Lets Cook

Request: Persona 4 - Steak Skewers

Megatenn began following me in the early days of Gourmet Gaming and sent through a request forever ago for some Persona based foods (I believe Mystery Burger and Steak Skewers were on the list). After what seems like an eternal winter, this weekend there was some fabulous weather and I felt a fresh and light Asian inspired meal might be in order - so Steak Skewers were the ideal choice. I’ve never played any of the Persona games but I remember an old housemate having Persona 4 and I spent quite a few hours watching him play - I am however a big fan of many Atlus titles so I must annoy him during the week and see if I can borrow his copy. Speaking of Atlus I am VERY excited for Catherine! I watched the review last night and.. Wow. Cara (who wrote about me on Feed The Gamer several weeks ago) and Ben came over to help demolish the meal; I was rather nervous cooking something I had never made before for other people. In order to eat the food, however, they were forced to watch the Catherine review - it seemed like a fair trade. 

This recipe serves 4.

What you will need: Wooden Skewers, a griddle pan and a grater

Ingredients:

300g / 4 Cups Sirloin Steak

300g / 4 Cups Chicken Breast

Or 

200g / 3 Cups Tofu

For the Steak/Tofu Marinade:

150ml / 1 Cup Dark Soy Sauce

3 Stalks Spring Onion (chopped)

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

1½ Tablespoons Flour

1 Clove Garlic (grated)

1 Teaspoon Ginger (grated)

1 Teaspoon Red Chilli (deseeded, chopped)

For the Chicken Marinade:

2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil

1 Teaspoons Chilli Flakes

1 Teaspoons Ginger (grated)

1 Teaspoon Garlic (grated)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice

For the Satay Dipping Sauce:

3 Tablespoons Crunchy Peanut Butter

1 Teaspoons Sesame Oil

1 Teaspoons Soy Sauce

1 Clove Garlic (grated)

1 Teaspoon Ginger (grated)

1 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice

Milk/Coconut Milk

Optional Serving Vegetables:

Asparagus Spears

Red Onions

Chestnut Mushrooms

Preparing the Steak/Tofu:

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cube the steak into 1 inch pieces and store in a separate bowl.
3. Pour half of the marinade over the steak, mix well, cover and place in the fridge for several hours.
4. Store the rest of the marinade in the fridge for later - as you will use this as extra sauce for serving/dipping.

Preparing the Chicken:

1. Cube the chicken into 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl.
2. Add the marinade ingredients to the chicken and mix well.
3. Cover and store the chicken in the fridge for several hours.

Preparing the Satay Dip:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Slowly add the milk/coconut milk a tablespoon at a time until a creamy but firm consistency is reached. 
3. Cover and set aside for later.

Preparing the Skewers:

1. Skewer the steak and chicken onto skewers - 4 pieces on each.
2. Heat a griddle pan to a medium heat and cook.
3. If you are making the tofu version - cook the skewers in a frying pan with some olive oil.

I served the skewers with thin egg noodles, ribboned  carrot and cucumber salad and skewered asparagus, mushroom and red onion that was roasted in the oven.

I was so hungry I inhaled my tofu version, which from what I can recall was really tasty, but I’ve since been told the food was actually delicious. I’ve amended the Satay recipe slightly to reduce the amount of Soy Sauce as I found it slightly salty so it should be more balanced now. Although that Satay was piled precariously high on the steak at one point in the meal! I sadly couldn’t find a good enough image of the Steak Skewer in the game to compare, but I did find this lovely drawing of it (if you have an in-game shot, please send it!). After eating those Skewers I am now even more intrigued to play Persona 4 - it will definitely be making an appearance at our gaming night, Warp Zone, in the near future!

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Request: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Yeto’s Soup

I had planned on doing this soup for a while so when I got a number of requests through for anything from Zelda I thought this seasonal soup would fit in nicely. Also since most of us will be taking part in my favourite activity of pumpkin carving next week it would be useful to have a pumpkin based recipe. I have fond memories of Twilight Princess, it felt a lot more traditional than incarnations such as Wind Waker, although I must admit my favourite Zelda is actually Links Awakening (controversial). Yeto’s Soup comes from Yeto, a rather cuddly looking yeti, in the Snowpeak Ruins. His wife, Yeta, is very sick but you can help by giving Yeto the ingredients for his healing soup. It goes through three stages of strength – a Reekfish creates a Simple Soup, adding an Ordon Pumpkin makes Good Soup and finally adding Ordon Goats Cheese makes it a Superb Soup that restores eight hearts. Obviously I’m going for the full eight heart Superb Soup here.

