The 2011 Tasty Awards

On the red carpet of the 2011 Tasty Awards, just before Private Chefs of Beverly Hills lost "Best New Show" to The Great Food Truck Race.

The Finale of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills Season Two: Time for Schmaltz and Honey

Wow. It seems like only yesterday we gathered at Smashbox to shoot these promo shots.

It was a warm February day and I put on Beyonce and Lady Gaga's "Video Phone" to get us all in the mood. Memories.

Tonight, the finale of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills season two airs on Food Network. Is it the last episode ever or just the last episode of the season? Only time will tell. But I'm left feeling wistful and nostalgic this afternoon, thinking back to the days when PCoBH was just starting; like when Chef Brian and I had just forged Team Awesome..

Or when we catered our own premiere party on the rooftop of the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills...

And all the people the audience never saw who made the show possible and kept us looking and sounding good...

It's been an amazing journey. Thank you to everyone who came along for the ride!

And, finally, a few recipes from tonight's show. How fitting that we would end on a schmaltzy note.

“What am I…” Chopped Liver with Schmaltz Fried Onions
make 12-16 servings

Reserved skin from 1 chicken, about 1 cup
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 lb chicken livers, trimmed and rinsed well
2 eggs, boiled and finely minced
matzo, broken into bite-sized shards
kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken skin until it releases its fat and the fat begins to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken skin and pour off half of render fat, or schmaltz. Add onions to pan with remaining chicken fat and cook until onions are translucent, tender and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Remove half of onions from pan and set aside. Raise heat to medium-high and add reserved chicken fat and chicken livers to remaining onions.

Saute livers, turning once, until cooked on the outside but still lightly pink inside, about five minutes. Roughly chop chicken livers by hand and season with salt and cracked black pepper.

Spoon chopped liver onto matzo and top with minced egg and reserved schmaltz fried onions.

“Land of Milk and Honey” Carrot Milkshakes with Saffron Ice Cream and Nutmeg and Cinnamon Cotton Candy
makes 10-12 servings

Saffron “Land of Milk and Honey” Ice Cream:
2 cups cream
2/3 cup half and half
½ cup superfine sugar
½ cup honey
2 large eggs
20-30 strands saffron (about a tablespoon, loosely packed)

3 cups fresh carrot juice
1 cup whole milk
2 cups cotton candy, preferably white or orange
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
edible gold for garnish (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together cream, half and half, sugar, honey, eggs and two-thirds of saffron. Bring to a simmer and slowly cook, stirring constantly, until cream mixture turns a gentle yellow color, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to steep as it cools, about 30 minutes.

Strain and pour into an ice cream maker. Add remaining strands of saffron and process according to manufacturer’s instructions, then freeze until ready to use.

In a blender, combine half of ice cream with carrot juice and whole milk. Blend until thick and creamy. Pour into serving glasses and top with a scoop of saffron ice cream.

Garnish with cotton candy dusted with nutmeg, cinnamon and edible gold (if using). Serve immediately.

Tonight on "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills:" The Smith Island Cake Fail

This week on PCoBH, I was asked to make a Smith Island Cake, the official cake of Maryland. Having never made, let alone seen, a Smith Island Cake before, I took to the web and discovered it is a ten layer cake, iced with a thin, boiled cocoa and evaporated milk icing, sprinkled with candy bars.

Simple enough, right?

Wrong!

Exhibit A: Just trying to get the 10 layers out of my apartment and to set proved difficult enough. Check out the Leaning Tower of Layer Cake...

My favorite thing about this photo is the magazine, Bon Appetit, and the DVD, Kings of Pastry, in the background.

While the Smith Island Cake proved mildly disasterous once I tried to assemble it (turns out the candy goes on top, not between the layers, and the frosting was way too thin even though I followed the recipe to a tee), here are some other offerings which were delicious slam dunks...

Rockfish Galettes
Yields 10-12 servings as an appetizer

Rockfish:
1 pound Rockfish (Striped Bass) fillets
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and Old Bay Seasoning to taste

Galette Dough:
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup (about) ice water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 12 pieces
Truffle Oil and chives to garnish (optional)

Begin by making galette dough. Whisk egg yolk and vinegar together in a small cup or bowl and add ice water. In a food processor, pulse flour, salt and butter until a course, crumbly meal forms. Add liquid and quickly run processor just until a ball of dough forms. Immediately stop processor, remove dough and flatten into a disc. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350. Place rockfish on a lightly greased sheet pan and season with lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and Old Bay Seasoning to taste. Roast until fish is firm to the touch and flakes easily, about 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of fillets. Set aside.

