White Beans and Bacon

 From A Feast of Ice and Fire comes the recipe for White Beans and Bacon..

This is a very simple recipe, particularly if you use canned beans.  It will take a little planning ahead and cook time if  you use dried beans.

We had a very late night where my dinner plans went out the window, so I decided to try this recipe using canned navy beans, and a beautiful thick shoulder cut bacon I had recently purchased. I did have the endive called for in the modern version, but as I'm the only one who enjoys the slightly bitter veggies, I decided to try out the Medieval version for my family instead.

Very simple, fast and declivous, this is going to be my own personal go to when I want a quick savory lunch at home.  I was the biggest fan, giving it a 5/5, both hubby and daughter had issues with either the beans or the bacon portion, giving it a 3/5, but still good, above average.  Personally, I'm a fan of the medieval spice blend Poudre Douce used in this recipe, as I think the sweet and lightly spicy nature give it something like an old world baked beans flavor.

I served it with a very simple salad topped with scallions and some local sourdough.  

I will save this for other weeknight emergencies, but mostly I suppose I'll be making this for myself when I have a bit of craving for something hearty and meaty that doesn't take forever to cook up.

Red Bean Buns

From the World of WarCraft Cookbook comes this lightly sweet and absolutely delicious recipe for Red Bean Buns.

 

This recipe is rated skill level: Master, and takes a while to prepare as it uses a yeast dough that requires more than one rise time.  It is not a simple recipe, but it honestly isn't too hard to make either, just work intensive.  Particularly if you are, like me, unlucky enough to have no Asian grocer near you.  

I had no easy access to the red bean paste called for, nor could I even find the Azuki beans needed to make it from scratch, and I didn't want to order online for a single item, so after a bit of research I discovered that White Bean Paste is an acceptable substitute for sweet bean buns, and that white beans I had access to (I chose navy beans) were suitable. I took one can of low sodium navy beans, rinsed them well, and then put them into a food processor with 1/4 cup sugar (which I worked out was 2/3 the weight of what 15oz of cooked beans would have been when dried). After processing until smooth, I cooked on the stovetop for 15 minutes until the mixture became thick and stiff.  Then I spent quite a while pushing this product through a fine mesh strainer to get a very smooth, lustrous white bean paste.

I followed the rest of the Bean Bun recipe closely, and the dough came together very nicely.  I only had white sesame seeds on hand, so those ended up decorating the buns before baking. 

These came out perfectly.  Crusty on the outside and tender inside with a perfect amount of filling. Everyone rated these a 5 out of 5, which made all that work very worth it. They do take more than 2 hours or so to make, as they require a total of 1.5 hours of rising, but wow, what a treat!  We paired these with Spiced Blossom Soup, a very good pairing. I look forward to making these Bean Buns again!  Maybe next time I can get my hands on the red bean paste....

Spiced Blossom Soup

From the World of WarCraft cookbook, page 103, comes this lightly sweet and spicy vegetable soup.

This recipe is rated skill level: Apprentice, and indeed it was a very simple recipe that comes together very quickly.  Could easily be made vegan by subbing in veggie broth for the chicken broth.

I wasn't sure how well this unusual soup would go over with the family, but really wanted a new and different way to prepare cabbage in the winter months.  Surprisingly, everyone loved it!  My daughter put together the Ancient Pandaren Spices, and we decided to leave out the anise and fennel, and sub in coriander instead.  I'm personally a fan of anise flavor, but everyone else in my household not so much. Other than that small substitution, I followed the recipe exactly, including the chamomile tea broth, and this soup is both subtle and bursting with flavor.  There is a touch of heat at the end from the peppercorns, but all of the flavors meld together beautifully. Daughter rated it "yummy", and hubby gave it a 4 out of 5, which is very high for a simple veggie soup from him.  

The broth and cabbage are more pink than the vibrant purple shown in the book, but I cooked it a few minutes longer as well, as my family wanted the veggies a tad softer than what 5 minutes suggested in the recipe produced.  

This is a very good staple for winter and spring to use up a head of purple cabbage, and warm your insides!

Herbed Boiled Potatoes, Surprisingly Good!

 This certainly isn't the flashiest, most magical, or most exciting recipe in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, but it is a solid one.  This recipe can be found in chapter seven, Lunch and Dinner in the Dining Hall, and does seem like something Ron would have wolfed down while Hermione watched with concern.

It reminds me a lot of my grandmothers German potato salad.  It uses an oil and vinegar dressing instead of mayo, as most American potato salads do, and it is served warm, instead of cold.  It relies heavily on the vinegar and herbs for flavor, and is a tasty, simple side dish suitable for a weeknight meal.

I served this side with a main of Ogri'La's Chicken Fingers, from the Official World of WarCraft Cookbook.  A very nice pairing, as this potato salad is very bright and herby, a good contrast to the richer chicken.   I have actually made this dish a second time with fresh mint and thyme instead of dill, and it was fantastic. I think it will work well with a variety of herbs, depending on your tastes.  I don't happen to have Tarragon vinegar, which seems very specific, abut again I think a variety of vinegars will work.  I've tried both a simple cider vinegar, and a much more complicated raspberry and lime balsamic, and both made a wonderful dressing, so this recipe is very suitable to substitutions and working with what you have in your fridge, pantry, or garden

The only thing I would change when making this in the future is I might add salt to the water when boiling the potatoes.  Otherwise it is good as written, but also very easy to change to suite your needs.  This will certainly go into our regular dinner rotation!

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