This recipe serves 3-4.

What you will need:

A large pot, grater, baking tray, frying pan, baking tray, blender or hand blender.

For the Soup:

50g / ¼ Cup Butter

300g / 0.7lbs Pumpkin (Skinned and Choppped)

200g / 0.5lbs Sweet Potato (Skinned and Chopped)

2 Shallots (Chopped)

1 Small Clove Garlic

½ Teaspoon Grated Ginger

500ml / 2 Cups Vegetable/Chicken Stock

1-2 Tablespoons Goats Cheese

70 ml / ½ Cup Cream

75g / ½ Cup Smoked Haddock

75g / ½ Cup Pollock

Salt & Pepper

For the Pumpkin Garnish:

3 Pumpkin Wedges

1 Tablespoon Butter

Salt & Pepper

½ Teaspoon Dried Chilli Flakes

For the Potato Croutons:

Olive Oil

1 Medium Potato

Salt & Pepper

For the Carrot Tops:

5 Small carrots (Stalks On)

1 Tablespoon Butter

Preparing the Soup:

1. In a large pot on a medium heat melt the butter. Add the shallots, garlic and ginger and cook until soft. Add the pumpkin and sweet potato chunks and stir well, allowing to cook for another 10 minutes.
2. Pour in the vegetable/chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the pumpkin and sweet potato has cooked through. Once cooked transfer to a clean bowl and blend (or use a blender). Return the soup to a clean pot, if it’s too thick then slowly add more vegetable stock until the desired texture is achieved. Set the soup aside while you prepare the garnishes.

Making the Pumpkin Slices:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/392F. Chop the pumpkin wedges into chunks and lay them onto a baking tray, cover with the butter, season and add the chilli flakes. Cook until soft and golden.

Making the Potato Croutons:

1. Dice the potato into small cubes and heat some olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the potatoes and season to taste, fry until crisp and golden brown.

Making the Carrot Tops:

1. Heat the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the carrots and allow to cook until slightly soft.

Finishing the Soup:

1. In a warm frying pan add a little olive oil and heat. Add the smoked haddock and pollock and fry for 1 minute. Pour in the cream and season with salt and pepper, allow the fish to cook for about 5 minutes in the cream.
2. Once the fish has cooked pour the cream mixture into the pumpkin soup, add the goats cheese and stir gently. Warm the soup through on a low heat so the goats cheese can melt.
3. Serve and garnish with the potato croutons, roast pumpkin slices and glazed carrot tops.

This is an interesting soup. I’ve never cooked with pumpkin or any type of gourd before, it’s not really as popular a thing to do here as it is in America (I still need to try pumpkin pie). There’s a nice balance of sweetness that’s cut by the sharpness of the goats cheese and smokiness of the fish – it is actually one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. I was not expecting it to be! I originally wanted to use monkfish but I couldn’t source any so I went with fish traditionally used in fish pies. I think the mixture of the smoked and white fish creates an interesting flavour that might mimic an actual Reekfish (despite it being based on a type of salmon). Yeto was definitely on to something with this soup and if it’s hearty enough for the Snowpeak Ruins then it’s a winter winner for me - I can feel my hearts restoring as I type.

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Don’t forget! Next week will be the Costume Quest Hallowe’en Special that you all voted for!

Grand Theft Auto IV – Cluckin’ Bell Fowl Burger

To celebrate the Grand Theft Auto V trailer that was released today here’s a recipe for the Cluckin’ Bell foul ‘Fowl Burger’! Now you can pee your pants over the trailer while you stuff your face and feel just like Niko Bellic! There’s only a couple Cluckin’ Bell restaurants dotted around Liberty City compared to the role the restaurant played in earlier versions of GTA (where you could order up to 4 meals including a salad) but in GTA IV the $1 fowl burger is your only option. I was seriously tempted, like with ‘The Heart Stopper’, to make the “Stuffed Pollo Todo Frito”; you can watch the advert and witness a corncob being stuffed up a chickens bum if that’s your sort of thing – but again it was costly and extraordinary and not exactly available to Niko in-game. Some day… SOME DAY I will make both of these just for the sheer glory and meat sweats.