Remove galette dough from refrigerator, lightly dust with flour and roll out to ¼ to ½ inch thick. Using a 1 ½ to 2” cookie cutter, or a lightly floured glass, cut dough into circles and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Score each circle with the tines of a fork and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. If the galettes are puffin up too much, place a second, ungreased cookie sheet on top of the first to weight the dough down slightly.

Remove galettes from oven and top with warm flaked rockfish, truffle oil and chives (if using). Serve immediately.

Hand-Cut French Fries
yields 6-8 servings as a side dish
3 large Russet potatoes, well scrubbed
24 oz vegetable, canola or peanut oil
sea salt and malt vinegar to taste
Optional seasonings:
Old Bay, truffle oil, parsley and fresh chopped garlic, hot sauce, parmesan cheese and red chili flakes, fresh herbs

Leaving the skin on, cut potatoes into long thin strips and place in a large bowl of clean water to remove some starch, prevent them from sticking together and stopping the oxidizing process.

In a cast iron skillet fitted with a thermometer or a small fryer, heat oil until it reaches 275-300 degrees. Remove potatoes from water and pat dry. Working in small batches, fry potatoes (also called blanching) until they go from shiny to matte, about 3-5 minutes. Drain well on paper towels. Heat oil until it reaches 350 degrees and fry potatoes again, also in small batches, until they are golden brown and crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Remove from oil, drain well and toss with sea salt and malt vinegar, or any other seasoning you prefer. You can also fry fresh herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme with the potatoes. Serve hot.

Behind the Scenes of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills: The Great Artichoke Heart War of 2010

Anyone who watches Private Chefs of Beverly Hills or reads our press knows that Chef Brian is my favorite; I call us "Team Awesome" and consider him my brother-from-another-mother.

But on tonight's episode, when we're tasked with catering a party for Alison Sweeney of Biggest Loser and Days of Our Lives fame, that love evaporated when The Great Artichoke Heart War of 2010 erupted.

Even though there was a moment when I honestly thought it might be the end of Team Awesome, Goonies never say die and we're better than ever now. Within hours, we were back to playing kissy-face, giving each other high fives and chest bumps.

Here's the recipe that got our battle started, one I'd still go to war for, it's that good...


Mini Grilled Artichoke Hearts with Low Fat Spinach and Artichoke Dip
makes 10-12 servings as an appetizer
2 cans extra small artichoke hearts, preferably Reese, packed in water, drained and patted dry
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil1 cup Greek yogurt, preferably Fage 2%
1 cup fresh spinach, julienned
1/2 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 tablespoons parmesan
3 tablespoons fresh basil, julienned
dash of nutmeg
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Halve all but two artichoke hearts and grill (a grill pan may be substituted) until lightly charred and warmed through. Keep warm in a low oven (175 degrees) while preparing spinach and artichoke dip.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until tender and translucent. Add spinach and cook until wilted and all moisture in the pan has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Chop reserved artichoke hearts and add, along with Greek yogurt, mozzarella and parmesan. Cook until cheese has melted. Add basil and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper and serve on top of grilled artichoke hearts.

And the recipe for my new obsession, Kale Chips...



Kale Chips
1 bunch fresh kale, stems trimmed and leaves washed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
kosher or sea salt and red chili flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash kale and dry well.

Toss kale leaves in oil, vinegar, salt and chili flakes. Place leaves in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 25-30 minutes or until crispy.

If you'd like to make the White Bean Puree that accompanied it, here it is as well:
2 cans cannelili beans
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice and zest of one lemon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Puree all ingredients until smooth. Serve on top of kale chips.

Chef Sasha's Corn Tamales with Garlic Shrimp, Strawberry-Avocado Sour Cream and Pickled Red Onion

Miss Kitty wanted pink food, so I made her pink food.

Unfortunately, this dish didn't make it into the final cut of the show but it was absolutely delicious, despite the fact that its hue was the same as the title of my third favorite Molly Ringwald movie (Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles come first, natch).

Corn Tamales with Garlic Shrimp, Strawberry-Avocado Sour Cream and Pickled Red Onion
makes 6 servings

Pickled Red Onion:
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

Tamales:
2 cups fresh white corn kernels, cut from the cob (approximately 4 ears of corn)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1 cup masa harina
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup warm water or chicken stock
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
14 dried corn husk, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to soften

Strawberry-Avocado Sour Cream:
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, preferably Tabasco
1 avocado, pitted and smashed
zest and juice of one lime
1 pint sour cream
salt to taste

Garlic Shrimp:
1 lb 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Place sliced red onion in a small, non-reactive bowl. Bring vinegar, water and salt to a boil and pour over onions. Refrigerate until cool and ready to use.
Fit a large pot with a steaming rack and tight lid. Over medium heat, bring several inches of water to a gentle boil.

