• Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade🧋
• DOLE Whip with Fanta🧋
• Tropical Hefe Wheat Ale
• Fresh Pressed Mango, Pineapple, and Guava Wheat Ale
• Hazy Pebbles Fruity Hazy Milkshake
• Violet Lemonade Ale
• Sparkling Pineapple Wine
• DOLE Whip topped with mango cream liqueur
• Pineapple Beer Flight

Refreshment Port (Near Canada)

• House-made Italian Sausage and Peppers Poutine 🥕🥖
• Salted Cucumber Apple Hard Cider
• Lavender Martini: Vodka with lavender and lemon

Northern Bloom (Canada)

• Seared Scallops with French green beans, butter potatoes, brown butter vinaigrette, and applewood-smoked bacon 🥖
• Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, and Whipped Potatoes with garden vegetables
• Griddled Maple Pound Cake with warm peach compote and sweet corn gelato
• Maple Popcorn Shake 🧋
• Blonde Ale
• Blueberry Fruit Beer
• Apricot with Maple Syrup Blonde Ale
• Maple Popcorn Shake with maple rye whisky
• Beer Flight

Cider House (United Kingdom)

• BLT Scone with Nueske’s applewood-smoked bacon, sundried tomato, and basil 🧁
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with whipped cream
• Pink Lemonade Hard Cider
• Watermelon Hard Cider
• Triple Jam Hard Cider
• Pure Brewed Organic Lager
• Snakebite: Triple Jam Hard Cider and pure brewed organic lager
• Cider Flight

Fleur de Lys (France)

• Croissant au Fromage de Chèvre, Herbes et Ail Rôtie: Croissant with goat cheese, herbs, and roasted garlic 🧁
• Pan Bagnat Classique: The Niçoise Sandwich with house-made bread, albacore tuna mayonnaise, tomato, black olives, lettuce, and celery 🧁
• Salade de Lentilles à la Lyonnaise: French Green Lentil Salad with bacon and garlic sausage 🧁
• Beignet Caramélisé, Fourré Crème Vanille, Glacé au Caramel Fleur de Sel: Caramelized Beignet filled with vanilla cream and glazed with caramel fleur de sel
• French Wheat Draft Beer
• VeRy Raspberry: Rosé wine with natural raspberry flavor
• Grand Mimosa Cocktail with orange liqueur, Champagne, and orange juice
• La Vie en Rose Frozen Slush: Vodka, orange vodka, and liqueur with white and red cranberry juice

La Isla Fresca (Between Morocco and France)

• Arepas topped with melted queso fresco 🥖
• Arepa topped with shrimp, crushed avocado ají, and tomato sauce 🥖
• Arepa topped with chorizo 🧁
• Coconut Tres Leches: Vanilla cake soaked in oat, almond, & coconut milks with toasted coconut 🧁🥕🍍
• Tropical Breeze: Lemonade, grapefruit juice, and simple syrup 🧋🧁
• Coconut Key Lime Ale
• Tropical Perception White Sangria
• Tropical Breeze with rum 🧁

Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina (Morocco)

• Mediterranean Flatbread with za’atar, artichokes, olives, mozzarella, and feta cheese 🧁
• Vanilla, Rose Water, and Pistachio Panna Cotta
• Pomegranate Mimosa
• Ginger and Elderberry Ale
• Pomegranate Hard Cider
• Blackberry Mint Mead
• Flight

Hanami (Japan)

• Frushi: Strawberry, pineapple, and cantaloupe wrapped in sweet rice and pink soy wrap served with whipped cream, berry sauce, and toasted coconut
• Chicken Yakitori: Grilled chicken with scallions, red pepper-shoyu emulsion, and pickled onions
• Beef Tataki: Seared sirloin with red shiso sauce, watermelon radish, and sprouts
• Yuzu Tilted Tonic Hard Seltzer
• Ozeki Pineapple Nigori Sake
• Cucumber Cooler: Sake, vodka, and cucumber garnished with a cucumber slice 

Funnel Cake

• Strawberry Cheesecake Funnel Cake topped with strawberry ice cream, cheesecake crumbles, strawberry drizzle, and whipped cream 🧁

Magnolia Terrace (American Adventure)

• Southern Seafood Boil: Shrimp, mussels, crawfish, potatoes, corn, and Andouille sausage
• Spicy Chicken Gumbo with Andouille sausage and BEN’S ORIGINAL Long Grain & Wild Rice 🧁
• Grilled Oysters with Cajun butter 🥖
• House-made Boudin Bites featuring BEN’S ORIGINAL Long Grain White Rice
• Pecan Praline 🥖
• Bayou Cocktail: Spiced rum, coconut rum, fruit punch, and Minute Maid orange juice
• Orange Coriander Wheat Ale
• American Light Ale
• Double IPA
• Beer Flight

