Disney’s Polynesian – Tonga Toast in Kona Café

Posted on February 14, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Disney’s Polynesian – Tonga Toast in Kona Café

by: Nick

Have you ever tried Tonga Toast, which can be found at the Kona Cafe at Disney’s Polynesian Resort?

Tonga Toast is a classic, as it has been served at the Polynesian since 1971. It’s sourdough bread, stuffed with banana and deep fried.

It’s served with a delicious Stawberry Compote.

I first had this delicious entree almost 20 years ago, and I’ve only had it twice, mostly because it’s a bit of a trip to get to the Poly for breakfast, but we may have to put it into regular rotation.

The recipe from Magical Recipes:

Ingredients

Tonga Toast

2 or 4 slices sourdough bread, cut 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
1 banana
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
oil or shortening for frying
whipped butter and/or syrup
Strawberry Compote
10 large strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Tonga Toast

Cut a 1-inch pocket in one side of each bread slice.
Cut banana in half crosswise, then split each piece lengthwise.
Remove peel and stuff 2 pieces of fruit in each pocket of bread; set aside.
Mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
Mix well the egg, milk and vanilla.
Heat about 4 inches of oil in a pan to 350 degrees F.
Dip stuffed bread into egg/milk mixture and let it soak a few seconds to let penetrate bread.
Fry bread on both sides in hot oil until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Drain on paper towels or wire rack.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve.

Strawberry Compote
Slice 6 strawberries and place in small pot.
Add sugar and vanilla, stir.
Cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes until mixtures starts to boil.
Place 4 sliced strawberries in a blender or food processor.
Add cooked strawberry mixture and blend until smooth.
Serve warm or cold.

Is Tonga Toast one of your favorite Disney dishes?

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Listen to Nick (and Dave Hodges and me) on The Disney Exchange Podcast.

Hosting a #DisneySide @Home Celebration (Pre-Party-Planning)

Posted on January 22, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

A couple of common mottos or sayings apply to me. We might call them “Lisa’s words to live by”. They are: “Go big or go home” and “If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch”. The latter being one I learned shortly after moving to Louisiana in 1988 – I love that one! I want to go big! With everything I do – I’m all in. I want to hang with the cool kids and I’m not watching from the porch! Now that you know those little quirks, lets go back to early last year when I saw a slew of posts on social media about something called a #DisneySide @Home Celebration. Those posts were everywhere! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube even – tons of bloggers in general and fellow Disney fans in particular were talking about their #DisneySide parties – I confess I was a little envious and a lot curious. I felt left on the porch.

It didn’t take me long to figure out how to throw my hat in the ring – I registered at MomSelect (BSM Media) and indicated my interest in hosting a party at home. Then I got busy with an eventful rest of the year and didn’t think about the party again until December when I received an email inviting me to apply to become a host. I applied and was notified that I’d been selected as a party host a couple of weeks later. Why, you may be asking, would someone have to apply to host a party at their own expense? What’s the deal? What’s in it for the hosts? Good questions! If you are selected to host a #DisneySide @Home Celebration, you receive a big box of party supplies and other assorted goodies and samples based on information you provided on the application about what type of party you’d like to have. On my application, I indicated that I have grown children and would like to host a multi-generational party for extended family and friends. If you apply and are selected, you must agree to host your party in January or February…this is where, for me, this adventure gets a bit dicey.

As I type this, I’m checking my UPS delivery app to track my very own box of awesomeness (in transit). I’m sitting in a hotel room in Baton Rouge where I’m staying on business. I’ll be here again next week for a couple of days – and yet again the week after that. I also have that little trip to Walt Disney World coming up in four weeks to run the Glass Slipper Challenge. To pull of the most awesome party possible in the middle of all this craziness, I needed to jump the gun and choose a party theme, party date, and mail invitations – all before actually receiving the party supplies!

There’s no better time to have a #DisneySide party in Louisiana than during Mardi Gras season! Disney and New Orleans have been intertwined for many years and I’m having an absolute blast planning every detail of my own tribute to that old and established relationship. The date has been selected (February 7th). The invitations have been printed and mailed. The menu has been planned and the decorations have even been going up. Mardi Gras colors are green, purple and gold – they will play a big role in making this celebration a success. Stop back here and watch as events unfold. Also, I’ll be posting on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest if you want to follow along in any of those places. Laissez les Disney temps rouler!

My Disney Best of 2014

Posted on December 30, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

What a great year this has been! I’d been looking forward to 2014 and it did not disappoint. I can hardly believe it’s almost over! Two trips to Walt Disney World – one of them a second honeymoon – and a full year of blogging about my love for all things Disney made for a great big bunch of fun! Just in the last few weeks, even more exciting things have happened. I could gush about the blessings of 2014 forever, but I want you guys to hang in with me all the way to the end of the list, so I’ll narrow my happy moments down to ten of the very best!

My Disney Best of 2014

10. Best Disney Recipe at Home – I had trying a couple of recipes on this year’s Disney New Year’s Resolutions list. Hands down, those Maui Potatoes (formerly of ‘Ohana fame) were the most delicious Disney delicacy produced in my kitchen with my own little hands.

9. Most Popular Reviews – I wrote blog posts about a wide variety of topics, but by far the most popular of all those posts were the reviews of Disney’s Memory Maker. We totally blew it on the first go (review here), but gave it another chance after we learned some important lessons and totally got our money’s worth on the second try.

8. Most Relaxing Disney Moment – It was a tremendous, extravagant splurge, but worth every penny – the massage for two in the Senses Spa at the Grand Floridian.