In a food processor or high powered blender, puree half of the corn kernels until smooth. In one large bowl, beat the shortening until light and fluffy. In a second bowl, stir together the masa harina, cornmeal, cayenne pepper, salt, cumin and baking powder. Gradually add warm water or chicken stock until a thick dough forms. Add masa mixture to whipped shortening and add pureed corn, remaining whole corn kernels and cheese. Drain the corn husks and pat dry. Tear 2 of the husks lengthwise into 12 longs strips which you’ll use for tying up the tamales. On a flat work surface, arrange the remaining 12 husks in pairs, each one overlapping slightly. Spoon tamale dough into the center of each husk, roll gently and use husk ties to close tamale packages. Place the tamales on the steamer rack over and steam until fluffy and cooked through, 25-30 minutes.

In a small saucepot, combine strawberries and hot sauce and cook until berries are softened and release their juice. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a small bowl, combine avocado, sour cream, lime zest and juice and season with salt to taste. Stir in cooled berries and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and add shrimp and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

To serve, remove tamale from husk and top with 3-4 garlic shrimp, a spoonful of strawberry-avocado sour cream and several rings of pickled onion, either whole or diced.

Chef Sasha's Mini Strawberry Cheesecake Bites from "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills"

Pink just isn't my jam; it's always been too overtly girly for my taste. Tasked with creating an all-pink party on tonight's episode of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills, I had to dig deep and reunite with my inner Jem in order to create food that would be truly truly truly outrageous.

This dessert is simple and easy to throw together at a moment's notice:

Mini Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
makes 6 servings
12 mini shortbread crusts (available in most grocery or specialty stores)
1 pint strawberries, hulled and diced
1/2 cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoon strawberry jam
pink sanding sugar (optional)

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and strawberry jam together. Spoon cream cheese filling into shortbread crusts and top with diced strawberries. Top with pink sanding sugar or warmed strawberry jam and serve.

Behind the Scenes of "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills:" Chef Sasha's Baklava and Grilled Watermelon and Halloumi Cheese Recipes

Tonight's episode of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills holds a special place in my heart for two very important reasons.

Reason Number One: the day we filming it, I discovered why our outstanding art department smokeshow, Trent, looked so familar to me. That's right, ya'll, he's Trent Ford of "How to Deal" fame.


You remember "How to Deal," don't you? It's from Mandy Moore's prime "Walk to Remember"-"Candy" days and it co-starred Tropical Trent. See! That's him on the DVD cover.

Reason Number Two: We filmed the episode the day before my birthday.

At the end of the shoot, totally oblivious to what they had in store, the producers and crew surprised me with a birthday cake that was a replica of the Tahitian Vanilla Cake from last season, probably the most contraversial item ever featured on the show (and, yes, I am still proud of it).

Carried out by Chef Stuart, who led everyone in a Happy Birthday serenade, I was so shocked and deeply touched, I turned fuschia and burst out laughing, which quickly moved to tears.

It was a moment I will never forget. I know I'm a loud, gregarious, roaring Leo, but the truth is, I'm tough like a cream puff and stuff like that means the world to me.

Grilled Watermelon and Halloumi Cheese “Croutons” with Herbs, Feta and Arugula

makes four servings
4 slices sweet seedless watermelon, with rind
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably sheep’s milk
1/2 cup baby arugula
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons Italian parsley leaves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Zest of one lime
1/4 cup Halloumi cheese, cubed
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat a grill pan over high heat until very hot.

Sprinkle each slice of watermelon with salt and a pinch of sugar and grill quickly on each side, just until grill marks show and the fruit is lightly caramelized, about 1 minute per side. Arrange on serving plates and sprinkle with crumbled feta, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss fresh herbs and arugula with olive oil, vinegar, lime zest, salt and pepper. Place small mounds on top of grilled watermelon and feta. Just before serving, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and quickly sauté Halloumi until golden and crispy. Garnish each plate with Halloumi cheese croutons and serve immediately.

Rose Water and Orange Blossom Baklava
makes 16 servings

1 pound walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly ground in a food processor or blender
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 package phyllo pastry
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon Rose Water
1 teaspoon Orange Blossom Water

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine walnuts, cinnamon and sugar and set aside. In the bottom of a greased 9 by 13 pan, place one layer of phyllo and brush liberally with butter. Repeat six more times, buttering each delicate layer, until you have 7 layers of phyllo. Spoon 1/3 nut mixture over phyllo and top with 5 more individually buttered sheets of phyllo. Repeat the process two more times and finish with 7 layers of phyllo. Brush final layer with butter and bake for 50 minutes, until golden brown.