This recipe serves 1.

What you will need: A frying pan, meat tenderiser, 2 bowls.

For the Fowl Burger:

Olive Oil

1 Large Chicken Breast

50g / ½ Cup Breadcrumbs

1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin

1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander

1 Tablespoon Paprika

1 Egg

Ketchup

Mayonnaise

White Burger Bun / Bread roll

Baby Gem Lettuce Leaves

1 Baby Shallot

1 Slice of Mild Cheddar Cheese

Making the Fowl Burger:

1. Combine the cumin, coriander and paprika with the breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix well. In another beat the egg and set aside.
2. Heat a good amount of olive oil in a frying pan on a medium high heat. Beat the chicken breast so it is about 1-2cm thick, cut in half so you have two evenly sized pieces.
3. Dip them in the egg and then coat well in the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Once the oil is hot enough, fry the coated chicken breasts for about 4 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Toast the bun then layer ketchup, lettuce, chicken, cheese, lettuce, chicken, lettuce, mayonnaise, sliced shallot and close with the top of the bun.
6. Serve with fries and a Sprunk and enjoy; the chicken didn’t die in vain.

I don’t know about you, but any time I’ve walked into a Cluckin’ Bell some guy starts a fight with me, these gangs seem pretty protective of this chicken so it must be pretty awesome. Cluckin’ Bell dutifully promises that they provide ‘billions of chickens with a very happy resting place – your stomach!’ so what more reason do you need to eat this?! Just don’t choke-a-doodle-doo, chicks and cocks.

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Sonic The Hedgehog – Chili Dog A La Sonic

It’s a renowned fact that Sonic loves Chili Dogs, I remember it vividly as a running theme in the Sonic cartoons (Remember? That ended with that amusing oh so 90’s “Sonic Sez” feature?). I first played Sonic on my aunts Sega Mega Drive and when I was dragged to numerous house parties as a kid I would take the console with me and set it up in a bedroom and guests would drop in and play with me. Although I’m sure Social Services would have something to say about this it is one of my fondest childhood memories. Chili Dogs have appeared in numerous versions of the game and a recipe for “Chili Dog A La Sonic” was even published in the first issue of the Archie ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ comics which I have faithfully reproduced.

This recipe serves 6.

What you will need: A large pot and a spoon!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

450g / 1lb Ground Beef

100g / ½ Cup White Onion (Chopped)

100g / ½ Cup Peppers (Chopped)

100g / ½ Cup Mushrooms (Chopped)

400g / 2 Cups Tinned Chopped/Crushed Tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

210ml / 8 fl oz Barbecue Sauce

1 Teaspoon

• Chili Powder
• Ground Cumin
• Oregano

400g / 2 Cups Kidney Beans (Tinned or Pre-cooked)

6 Hot Dogs

6 Hot Dog Buns

Grated Cheese

Making the Chili Dogs:

1. Heat some olive oil in a large pot then brown the beef. Add the onions, peppers and mushroom and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Pour in the can of tomatoes, add the Worcestershire sauce and the barbecue sauce and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add the chili powder, ground cumin, oregano and the kidney beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste then simmer for a further hour.
4. Add the hot dogs to the chili sauce and cook them for 10-15 minutes. While the hot dogs cook, lightly toast the hog dog buns.
5. Once cooked, serve the hot dogs in the toasted buns, pour over the chili and add your favourite garnishes.

There’s a few ways to enjoy these Chili Dogs - if you’re a veggie you’re not alone; Sonic’s sister Sonia The Hedgehog (genius) enjoys hers as tofu-dogs while Tails prefers his smothered in melted cheese. I served mine with some rather fitting baby red onion rings. But the most important question is why aren’t chili dogs more popular?! This is officially one of my favourite things to eat now - whenever I make chili I will no longer be serving it with rice or tortillas or wedges, no screw that! Instead I’m tossing in some hot dogs. He may be blue but damn that hedgehog knows how to eat.

Thanks to thesoniczone.net for posting all the old Sonic comics.