Primavera Kitchen (Italy)

• Arancini: Fried Risotto Balls stuffed with braised beef served with grape tomato salad and balsamic emulsion
• Ravioli alla Boscaiola: Sweet sausage ravioli with sweet corn, spring vegetables, and cream sauce
• Bomboloni: Cream-filled Italian doughnut with raspberry sauce and powdered sugar
• Pilsner
• Pinot Grigio
• Chianti
• Prosecco
• Rosa Regale
• Moscato
• Italian White Sangria with prosecco
• Italian Red Sangria with cabernet sauvignon
• Italian Margarita with limoncello and tequila

Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market (Germany)

• Potato Pancakes with house-made applesauce 🥖🥕🍍
• Potato Pancake with caramelized ham, onions, and herb sour cream 🥖
• Toasted Pretzel Bread topped with black forest ham and melted Gruyère cheese
• Warm Cheese Strudel with mixed berries
• Hugo Lager
• Premium Pilsner
• Raspberry Radler
• Apfelschaumwein: Sparkling wine and apple liqueur
• Beer Flight

Refreshment Outpost

• Pineapple Skewer with tajin seasoning 🥖🥕
• Tangerine soft-serve
• Tangerine Cream Ale
• Blueberry Lemonade Hard Cider
• Organic Blonde Ale with passion fruit

Lotus House (China)

• Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer 🧁
• House-made Cheesy Crab Wontons
• Rose Bubble Milk Tea 🧋🧁
• Jasmine Draft Beer
• Marco Boba: Amaretto, iced coffee, milk, and boba
• Kung Fu Punch: Vodka, triple sec, mango, orange juice, and soda water
• Tang Dynasty: Tequila gold, light rum, strawberry, piña colada mix, white boba pearls, and soda water

Jardin de Fiestas (Mexico)

• Enchilada de Mole Negro: Chipotle chicken in a corn tortilla with mole negro, avocado mousse, crema Mexicana, and queso fresco 🧁🥖
• Taco Vampiro: Barbacoa beef in a corn tortilla with crispy grilled Monterey jack cheese, salsa ranchera, and esquites 🧁🥖
• Tostada de Chorizo: Plant-based Chorizo and black beans on a crispy corn tortilla with avocado mousse and queso fresco 🧁🥖
• Poppy Flower Margarita: Tequila blanco, hibiscus flower tea, cucumber juice, aperitivo, and blackcurrant liqueur with a chile salt rim
• Hypnotic Margarita: Tequila blanco, mezcal, rosemary syrup, cognac, and lemon juice
• Craft Mexican Lager

Trowel & Trellis Hosted by Impossible (Near Disney Traders)

• Grilled Baby Vegetables with hummus cream and red pepper coulis 🥖🥕🍍
• Impossible Sausage and Kale Soup 🥕
• Boneless Impossible Korean Short Rib with cilantro-lime rice, Danmuji slaw, and Kimchee Mayonnaise 🥕
• Chocolate Cake with whipped cassis mousse, raspberry gelato, and fresh raspberries 🧁🥕
• Twinings Energizing Matcha Cranberry & Lime Green Tea🧋
• Bloom Hazy IPA
• Twinings Energizing Matcha Cranberry & Lime Green Tea with lime vodka served in a mason jar

EPCOT Sunshine Griddle (Near Test Track)

• Avocado Toast with marinated toybox tomatoes on toasted ciabatta 🥕🍍
• Shrimp and Grits: Blackened shrimp and cheddar cheese grits with brown gravy and sweet corn salsa
• Corned Beef Brisket Hash with house-made potato barrels, onions, peppers, cheese curds, and a soft-poached egg with Tabasco hollandaise 🥖
• Fried Cinnamon Roll Bites with cream cheese frosting and candied bacon
• Froot Loops Shake🧋
• Joffrey’s Coffee Cold Brew Cocktail with milk, rum and coffee liqueur, and vanilla vodka

EPCOT Farmers Feast (Near Test Track)

Early Bloom Menu (available March 2 through April 9)

• Chilled Potato and Leek Soup “Vichyssoise” with chive oil and crispy leeks 🧁🥖
• Char-grilled Bison Ribe-Eye with creamy leek fondue, roasted carnival cauliflower, Romanesco and port wine-goat cheese butter 🧁🥖
• Goat Cheese Creamsicle Pop: Goat cheese Crémeux, orange cream, olive oil cake, cranberry sauce, & praline 🧁