While baklava is baking, make syrup by boiling all ingredients together for 10 minutes.

Remove baklava from oven and pour syrup over it. Cut into squares or diamonds and serve.

Chef Sasha's Carrot Cake Recipe and PCOBH Party Pics

I posted this recipe back in September, but after last night's episode of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills, (which we watched as a cast and crew, hence the photos below) I've been getting tons of requests for it, so here it is, once again, my unbeatable Carrot Cake, first published by Welcome Books:

The best part about this cake is it's basically a two-bowl recipe that involves little more than dumping and mixing ingredients but delivers a moist, dense and amazingly delicious final product.

Carrot Cake
Makes 1 three-layer cake or 24 cupcakes

3 cups flour, sifted
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups freshly shredded carrots (about 6 carrots)
8 oz. chopped walnuts
1 20 oz. can chopped pineapple
1 cup raisins, plumped in water for 10 minutes
zest and juice of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans or 24 muffin tins.
In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir well to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 40-45 minutes for cake, 18-24 minutes for cupcakes.

Cool completely and frost with...

World's Easiest Cream Cheese Frosting
24 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
zest and juice of 1 orange (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth and well blended.

Behold, half that cast of PCoBH, Chef Brian, Chef Stuart and Chef Me, with our fantastic EPs, Bryan and Christie...

My big mug makin' crazy googly eyes on the bar's jumbotron...

Team Awesome (me and Chef Brian), taking a photo with some fans of the show. I didn't realize we had any of those.

Chef Sasha's New York Cheesecake with Rose Petal Syrup

This is what happens when you don't plan ahead!

When we were shooting this season of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills, I took very few pictures, especially of the food. So tonight, following the airing of our episode with Skylar, as I'm getting emails for my New York Cheesecake with Rose Petal Syrup recipe, I have no photos to accompany the post.

Go with me, I'm improvising here: These are photos of me getting my hair and makeup done; the closest I ever get to feeling like a cheesecake pin up. Kind of punny, but I'm workin' with what I've got, ya'll.


Next time I'll be more on it, promise. In the meantime, here's my recipe for New York-style cheesecake, which I will proudly tout as the best you'll ever eat, and rose petal syrup which I came up with years ago when working on recipes for Welcome Books' "Little Big Book of Roses."

It may seem odd, but the floral sweetness is surprisingly delicious and sensual.

New York Cheesecake with Rose Petal Syrup
Makes 8-12 servings

New York Cheesecake:
Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
32 oz cream cheese
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ pint sour cream
½ pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Rose Petal Syrup:
2 cups highly scented edible, organic rose petals, thoroughly washed, with buds snipped from bitter white base
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Rose Water
2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil together rose petals, sugar, rose water and lemon juice until a thick pink syrup forms, about 10 minutes. Chill until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

In a large bowl, add all graham cracker crust ingredients together and press into the bottom and one inch up the sides of a springform pan. Chill at least 15 minutes while making cheesecake filling.

Beat all filling ingredients together and pour over graham cracker crust.

Bake cheesecake at 275 degrees for 1 hour. Leaving oven door closed the entire time, turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven for 1 additional hour.

Remove from oven and chill thoroughly.

Before serving, beat together sour cream, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla. Smooth over top of cheesecake. Cut into slices and garnish each with rose petal syrup.

"Skinny Chimis"--My Favorite Healthy Chimichanga Recipe

For tonight's episode of "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills," Brian and I were dispatched to cook a dinner in honor of Skylar and her imminent departure for college.

Inspired by my own years at USC, where the grand pubaba of LA Mexican food, El Cholo, got a ton of our business, not to mention La Barca, La Salsa and, ol' faithful, Taco Bell, where I've been issuing the same order since high school: Seven-Layer, no cheese or sour cream, with five hot sauces and a Dr. Pepper, thankyouverymuch, I decided to do a new spin on something that would be considered pretty classic college food fare.

Just before our senior year of college, my dear friend Ana and I drove cross country, from Miami to LA, in what was one of the best weeks of my life. We got to Tuscon on the last leg of our trip, starved and desperate for lunch, but without a plan. Pulling off the interstate, we rolled down our windows and started shouting at passing cars, "Hey! We're in town for 1 hour; where should we eat?"

Everyone offered the same response: "El Charro."

So off we went, for some truly epic Mexican food, at a place where, legend has it, the chimichanga was invented.

Respect had to be paid.

In honor of El Charro, El Cholo and El Familia de USC, I invented "Skinny Chimis," a baked low-carb, low-fat version of the traditionally fried, lardy offering. Enjoy!