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Grand Theft Auto IV - “The Bleeder”

Like many of you recently, I’d become completely addicted to Rockstar’s latest offering L.A Noire. So when it came to thinking about what to make this week I decided to have a look through the Rockstar back catalogue for inspiration. Thankfully Grand Theft Auto has always offered a range of foods from every incarnation, but I felt Liberty City from GTA IV had the most iconic choices to pick from. My original thought was the myth of “The Heart Stopper”, 6lbs of meat and cheese that will “Kill someone in 5 seconds flat”. Although advertised throughout the game you can only buy a “Bleeder” for $1 at a Burger Shot despite the visible menu options that were also previously available in Vice City and San Andreas. Sadly after a little research “The Heart Stopper” became more and more out of reach due to the cost of creating such a burger (I’m thinking of starting a “Heart Stopper” donation fund) and eventually I settled on the option that was actually available to the player, so it seemed like a fair compromise.

My recipe for “The Bleeder” is based solely off the menu picture in the restaurant. It contains two ¼ pounder burgers, two types of cheese and four sauces obviously topped with bacon to create a seriously awesome burger that unlike “The Heart Stopper” wont send you to your grave, but will bring you one step closer.

With this recipe please feel free to substitute some of the ingredients to suit your tastes, I’m simply providing the ingredients that I used to create the type of burger I wanted for “The Bleeder”.

This recipe serves 1.

What you will need: A frying pan, griddle pan (Or whatever you like to cook your burger on), deep pot or a deep fat fryer.

Ingredients:

1 Large White Burger Bun

2 ¼ Pound Beef Patties 

2 Types of Cheese - Mature Red Cheddar, Applewood Mild Smoked Cheddar (I chose pre-sliced for ease)

3 Pieces of Bacon (Unsmoked)

1 Medium Gherkin

1 Large Ripe Tomato

1 Head of Butterhead Lettuce

4 Sauces - Mayonnaise, French’s American Mustard, Smoky Chipotle Chilli Relish, Ketchup

For the Crispy Onions:

1 Medium White Onion

Flour

Salt and Pepper

Oil

For the Garnish:

1 Wooden Skewer

Preparing the Crispy Onions:

1. Heat some oil in a deep pan (or use a deep fat fryer if you have one).
2. Slice the onion into thin rings.
3. Season the flour with a little salt and pepper.
4. Coat the onions in the flour mixture then dust off any excess.
5. Drop the onions into the heated oil and fry until crispy.

Preparations:

1. Slice the gherkin and tomato and tear off a few lettuce leafs. 
2. Fry the bacon in a little oil in a frying pan until nicely crisp.
3. If your burgers seem thick; I’d recommend flattening them out so that they cook into a thinner and wider shape unless you want a tower of meat like mine.
4. Cook your burgers however you like them. I’ve chosen to cook mine in a griddle pan for a little added flavour and have cooked them medium rare.
5. Once cooked layer the mature red cheddar, gherkin and Applewood cheese on to one of the burgers and place under a grill for a few minutes until the cheese has melted a little.

Preparing the Burger:

1. Slice in the burger bun in half and warm through by placing in an oven.
2. Layer the burger up in the following order, from bottom to top: bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, burger, mature cheddar, gherkins, Applewood cheese, American mustard, burger, chilli relish, crispy onions, bacon, ketchup, bun.
3. Slide the skewer through the burger to hold it together!

Best served with an ice cold Pißwasser on the side!

Although my burger is clearly massive and doesn’t exactly resemble the one on the Burger Shot menu, I’m still calling this a success. Those I made it for hailed it as “the worlds greatest tasting burger” and complimented the balance of flavour within it. Since I made it I’ve edited the recipe slightly to create a more faithful visual representation of “The Bleeder”, resulting in a flatter appearance. In fact, the veggie-burger version I made looked more like it was from Burger Shot. It was delicious and something I will most definitely be making again because right after I ate it I wished I’d had another one to gobble.

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Request: Metal Gear Solid - Rations

A few weeks ago I received my first Gourmet Gaming request for the Rations from Metal Gear Solid. I’ll admit I’ve never played an awful lot of Metal Gear, so this request gave me the perfect excuse to play it. I found a copy of the Playstation original on one of my many shelves; the manual describes the Rations as “Meals-ready-to-eat.”, and notably that they are ‘military rations’. So I started by researching the actual provisions from the first and second World Wars and picked the idea of a Meat and Vegetable Stew; full of the right stuff that would “sustain Snake to help him fight”. I added the dumplings because really, who doesn’t love a good dumpling? This recipe makes enough for about two people, just double the quantities if you’d like to make it for more.