Springtime Menu (available April 10 through May 21)

• Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta with marinated peppers, zucchini, squash, artichokes, goat cheese, and balsamic glaze on grilled ciabatta 🧁
• Herb-crusted Spring Lamb with marble potatoes, spring vegetables, and red wine butter sauce
• Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-down Cake with crème fraîche whipped cream

Summer Solstice Menu (available May 22 through July 4)

• Tomato and Cornbread Panzanella with burrata cheese and fresh basil
• Barbecue Seared Pork Tenderloin with summer succotash, herb butter, and grapefruit vinaigrette 🥖
• A Whole Lotta Melon: Feta cheesecake with watermelon curd, pickled watermelon rind, watermelon caramel, and compressed watermelon 🧁🥖

Beverages (available throughout the Festival):

• Raspberry Lemon Verbena Whole-Leaf-Steeped Sparkling Hard Tea
• Hibiscus Lemonade Cocktail featuring hibiscus gin

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company

World Discovery (Near Mission: SPACE)

• Minty Melon Refresher: A lightly caffeinated blend of watermelon-cucumber-mint juice with strawberries and blueberries 🧋🧁(Spirited option available featuring Watermelon-Basil Vodka)

Near Canada

• Strawberry Fields Refresher – A lightly caffeinated blend of strawberry açaí juice with strawberries and blueberries 🧋🧁 (Spirited option available featuring strawberry-lemongrass vodka) 

World Showcase (Near Disney Traders)

• Pink Paradise Refresher: A lightly caffeinated blend of refreshing dragon fruit-lychee juice with strawberries and blueberries🧋🧁 (Spirited option available featuring watermelon-basil vodka)

The American Adventure

• Wildberry Wonder Refresher: A lightly caffeinated blend of wildberry-hibiscus juice with strawberries and blueberries🧋🧁 (Spirited option available featuring tropical rum)

🧁 = New

🥖 = Gluten/Wheat Friendly 

🥕 = Plant-based 

🍍 = Garden Graze 

🧋= Non-alcoholic 

And don't forget this year's Garden Graze. Purchase five select dishes and collect stamps in your Festival Passport. Then make your way to the Pineapple Promenade to receive a special treat. 

Thor's Hammer LEGO

All images: LEGO

If you love the Avengers and LEGO models you can display, this may be the set for you. Arriving in stores on March 1, Thor's Hammer is a 979 piece life-sized model that is over 18" tall when completed. The set also includes a Thor minifigure and three small-scale models: the Infinity Gauntlet, Tesseract and Odin's Fire.

Here's the official description from LEGO: 

Celebrate Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga with LEGO Marvel Thor’s Hammer (76209). Designed with adult model makers in mind, this premium display piece perfectly evokes the style and spirit of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lasting reminder of an epic saga Marvel enthusiasts will recognize this authentic recreation as Mjölnir, the magical weapon used to devastating effect by Thor throughout Marvel Studios’ 23-movie Infinity Saga. The 18 in. (46 cm) tall model of the iconic hammer rests securely on a stand with an information plate displaying the word ‘Mjölnir’ and the Infinity Saga logo. A Thor minifigure is included, plus a captivating feature found in the head of the hammer. An opening element reveals the storage space for small-scale models of the Infinity Gauntlet, Tesseract and Odin's Fire. With 979 pieces, this challenging and rewarding model is sure to provide great pleasure and satisfaction long after the construction work has been completed.

This Thor: Love and Thunder LEGO Boat Is Awesome!

All images: LEGO

Although Marvel's next Thor movie, Thor: Love and Thunder, won't arrive in theaters until July 8, the first LEGO set from the movie has been revealed. The Goat Boat is an incredible 564 piece model Viking ship that flies through the sky pulled by two goats, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder.

The set includes five minifigures: Thor, Mighty Thor, Valkyrie, Korg, and Gorr the God Butcher. The Goat Boat, which retails for $49.99, will be available starting at 12am ET on April 26 at Lego.com.

The Book Of Boba Fett Has Fantastic Music

Lucasfilm

I really enjoyed The Book of Boba Fett. It is intriguing, and surprising, and occasionally hilarious. And the music is absolutely fantastic!

The Book of Boba Fett is available on DisneyPlus. 

Quote of the Week

20th Century Fox

And yet, to say the truth,

reason and love keep

little company together nowadays.

- Nick Bottom, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Photo of the Week

Edinburgh's Old Calton Cemetery is quite beautiful. 