Skinny Chimichangas
Makes 10 chimichangas

There’s an easy version to this recipe (the one below) and a more complex version that requires roasting a chicken that’s been heavily seasoned with garlic and lime and making your own salsa verde. If you want that recipe, feel free to email me and I’ll send it your way, but this low impact take turns out almost just as well, in a quarter of the time, with a tenth of the effort.

Easy Version:
1 package (10) 8’’ Mission “Carb Balance” flour tortillas
1 rotisserie chicken or 2 cups leftover chicken
1 jar salsa verde, Trader Joe’s makes a great one
1 cup low fat “Mexican” mixture shredded cheese
½ cup cilantro, chopped
2 ears corn, preferably white, husked and kernels cut off cob
1 lime, zested and juiced
nonstick cooking spray, preferably butter flavored

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by removing skin and meat from chicken. Discard the skin and shred chicken meat, placing it in a large bowl.

Add salsa verde, cheese, cilantro, corn and lime. Combine well.

Place about a half a cup to two-thirds of a cup of filling at the center of each tortilla, folding over the side ends of the tortilla and rolling in the other edges to completely contain the filling.

Place each “Skinny Chimi” on a lined baking sheet lightly sprayed with non-stick spray and spray the tops again with additional spray.

Bake at 350 until golden, crunchy and slightly puffed, about 20 minutes.

Serve with low fat sour cream, avocado smashed with lime, salt and cilantro, and additional salsa verde.

La Familia de USC now that we're a little older, a lot wiser and way, way sexier!

Me and Miss Ana...

Screaming, Dripping and "TRON"ing at Disneyland

Because I'm the white girl equivalent of the Jamaican family from "Hey, Mon!" (I've got eight jobs, mon--no joke), I spent the weekend in Anaheim covering Disney's new film, Tangled, for three different outlets.

One of the journalist perks bestowed on us, besides the rad souvenir photo above (taken by Todd, who a huge fan of Private Chefs and was so excited to see me, I thought Mandy Moore or Zachary Levi were standing behind me as he bellowed, "Huge fun! I'm starstruck!"), were two Disneyland Park Hopper passes which Rachel drove down to enjoy with me, marking her first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, commemorated by this rad button...

We ran from one side of Disneyland to the other, impervious to the mist that turned into serious rain somewhere between or time at ElecTRONica and our visit to the Haunted Mansion, all tricked out with Nightmare Before Christmas wares, but here are a few of the greatest photo hits from our visit, starting with our time on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...

Nerding out before getting on the Monsters Inc. ride. "Kitty!"

Speaking of nerding out...They showed us nine minutes of 4D footage (enhanced by lights flickering and wind blowing) that now has me counting the days until TRON: Legacy hits theaters on December 17th (more on that soon).

Flynn Lives!

Moonwalking with MJ...

Sheer, unmitigated terror (mine) and pure delight (Rachel's) as we went over the edge of Splash Mountain. PS: We weren't wet from the ride, we were wet from the rain.

By the time we made it back to the Grand Californian to pick up our cars and head home, it was almost midnight and we were soaked to the core, but just as happy. You simply can't deny the magic of Disneyland.

The only tragedy of our visit was we were both jonseing for a churro by the end of the night and all the stands had closed up shop, so here's my favorite churro recipe for the next time the fever strikes.

Churros with Warm Spicy Mexican Chocolate Sauce
Serves four

Churros
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Lemon, zested
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil

Begin by heating 1 inch of oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan (or deep fat fryer) to 350 degrees.

Heat water, butter, salt and lemon zest to a rolling boil in a large saucepan. Over low heat, stir in flour until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Beat in eggs. Continue beating until smooth.

In a large shallow container, mix sugar and cinnamon.

Spoon churro batter into a cake decorators' tube or bag fitted with a large star tip. Using equal pressure, carefully squeeze 4-inch strips of dough into the hot oil.

Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning as needed to maintain even cooking and color. Drain on paper towels slightly before rolling in cinnamon sugar.

If fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar isn’t enough, whip up this spiced chocolate dipping sauce to accompany the churros. Hey, if you’re gonna go, go big!

Warm Spicy Mexican Chocolate Sauce
4oz dark chocolate, chopped
2 cups milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powdered

In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. You do not want to boil the milk, just raise the temperature to a simmer. Reduce heat to low.

Place one cup of the warmed milk in a small bowl. Add cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon, stirring until they dissolve.

Add chopped chocolate to remaining milk in saucepan and whisk until smooth.

Add milk-cornstarch mixture to the chocolate and whisk until smooth and thick, about 5 minutes. Serve warm alongside Churros