7. Best Disney Meal – This is TOUGH! Raymond and I enjoyed Citricos (Grand Floridian) more than I can say, but because Megan and Joseph were with us for this incredible dining experience, I’m going to have to say the Flying Fish (Boardwalk) takes the top spot in this category. The atmosphere, the food, and the service (Bob!) were all impeccable. We couldn’t have had a better time anywhere on or off Disney property.

6. Best Disney Purchases – I bought some limited edition t-shirts and some great new pins and they were all pretty darn special, but my best Disney purchases this year were the new Christmas ornaments Raymond and I picked out together at Disney’s Days of Christmas in Downtown Disney. We had a great time choosing just the right mementos of our vacation then enjoyed the memories those ornaments brought to mind as we decorated our tree.

5. Best Disney Snack – I’m only making this a category because I threw myself into Disney snack consumption this year with gusto! I’m still reeling over the number of snacks I purchased and consumed in the name of research. It’s no wonder I gained a few extra pounds! The winner has to be the Croissant Donut (a.k.a. Cronut) from Epcot’s Refreshment Port. It’s the perfect snack food…but not for sharing.

4. Best New Disney Endeavor: Hosting a New Podcast – If you haven’t heard, The Disney Exchange is a brand new Disney podcast. Episodes 1 and 2 are available from all your favorite podcast sources. Listen to me. Really, go download an episode and listen to me and my buddies Nick and Dave while we debate, argue, laugh, and joke our way through discussions of our favorite Disney topics. With over 80 years of combined Disney travel experience between the three of us, sooner or later we’re bound to say something useful to someone somewhere. In the mean time, I am having a blast!

3. Priceless Family Vacation Moments – It’s pretty challenging to coordinate schedules and get the four of us on vacation together, but we pulled it off in 2014 (and will do it one more time in 2015). Those of you with small children will wonder if Disney vacations lose their magic when your kids grow up and I’m happy to tell you that in our family at least, Disney vacations have just gotten more fun. I savored every moment of our May vacation, but enjoyed the evening meals we shared together the most. Being together in the place where we’ve had so much fun through the years and created so many happy memories – looking across the table at our children and seeing the fun, happy, productive, well-adjusted adults they’ve become was indescribably special.

2. Best Disney-Induced Euphoria – Feeling Like a Kid Again – Even though I was about to turn 50 and Raymond had just turned 60, when the two of us were at Disney World in October, we were kids again. We didn’t have to be anything to anyone, we just were. Relaxed, go-with-the-flow, joking around, trying new things, meeting new people, doing what we wanted, when we wanted, soaking up the Disney magic and the joy of each other’s company. It’s good to be married to your best friend – especially one who loves Disney as much as you do!

1. Best Disney Gift – New Friends – I’ve said it many times this year in many different ways, but the Disney fan community is just amazing. I’ve met some of the nicest, funniest, most caring people you could possibly imagine. If I could change anything about this year, I would have used pixie dust to bring us all together at Disney World so I could meet everyone face to face! I was lucky enough to meet Nick and Barbie (Disney Musings) and Jane and Heather (fellow Disney Divas) and a couple of dozen other fantastic folks, but there are scores of friends yet to meet! Hello 2015!!!

What’s on your list? What were your best Disney moments of 2014?

Disney Photos – 5 Great Editing Apps

Posted on December 24, 2014 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Seems like no matter how many cameras I take on vacation, I end up using the camera on my phone the most. I think it’s the immediate gratification I get from viewing and sharing pictures right away. Not to mention how fun a great selfie is now and again. Sometimes I need to edit a good picture to make it a great one. Sometimes I just want to add a caption or a frame or make a collage of some related images…luckily, there are apps for that! I want to share a few of my favorites with you today. Some are super simple and easy to use, some take a bit of practice, but each app puts great picture-editing tools right at your fingertips. Best of all, they’re all free for at least the basic versions.

Disney Photos – 5 Great Editing Apps

Instagram – It’s not just a social media/picture-and-video sharing place. It also has wicked-cool editing tools that are easy and incredibly fun to use. Instagram also lets you quickly share with your other social media sites, so I can create a masterpiece and tweet about it or post it straight to Facebook! Here are some examples of my favorite Instagram-edited pictures (see all of them and follow me here):

Snapseed – This one’s relatively new to me and I’m still practicing. I do see tremendous potential and love the results I’m getting so far. What I like about this app is the richness is adds to certain pictures in a way I can’t quite achieve with other apps. Read the review that convinced me to give Snapseed a try here. Some of my best efforts with Snapseed so far:

Typic – If I could use this app to its fullest, I could do some amazing things! As it is, I fumble with it just enough to produce acceptably cute results. As with several of these apps, I tend to use photos I’ve already enhanced with Instagram first, then add frames and words in Typic. I bet some of you with more creativity and better vision could really go crazy with this app. (See more in this review.) Clearly, I’m barely scratching the surface, but I very quickly and simply used Typic on these shots:

PhotoGrid – Fun and easy to use, this is my go-to collage making app, but you can also do some creative things with single pictures. It’s fun and easy to pull a few photos together, plus there are some pretty neat filters available to enhance the finished product. (Detailed app review here.) RM-Singing-Busts-Collage Rhonna Designs – The free, basic package included in this app is packed with thousands of ways to enhance your pictures. While some features are easy to figure out, others are a bit more challenging. I love the video tutorials available for help! This one app could keep me busy for hours. Scrapbook fanatics must think they’ve gone to heaven. I’ve had this app for a long time and I haven’t used it as much or as well as I should – New Year’s Resolution time! Which of these apps are you using? Have any others to share? What about your favorite features, tips, and tricks? I’d love to hear them.