Cooking Lesson #313: Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room Dole Pineapple Whip Cocktail

…from the Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? I received two emails today asking if I would write a couple of recipes for them since we cut down to just three per week and have so much extra time on my hands. I love you guys. I did a cooking show for about 10 years on ABC called Stump the Chef. So, if I survived that I can help you with a couple of extra recipes. Look for them in your mailbox.
 
A modified version of this recipe came up on my Gelson’s ad blog this morning. The subject was very dear to my heart because it came from the Happiest Place on Earth—Disneyland. I worked for the Disney Company in several areas, from rides and attractions design to food and restaurant development. Lots of great memories. Allow me to share one with you.
 
This month is the 57th anniversary of Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room. When it first opened in Disneyland, in 1963, its claim to fame was the first-ever audio-animatronics—featuring talking birds. If you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the show you will remember that a quartet of chatty macaws hosted a Hawaiian-themed floor show, performed by a few hundred warbling birds, flowers, and tikis. It sounds old hat now, but at the time, it was so awe-inspiring that even the show’s barker, Juan the Toucan, drew giant crowds of people, who jammed the entry to the show, mesmerized by a talking bird hawking the show’s many delights (thunderstorms!) and cajoling passersby to come inside. 
 
Enough bird stories! The Enchanted Tiki Room was sponsored by Dole, the geniuses behind the snack bar’s signature frozen treat—the one and only Dole Whip. The drink is a delectable whirl of frozen pineapple chunks, coconut milk, banana and some sugar. There’s also some lemon and lime juice in there to keep the thing from getting too sweet. The result is a thick, sorbet-like drink that’s sweet-tart and very pineapple-y. It tastes amazing with a couple jiggers of rum added… this addition was never offered in the show.
 
So, my dear friends, in honor of the 57th anniversary of The Enchanted Tiki Room, lifting of Covid restrictions, and being that its Happy Hour Friday let’s celebrate!

Freeze time: 2 hours
Prep time: 10 minutes
Yield:  2 servings
 
Ingredients
16 ounces frozen pineapple chunks, from fresh, not canned
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 frozen banana
2 tablespoons ice water
3 ounces gold rum (not part of the original Disney/Dole recipe)
Fresh pineapple, sliced and quartered, for garnish
 
Directions

1. Allow a couple of hours to freeze the fruit.
2. In a chilled blender jar, combine the frozen pineapple, coconut milk, sugar, salt, lemon juice, lime juice, banana and water and blend until completely smooth.
3. Add the golden rum, if desired, and blend until fully combined to make a Boozy Pineapple Whip.
4. Divide among 2 glasses and garnish with fresh pineapple garnish and a couple of straws.
5. Enjoy immediately, but slowly—watch out for Brain Freeze.

ChefSecret:  Make it a little fancy and fill a pastry bag with the drink mixture and pipe into the two glasses. Garnish with a tropical orchid if you have one. At one time, you could get the adult version of the Dole Whip at the very exclusive Club 33 above Pirates of the Caribbean.

Quip of the Day: “Please drink responsibly!  To me that means don’t spill any of it.”
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