This recipe serves 2-4.

What you will need: A large pot, a mixing bowl, a sieve and a tin can to serve.

For the Stew:

1 Large White Onion

1 Clove Garlic

100g / 1 Cup Celery 

150g / 1 Cup Chantenay Carrots

300g / 2½ Cups Braising Steak

500ml / 2¼ Cup Beef Stock

Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

For the Dumplings:

50g / ⅓ Cup Self Raising Flour

¼ Teaspoon Baking Powder

25g / ¼ Cup Shredded Suet (Beef or Vegetable)

¼ Teaspoon Salt

Handful of Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

5-8 Tablespoons Cold Water

Preparing the Dumplings:

1. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the suet, chopped parsley and salt.
3. Slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft and sticky.
4. With floured hands roll the dough into about 8 dumplings.

Making the Stew:

1. To prepare; chop the onion, carrots, celery and garlic.
2. Chop the braising steak into bite size chunks.
3. Put a few tablespoons of flour on a plate and season well with salt and pepper. Coat the beef pieces in the mixture then dust off any excess.
4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the pot and seal the meat, frying in small batches for about a minute each side. 
5. When done remove from the pot and set aside.
6. Add a little more oil if needed; add the chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot and cook until lightly golden.
7. Return the beef to the pot, add the thyme and bay leaf and stir.
8. Pour in the beef stock, season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to the boil.
9. Once boiling, reduce to a low heat, cover and simmer for about an hour and a half.
10. After an hour and a half add the dumplings, making sure they are covered with liquid. Cover the pot again and cook for another half hour.
11. Serve in a tin can and garnish with some thyme.

The good news is that the stew was delicious, the not so good news is that it was near impossible to make it look like what it was, but I think I got as close as I could without taking up metal craft (the request did state it had to be in a can). It had been raining all day so this stew was a welcome meal even in June. It was also surprisingly light and not stodgy at all. One of my fears was making something that would have been too complex to be considered a ‘ration’; some people suggested I add lentils or barely or eye of newt but I told them no! I wanted something simple and easy and that’s what I’ve achieved here. I’d never made a stew before so I’m rather proud of myself - I just wish I’d eaten it while hiding under a cardboard box to enhance the experience.

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Request: Paper Mario - Koopasta

I got a request through to make some Koopasta and was rather envious that I hadn’t thought of this sooner - after all spaghetti is Mario and Luigi’s favourite food. Koopasta (I guess Koopaghetti didn‘t have the same ring to it) can be made by cooking a ‘Koopa Leaf’ with some ‘Dried Pasta’ in the original Paper Mario or with ‘Fresh Pasta’/’Spaghetti’ and a ‘Turtley Leaf’ in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. I had never played Paper Mario until I got Super Paper Mario for the Wii and I thought it was pretty damn awesome; though I think I became too obsessed with trying to collect things from some guy who, from what I can recall, would appear in some sewer system and try to sell me things that would only spawn on certain dates and times ultimately reminding me why this aspect of Japanese gaming is detrimental to my health. Anyway, there’s two versions of the dish that look rather different and since the requester never specified which Paper Mario I’ve gone with the one that looks slightly more iconic or at least more interesting to make. 

This recipe serves 2-4.

What you will need: A large pot, frying pan, a bowl and a food blender or mortar and pestle.

Ingredients:

250g / 4 Cups Fresh Spaghetti/Tagliatelle Verdi

1 Baby Gem Lettuce Leaf

1 Clove Garlic

80g / 1 Cup Fresh Basil

20g / ⅛ Cup Pine Nuts

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Parmesan Cheese

Salt

Pepper

Preparing the Pesto:

1. Lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan and set aside.
2. Put the garlic, basil and a pinch of salt into a food blender and pulse.
3. Add the pine nuts and blend again.
4. Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the parmesan and olive oil and stir.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add more parmesan if you want.

