Junglevine Wine

Whew, this packs a punch!  Pun intended.

This recipe is from page 203 of the World of WarCraft Official Cookbook

I don't know quite why this recipe is listed as skill level: Expert. It seemed fairly simple to prepare. 

Ingredients include sugar, brandy, pomegranate juice, triple sec, diced fruit of choice, and red wine.  It's pretty simple, aside from peeling, coring and dicing some fruit, it mostly involves mixing the ingredients and dissolving the sugar into them.

I chose pears and apples for the fruit, and also decided to serve it warm as opposed to iced, as it is the middle of winter.  Both options are given in the recipe.  I also halved the recipe, as I'm serving it just for my husband and I.  This still made enough for a few evening's worth of drinks.  We selected E&J VS Brandy as it is very smooth and I think it worked well. For the wine, we found a local Garnacha for it's fruitiness, and because

I must say, the pears really soaked up the mixture and were absolutely delicious to fish out and nibble on while drinking.

This drink was a delight, and both my husband and I give it 5 stars out of 5.  Sweet, smooth, fruity and delicious, this drink will be a big hit for any party, and any season, or just for a weeknight cocktails at home.

Greatfather's Winter Ale

This recipe is on page 199 of the World of WarCraft Official Cookbook.  It is listed as Skill Level: Master, and I agree.  I think tempering the eggs in a safe manner is fairly difficult, but if you are comfortable trying that, this recipe is certainly unique.

This recipe includes apples, oranges, a variety of holiday spices, eggs, ale, apple cider, brandy, brown sugar and maple syrup. Quite a variety of ingredients!

(Alternatively, we also tried this using prepared eggnog instead of of the eggs and Holiday Spices, and it was actually pretty similar in taste.)

I made this for my husband and myself to enjoy a few days before Christmas.  We made 1/3 batch because there were only 2 of us, and I used a local holiday ale. I also omitted the baked fruit since we weren't serving it for guests.

The taste is really unusual.  Not quite eggnog, not quite grog, but both of us found we liked it more as we sipped on it. A touch creamy, a touch fruity, a touch bitter, a touch spicy, a lot sweet; this drink has a lot going on. It certainly would make an impression at a party!

I give this recipe a 3.5 out of 5 stars.  It is a bit difficult for a mixed drink, and some folks might not enjoy the unusual and complex flavors. All the same, it is very fitting for the winter holidays!

Fantasy Cookbooks

What is more charming and whimsical than a fantasy feast?  From the lavash layouts in A Song of Ice and Fire, to the monstrous meals of World of Warcraft, fantasy worlds offer a fun way to dive into new and interesting recipes, and add a little magic into our lives.

I've begun a modest collection of fantasy world cookbooks, and I intend to cook and review at least one recipe per week from my collection.  

But before we review individual recipes, let's take a closer look at each book!

World of WarCraft The Official Cookbook: Review

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: Review

A Feast of Ice and Fire, the Official Companion Cookbook

World Of WarCraft, Official Cookbook Review

World of WarCraft is more than a video game, more than an MMORPG.  It has become a cultural phenomenon.  Even if you have never played, you have surely heard of this juggernaut.

The World of WarCraft Official Cookbook is an impressive, hefty tome.  From the same authors as A Feast of Ice and Fire, this beast of a cookbook is over 200 pages of recipes on glossy pages with sumptuous photographs of each dish in theme appropriate settings. Each offering is broken down by skill level, cook time, and suggested pairings, and also contains bonus material about in game origins and other fun factoids.  The book is well organized into seven main categories, from spices to soups, main courses to drinks, everything is covered.  There is even a section that contains full suggested menu's for a variety of special occasions.

The recipes themselves are laid out in a very neat and easy to read format, and there is even a dietary chart in the back for those with food allergies or other special dietary needs to find recipes that fit those needs at a quick glance.

As a stand alone cookbook, this really is top quality.  Although it contains a few truly fantastical recipes for items that might be hard to find or not made only on special occasions, it also contains many recipes that one can use for every day cooking. 

Honestly, of all of my fantasy cookbooks, this one stands out for having the most recipes my family was interested in trying and including in a regular weeknight meal.  Fantastic while also being down to earth, this book has it all

  

Check out some of my reviews from this cookbook:

Greatfather's Winter Ale

Junglevine Wine

Ogri'La Chicken Fingers

Red Bean Buns

Spiced Blossom Soup