The Rings Of Power Trailer Looks Epic

Amazon

The first trailer for Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is here and it looks amazing. I can't wait to see the tales of the Second Age of Middle-Earth brought to life. "Before the King, before the Fellowship, before the Ring..."

Here's the official synopsis from Amazon: 

Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. 

Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power arrives on Amazon Prime Video on September 2, 2022.

Jurassic World: Dominion

All images: Universal

I have loved the Jurassic Park movies since the first time I saw those incredible dinosaurs cross the screen. The movies are visually stunning and the stories are fascinating. Jurassic World: Dominion is going to be the final film in this incredible series. For the first time, two generations of adventurers will come together in a world where dinosaurs are living alongside humans.

Here's the official synopsis from 

This summer, experience the epic conclusion to the Jurassic era as two generations unite for the first time. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are joined by Oscar-winner Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill in Jurassic World Dominion, a bold, timely and breathtaking new adventure that spans the globe. From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.

Jurassic World: Dominion arrives in theaters on June 10.

Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers Reboot?!

Disney

I can't decide if this is a really good idea, or a horribly bad one. I loved watching Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers when it was part of the Disney Afternoon lineup, but couldn't get into watching it again a few years ago. It was a little beyond ridiculous. I wonder why Disney wanted to revisit it, and as a reboot, I mean, a comeback. 

The Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers movie arrives on DisneyPlus on May 20.

The Multiverse Looks Intense

All images: Marvel

Marvel released a new trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness during the Superbowl. It looks rather mind-bending. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. (Especially how Patrick Stewart's Professor Xavier fits in!)

Here's the official synopsis from Marvel: 

Enter a new dimension of Strange. In Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters on May 6.

Marvel's Moon Knight Looks Delightfully Dark

All images: Marvel

If you've been hoping to see Disney dip into the dark side of Marvel, then you're in luck. The latest trailer for Moon Knight looks delightfully dark.

Here's the official synopsis from Marvel:

The story follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt. “Moon Knight” stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy. 

Marvel's Moon Knight arrives on DisneyPlus on March 30.

Quote of the Week

RKO Pictures

Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day

with no mistakes in it yet?

- Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

Photo of the Week

Let's go explore, explore, explore. Let's go explore the big blue world! I love The Seas With Nemo and Friends.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Coming To DisneyPlus

Lucasfilm

Are you ready for another series that fills in some of the gaps between movies in the Star Wars universe? The next story will be that of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The series takes place approximately 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith as Obi-Wan watches over young Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. Both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are returning, as Obi-Wan and Darth Vader respectively, alongside Star Wars newcomers Kumail Nanjiani and Sung Kang. Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives on DisneyPlus on May 25.

The Book of Boba Fett Is Fantastic

Lucasfilm

I have been surprised and delighted by the many Marvel and Star Wars series that have been a part of DisneyPlus. Each one gives a different glimpse into the untold stories behind a familiar saga. The latest series, The Book of Boba Fett, is truly fantastic. In addition to bringing back everyone's favorite bounty hunter, we returned to Tatooine once again to learn even more about the desert planet with binary suns. Many characters from previous stories, both animated and live-action, appear in this series and they are amazing. I was so excited to see the Mandalorian and Grogu again.

In all, it is a stellar addition to the Star Wars universe. And the finale is the best episode of all! All seven episodes of season one of The Book of Boba Fett are now available on DisneyPlus. I sure hope there's a season 2!

To Infinity... And Beyond!

Pixar

The first full trailer for Pixar's Lightyear has arrived and it looks out of this world. For years, we've watched movies about the toy that bears his name. Now, we finally get to learn the origins of the Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear, and, of course, his new robot cat, Sox. 

Lightyear arrives in theaters on June 17, 2022.

Turning Red - Growing Pains

Pixar

Pixar's Turning Red looks so funny! Poor Mei Lee really has it tough when it comes to growing up. She takes turning red to an unexpected, and cute and fluffy, extreme.

Turning Red arrives on DisneyPlus on March 11.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Posters

All images: Amazon

Amazon has released 23 posters for their upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. Even these small glimpses of the characters show that the attention to detail is incredible. I can't wait to see the final product.

Prince Durin IV

Elrond

Princess Disa

Galadriel

Gil-galad

Celebrimbor

Arondir

Bronwyn

Theo

Halbrand

Poppy Proudfellow

Largo Brandyfoot

Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot

Sadoc Burrows

Marigold Brandyfoot

Isildur

Míriel

Elendil

Eärien

Pharazôn

Kemen

The Stranger

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power arrives on Amazon Prime Video on September 2, 2022.