Making the Koopasta:

1. With the pesto prepared, boil some water in a deep pot then add the spaghetti verdi and cook as per the instructions on your pack.
2. Once cooked, strain the spaghetti, return it to the pot (not on the heat) and slowly add pesto to the spaghetti until there’s just enough to coat the spaghetti in the sauce.
3. Serve and garnish with a baby gem lettuce leaf.

I hate pesto. When I decided to make this my taste tester remarked “but we hate pesto, why would we eat this?”, then he realised that a few weeks ago he did eat a sandwich filled with turkey, jam and Cookie Crisp cereal so maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Whenever I think about pesto I just think of that episode of Seinfeld (The Busboy) where George says “Why do I get pesto? Why do I think I’ll like it? I keep trying to like it, like I have to like it. Everybody likes pesto. You walk into a restaurant, that’s all you hear - pesto, pesto, pesto.” But now I love pesto. As long as it’s my pesto and not some swamp juice from a jar.

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Request: Kirby’s Dream Land / Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Superspicy Curry

This request came direct from my resident taste tester as he’d been asking for a curry for a few weeks now. Superspicy Curry originally appeared in the classic Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy and it gave Kirby the ability to spit fireballs. It’s never appeared in a Kirby game since (due to the invention of the ‘copy ability’ mechanic) but it does appear in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Although I played Dream Land many, many years ago, I’m more familiar with it as it appears in Super Smash Bros. (I suck at Super Smash Bros., I cannot explain why) so that’s where I’m taking inspiration from. 

This recipe serves 2-4.

What you will need: A large pot and a hand blender.

Ingredients:

½ Red Apple

1 Large Onion

3 Cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon Ginger

400ml / 1¾ Cup Water

Spices 

• Medium Curry Powder
• Garam Masala
• Chinese Spice Mix
• Cayenne Chilli Pepper
• 2 Dried Birds Eye Chillies

Salt

200g / 2 Cups Tinned Tomatoes

3 Teaspoons Olive Oil

125g / ½ Cup Long Grain White Rice

Feel free to use any vegetables, meats or fish that you like. I used:

1 Small Aubergine 

1 Yellow Pepper

300g / 2 Cups Prawns

Making the Curry:

1. Roughly chop the onion, garlic, ginger and apple and place in a pot.
2. Pour the water over the ingredients, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
3. Once the water has reduced, add 1 teaspoon of each of the spices and crush the dried chillies.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes and salt to taste, then simmer for another 10 minutes.
5. Add the olive oil then blend with a hand blender.
6. Chop the vegetables and add them to the curry base, cover and simmer until they are cooked (you may need to add more water).
7. Serve over sticky white rice; fire optional.

I attempted this recipe on two nights. The first went fine, but it was a failure by my standards. My initial idea was to create a Japanese Katsu-style curry and I based my recipe on one provided by Cooking with Dog. However I lacked the essential Japanese ingredients, so although it was tasty and edible it just didn’t quite fit with the idea of Kirby’s Curry. So I decided to focus on making this traditional style curry and it worked out far better. I’ve made curries in the past but this is the ultimate base that I’ll be using in the the future. I think I got the balance of flavours just right here, it has a sweet initial taste that builds up into an incredible heat (which I was man enough to handle). So if breathing fireballs in the faces of your enemies is on your to-do list today, I can totally recommend Kirby’s Superspicy Curry.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Sweet Roll

This Friday Skyrim will be hitting the shelves and it’s one of my most highly anticipated releases of this year! Since I’ll be spending the entire weekend glued to my TV and ignoring all signals from my body that it’s tired and wants to go to bed (my brain will be shouting “DRAGONS!” to keep me perky) I figured I’d need some suitable snacks. I read a pretty funny article last week called “Things I Ate In Skyrim” that obviously included the infamous Sweet Roll. Before you climb up on your high armoured horse and start saying “that doesn’t look like any Sweetroll I’ve ever seen” this is a Skyrim edition Sweet Roll (note: no longer “Sweetroll” as it used to be in Morrorwind and Oblivion) that we got a sneak peek at - it seems to have gotten a bit of a visual upgrade and some frosting! I’ve gone with a dense spiced cake recipe that I think compliments the rustic, fantasy setting.

This recipe makes 6 Sweet Rolls.

