5 Disney Valentine's Day Recipes Straight from the Vault

Disney has released five Valentine's Day recipes forming a complete dinner — appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert, and cocktail — from restaurants including Wine Country Trattoria at Disney California Adventure, Cinderella's Royal Table, and Napa Rose at Disney's Grand Californian.

Disney Parks is sharing five recipes from the Disney Recipe Vault to help fans build a full Valentine's Day dinner at home — appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert, and cocktail — drawing from restaurants including Wine Country Trattoria at Disney California Adventure Park, Cinderella's Royal Table at Magic Kingdom Park, and the legendary Napa Rose at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

The menu-building approach makes it easy to recreate a full course meal, and several of the dishes come from retired menus — meaning this is the only way to taste them outside of the vault. Round things out with a Chocolate Martini straight from the vault as a sweet finale.

Rustic Bruschetta and Spinach Salad

Start with a Rustic Bruschetta that was served for years at Wine Country Trattoria at Disney California Adventure, followed by a Lake Buena Vista Club Spinach Salad tossed in the club's famous house-made anchovy dressing. The mushroom topping can be made two days in advance, and the dressing keeps for up to two weeks.

Rustic Bruschetta (6-8 servings): Preheat oven to 400°F. Caramelize onion in olive oil with salt for 20 minutes. Roast mushrooms and artichoke hearts with olive oil 10-15 minutes until golden. Reduce oven to 300°F. Combine caramelized onions, mushrooms, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Slice baguette, drizzle with oil, and bake 15-20 minutes until crisp. Whisk mascarpone, garlic, shallots, salt, and pepper. Spread on toasts and top with mushroom mixture and shaved Parmesan.

Lake Buena Vista Club Spinach Salad (6 servings): Blend water, anchovies, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, and Worcestershire in a food processor. Add mayonnaise and sour cream and process 2 minutes longer. Chill (keeps up to 2 weeks). Toss spinach, red onion, and mushrooms with dressing and top with croutons.

Beef and Shrimp from Cinderella's Royal Table

This surf-and-turf from Cinderella's Royal Table pairs filet mignon with shrimp in a white wine sauce, served over smashed fingerling potatoes with blood orange demi-glace. Though no longer on the restaurant menu, it can still be recreated at home. Makes 4 servings.

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Combine fingerling potatoes, garlic, and oil in a roasting pan and bake 40 minutes, turning once, until tender. Smash with a potato masher, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm.
2. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add carrots, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 10 minutes until tender. Season and keep warm.
3. Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium-high for 5 minutes. Season beef with salt and pepper. Sear filets 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Rest 5-10 minutes.
4. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and cook shrimp with garlic for 2 minutes. Remove shrimp. Add wine and lemon juice and reduce 10 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in butter. Return shrimp and stir. Finish with chives, piquanté peppers, salt, and pepper.
5. Warm demi-glace in a small saucepan and stir in blood orange juice.
6. Plate smashed potatoes, top with beef and 2 tablespoons demi-glace. Add shrimp and sauce, with carrots on the side.

Chocolate Truffle Cake and Chocolate Martini

Finish the meal with a decadent Chocolate Truffle Cake from a past Napa Rose menu at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, served with a stenciled powdered sugar heart. Sip a Chocolate Martini from the Disney Recipe Vault either as dessert or throughout the meal.

Chocolate Truffle Cake (8 servings): Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and sugar-coat eight 3/4 cup ramekins. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Whisk egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar 3-4 minutes, add flour, then temper with melted chocolate. Warm egg whites in a metal bowl over hot water 1-2 minutes, then whip with 1 tablespoon sugar until foamy. Slowly add 3 more tablespoons sugar, increasing to high speed, until stiff peaks form. Fold chocolate mixture into whites in stages. Divide into ramekins and bake 14 minutes until puffy but still soft in the center. Invert onto plates and sift powdered sugar over heart-shaped stencils.

Chocolate Martini (1 serving): Combine ingredients in an ice-filled shaker, shake, and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a chocolate stick.

Always use caution when handling sharp objects and hot contents. Please supervise children who are helping or nearby. These recipes have been converted from larger quantities in the restaurant kitchens.

What This Means for Disney Parks Fans

Building a complete five-course Disney dinner at home is rare, and several of these dishes — the Beef and Shrimp from Cinderella's Royal Table, the Napa Rose Chocolate Truffle Cake, and the Lake Buena Vista Club dressing — are no longer available anywhere in the parks. This recipe drop is effectively a time capsule from some of Disney's most romantic restaurants past and present.