19 September 2012

Oz the Great and Powerful

I was very excited to see the trailer for new Disney film Oz the Great and Powerful this morning.   The Wizard of Oz is my all time favourite film so this  is a definate 'must see' for me.

Synopsis

When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz)and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz™ but into a better man as well.

Set for release on 8th March 2013, the film is from the producers of Alice in Wonderland and the  visionary director of the Spiderman Trilogy, so it is sure to be a blockbuster.  I for one cannot wait to see it.

You can see a trailer by clicking here.


 
 
 
 

17 September 2012

Warm Cinnamon Roll Recipe

 Main Street Bakery's Warm Cinnamon Roll

After craving a Main Street Bakery warm cinnamon roll for the past 3 months, I decided to make them for my Mum and Dad when I went to stay with them this weekend. I didn't have much time and did mine in a bread maker (see at the bottom of this post for instructions).

This was the first time I had made them and I was so pleased with how they turned out. Not quite as good as the Magic Kingdom's (nothing will ever compare to Disney's), but still very sweet and tasty.

You will need:

120 ml Warm milk 
5 g dried yeast
1 Beaten egg, room temperature
310 g Bread flour
50 g White sugar
35 g Butter
3 g Salt
 

Filling:

110 g Brown sugar
9 g Ground cinnamon
40 g Butter, softened
 

Glaze:
 

75 g Icing sugar
3 tsp water
, or enough for it to be thick, but runny.


Method 

1. Add yeast to warm milk with 1 teaspoon of the sugar & leave in a warm place for 10 mins (yeast should start to foam in the milk)
 
2. Put the flour in a large bowl with the rest of the sugar and the salt. Add the butter and rub into the flour to make fine crumbs.
3. Add the milk & yeast mix and the beaten egg to the dry ingredients and mix well with your hand.
Turn onto a lightly floured worktop (the mixture will be very wet & sticky, don’t be tempted to add more flour as this would make the rolls heavy) and knead for 5 – 10 mins until the dough becomes less sticky.
 
4. Pop into a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 – 2 hrs

5. Make the filling by mixing the brown sugar & cinnamon into the butter (it should be like damp sand)

6. Roll dough into a large rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with the butter, sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough into a swiss roll shape and cut into 6 rolls. 
7. Place rolls in a lightly greased baking dish and cover with cling wrap.


8. Let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. (At this stage you can pop the rolls in the fridge overnight if you wanted to cook them for breakfast)
9. Preheat oven to 200 C / Gas mark 6 then pop the rolls in the oven for 18 – 20 mins.

10. Once cooked, remove from the oven then invert the dish onto a plate, this makes sure the buns stay sticky & moist. Take the dish off and leave to cool for 10 mins.

11. Make the glaze by mixing the icing sugar with the water then drizzle over the buns.

If using a Bread Maker
 
Add
the milk, yeast, egg, flour, sugar, butter and salt to your bread maker and set it onto the dough setting.  Depending on your machine, this should take between 45 minutes - an hour. 

Once it is ready, take out the dough and continue with method above from step 4.

Enjoy!

This is how mine came out...



 Not a patch on the real McCoy! However I was very impatient and put the glazing on moments after they came out of the oven.  I should have waited a bit longer really.  I also should have done them in a rectangular tin to get the squared effect like Disney's.  They were still very very good though!



Magic Kingdom's warm cinnamon roll.  Photo from the Disney Food Blog

6 September 2012

Disney Movie Rewards

I had an email from Disney a couple of weeks ago to say that I had won the Disney Brave competition.  You can imagine my surprise when I read what I had won;

An Xbox 360, Kinect sensor and the new Brave game!
 
I don't even remember entering the competition so I was over the moon! I never win anything!
 
We already have an Xbox and Kinect, but it's pretty old and it sounds like a jet taking off after it's been switched on for 5 minutes, so it did need replacing. 
 
 I was so excited when it finally arrived this morning with a lovely letter from Disney Movie Rewards!
 
 
 
I haven't had a chance to play on it yet, but I can see it being invaluable in the cold winter months :-)
 
The Disney Movie Reward scheme is fantastic.  I have been trying to build my Disney collection and have been replacing many of the DVD's we have with Blu Rays.  I've also bought a few of the Disney movies that we didn't have recently as I want Amelia to grow up with Disney as my Sister and I did when we were young. I also instilled Disney in Oliver from a young age too.  He was obsessed with Toy Story and Cars when he was younger and still enjoys the classics.
 
Here's the ones I bought a couple of weeks ago...
 
 
Inside each blu ray case was a Disney movie rewards code, so I have accumulated quite a few points.  I also entered the code from the Brave Xbox game onto the site and was surprised to see I had saved up 2500 points!
 
The points can be used for DVD's, Blu Rays and Blu Ray 3D and there are lots of eligible titles to choose from. I have ordered Chicken Little,  Up and the Fox and the Hound on Blu ray with my points and I still have 250 points left over. Shamefully I have never seen Up or the Fox and the Hound! I will have more codes in the new Blu Rays so will hopefully have enough to purchase the Lady and the Tramp on Blu Ray as it is one of my favourites.  Amelia loves it too.
 
Next on my Blu ray wish list (when they become available) is:
  • 101 Dalmations
  • Lady and the Tramp
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Pirates of the Carribbean box set
  • Aladdin
  • The Little Mermaid
  • The Aristocats
  • Pete's Dragon
  • Fantasia
  • Brave
  • Finding Nemo
  • The Rescuers
     
 
 


2 September 2012

I NEED to go back!

I am nearing the end of my 2012 trip report and it is making me extremely broody for Disney!  I am missing the smell of popcorn and cinnamon rolls, the sight of the castle, the fireworks, and the magic of everything!

I can't stop looking at villas and Disney hotels, and although when we got back I said I would never stay in a hotel after staying in a villa, I kind of want to stay onsite next time and make full use of the Disney Dining Plan and all the other little extras you get.  Especially the preferred seating for Wishes!

I have vowed to do everything in my power to get back there in 2014 and will save as hard as I can to make my dream come true.  Watch this space.  The Clifton's are going back!