What you will need: Large deep muffin tray, greaseproof paper/baking parchment, sieve, 2 bowls, wooden spoon, a pot and a knife.

For the Sweet Rolls:

180g / 1 Cup Butter (Room Temperature)

175g / ¾ Cup White Caster Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

2 Eggs (Room Temperature)

250g / 2 Cups Self-Raising Flour

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

125ml / ½ Cup Milk

For the Frosting:

200g / 1 Cup Cream Cheese

55g / ¼ Cup Butter

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

125g / 1 Cup Icing/Confectioners Sugar

For the Cinnamon Syrup:

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons White Caster Sugar

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Preparing the Sweet Rolls:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. To prepare the muffin tray, cut small squares of greaseproof paper and stuff them into each muffin well – create folds and crinkles and then smooth them out to help create a rustic, uneven finish to the cakes.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and maple syrup together until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one and a time and mix well.
3. Sift in the self-raising flour and cinnamon then add the milk and stir gently until a smooth batter forms.
4. Fill the prepared muffin tray with the batter, filling each well nearly to the top and place in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (a skewer inserted should come out clean when cooked thoroughly). Set aside and allow to cool completely while you prepare the syrup and frosting.

Making the Frosting:

1. Add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix gently until combined.
2. Slowly sift in the icing/confectioners sugar and stir gently. Allow to chill in the fridge before using.

Making the Cinnamon Syrup:

1. In a pan on a medium-high heat melt the butter, sugar and cinnamon together until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside for use later.

Making the Sweet Rolls:

1. Unwrap the cakes from the paper and careful slice the puffy top off the cake. Turn the cake upside down so that the cut top is now the bottom.
2. Cut a small hole in the top of the cake that’s about 1cm deep and 1cm across. Pour a little of the cinnamon syrup into the hole.
3. Drizzle the frosting over the top of the cake and serve.

Now for the infamous question: While in town the baker gives you a Sweetroll. Delighted, you take it into an alley to enjoy only to be interecepted by a gang of three other kids your age. The leader demands the Sweetroll, or else he and his friends will beat you and take it.

1. Act like you’re going to give him the Sweetroll, but at the last minute throw it into the air. Hoping that they’ll pay attention long enough for you to get a shot in on the leader.

2. Drop the Sweetroll and step on it, then get ready for the fight.

3. Give him the Sweetroll now without argument, knowing that later this afternoon you will have all your friends with you and can come and take whatever he owes you.

Protip: Don’t take your Sweet Rolls into any alleys.

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Deus Ex - Chunko-honey Candy Bar

There was supposed to be a different post this week but it was swiftly changed after much complaining from a certain someone who was demanding a snack to eat while they played through the new Deus Ex that’s out on Friday (screw you, USA). So I obviously obliged when I discovered the Chunko-honey Candy Bar and managed to stop laughing at THIS video. I’ve sadly never played Deus Ex (shocking, I know) but I’m very much looking forward to getting in from work and not moving for the entire weekend. Although my lack of movement will probably have something to do with ingesting enough of these to feed a small country… then I could always use my Chunko-honeys to bribe small children to carry me around.

This recipe serves 8-10.

What you will need: A deep square pan and baking/greaseproof paper.

Ingredients:

200g / 1 Cup Chocolate (At least 70% Cocoa)

100g / ½ Cup Unsalted Butter

1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup

3 Teaspoons Honey

100g / ½ Cup Salted Peanuts

150g / 1 Cup Cinder Toffee (Or Cadbury’s Crunchie)

Making the Chunko-honey:

1. Prepare the square dish by lining it with baking paper.
2. Smash the nuts and the cinder toffee into decent size chunks (not too big, not to small but just right) and put in a bowl.
3. On a low heat, melt the butter, golden syrup and honey in a pan. Once combined, remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Break the chocolate up into small chunks and melt it over a bain-marie.
5. Add the butter and syrup mixture to the chocolate and stir to combine, pour it over the nuts and cinder toffee and mix well.
6. Pour the chocolate mix into the prepared tin, then place in the fridge to cool and set for a few hours.
7. Once cooled, cut them into rectangular bars.

(Edit: I just realised upon further inspection of the Chunko-honey wrapper that it should indeed, and luckily does, include chunky chocolate and a honeycomb centre!)

OH SWEET JESUS.

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