More Hard Tack

Swedish Hardtack
1 cup water
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. honey
3 cups rye flour (or 1 1/2 cups rye & 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 tbsp. brewer's yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix liquids together. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Combine the mixtures, stirring to moisten throughout. Form a ball. On a floured surface, flatten the dough, and roll out thinly. Cut into squares and prick each cracker with the tines of a fork a couple of times. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 425° F for around 8 minutes, checking to be sure not to over-brown. It is best served warm.

Simple Recipes
Flour, water, and a little salt. Mix them together to form an elastic but not sticky dough, Roll to a one-inch thickness, bake in a 400° F oven until slightly brown. Allow to cool. It may yet be soft. Put it in 200° F oven until it is hard. Prick with nail or sharp instrument. No baking powder, soda, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, or anything else.

Simple Recipes II
Just mix about 2 cups of flour and a half-tablespoon of salt with enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll it out thin on a cookie sheet. Score it into squares of about 2" and poke some holes in it (not all the way through). Bake it at 400° F for about 45 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Let it cool in the oven.

Simple Recipes III
Preheat oven to 400° F. For each cup of flour (unbleached wheat), add1 tsp. of salt. Mix salt and flour with just enough water to bind ingredients. Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into squares 3 inches by 3 inches. Pierce each square with 16 holes about ½ inch apart. Place hardtack squares on cookie sheet and bake in oven until the edges are brown or the dough is hard (20-25 minutes), making sure all moisture is removed from mixture before taking out of oven. Note: The longer you bake the hardtack, the more authentic it will appear. If you want to make it softer for eating, bake only about fifteen minutes.

Simple Recipes IV
Mix: two cups of all-purpose flour and a half teaspoon of salt. Use more salt for authenticity. Mix by hand. Add a teaspoon of shortening and a half cup of water, stirred in a little at a time to form a very stiff dough. Beat the dough to a half inch thickness with a clean top mallet or rifle butt. Fold the sheet of dough into six layers. Continue to beat and to fold the dough a half dozen times until it is elastic. Roll the dough out to a half-inch thickness before cutting it with a floured biscuit cutteror bayonet. Bake for about a half hour in a 325° F oven.

Simple Recipes V
The basic ingredients are flour, salt and water. General directions are also similar: Dissolve the salt in water and work it into flour using your hands. The dough should be firm and pliable but not sticky or dry. Flatten the dough onto a cookie sheet to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into squares 3 inches by 3 inches. Pierce each square with 16 holes about ½ inch apart. Bake in oven until edges are brown or dough is hard.

Simple Recipes VI
Preheat the oven to 400° F For each cup of flour add 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix salt and flour with just enough water to bind. Bake 20-25 minutes. The longer you bake the hardtack, the more authentic it will appear.

Simple Recipes VII
Use one part water to six parts flour. Mix in salt. Roll the dough flat and score into cracker shapes. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400° F and let it cool until completely dry before storing in canisters. The crackers should be hard as bricks and indestructibly unappetizing.

Simple Recipes VII
A cup of water
2 cups of flour
6 pinches of salt
Mix flour, water, and salt into a stiff dough, kneading it several times. Spread dough ½ inch thick onto baking sheet and slice into 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch squares. Poke holes in dough, four lines of four holes across and four down. Bake for ½ hour at 400° F. Remove from the oven, cut the dough into 3 inch squares. Turn dough over, return it to the oven, and bake for another 1/2 hour. Turn the oven off, leaving the oven door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until it is cool.

Less Traditional Recipes
2 c Flower
1/2 tb Salt (optional)
1/2 tb Sugar (optional)
1/2 c Water
Mix together in an electric blender at medium speed until it has the consistency of playdough. Roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/3" or so, the thinner the crisper, then cut it into 3 x 3 inch squares. I use the barrel of a ball point pen to punch 16 holes (4 x 4) in each square. Bake at 375° F on the first side for 20-25 minutes or until it turns a light brown color, then turn them over and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Small Batch, Just for a taste.
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2- 3/4 cup water
Mix to a stiff dry dough. It should not stick to your hands. Add water slowly. Add more flour if needed. Cut to 3x3 inch squares 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Now put 16 little holes in each one, using a 10 d nail or some other such thing. Toothpick are too small. Bake in an ungreased cookie pan, preheated to 400° F for about 20 to 30 minutes on each side, or until dry. Check it every now and then.

Small Batch, Just for a taste. II
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup flour
4 teaspoons real maple syrup
3/8 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 tablespoons shortening
Preheat oven to 425° F. Mix the soda and buttermilk, then set aside. Combine flour, syrup, and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add the buttermilk mixture. Roll out very thin and score rectangles in the dough without cutting all the way through. Prick each rectangle several times with a fork. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Small Batch, Just for a taste. III
2 cups of flour
3/4 to 1 cup water
1 tbl spoon of Crisco
6 pinches of salt
Mix the ingredients together to form a stiff batter, kneading several times. Spread the dough onto a baking sheet at a thickness of 1/2 inch. Bake for a half hour at 400° F. Remove from oven, cut dough into 3-inch squares, and punch four rows of holes, four holes per row into the dough. Turn dough over, return to the oven and bake another half hour. Turn oven off, leaving door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until cool.

Small Batch, Just for a taste. IV
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2` cup cracked wheat
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Combine the flours, cornmeal, wheat, sugar and salt. Add buttermilk, mix well, and knead briefly. Shape dough into golf-ball-sized portions. Dust with flour and roll very thin. Place on greased and floured baking sheet. Bake at 400° F turning several times, until lightly browned on both sides. Cool; then store in waterproof container.

Small Batch, Just for a taste. V
2 Level teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup flour
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, well beaten
1 jelly glass of orange marmalade
1 lb Finely chopped walnuts
1 lb Finely chopped dates
Sift ingredients together. Add the remainder of ingredients; mix well. Bake about an inch thick on a cookie sheet in an oven at 375° F for about 45 minutes. Cut into squares while warm.

Small Batch, Just for a taste. VI
2 cups of flour
1 cup water
1 tablespoon of Crisco or vegetable fat.
6 pinches of salt
Bake for 30 minutes at 400° F. Remove the dough from the oven, and cut it into 3-inch squares. Punch four rows of holes into the dough. Turn the dough over, return it to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.

A Sailor's Diet
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick oats.
3 cups unbleached flour.
1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
1 teaspoon baking soda.
In a separate container, mix:

1 1/2 cups buttermilk.
3 tablespoons honey.
1/2 cup melted bacon drippings or shortening.
Combine the two sets of ingredients. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, roll it out on a floured board to a thickness of about a quarter inch. Cut out circles of dough with a large drinking glass dipped in flour and put them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 5 1/2 minutes at 450° F. Let the hardtack cool on a wire rack before serving with jam or jelly.

Thank you from http://www.kenanderson.net/ for the number of recipies Go to Comment

Common Drunk Shark

First you get um drunk and well spiced... then you cover'em over in a warm blanket. Fishermen in any number of places have this basic recipe.

2 lbs. skinless shark steaks or fillets, fresh or frozen
2/3 c. beer (enough to ensure coverage) + 2 bottles for cooks
1/3 c. cooking oil
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. butter
4 c. sliced onions
1 c. dairy sour cream, heated
1/2 tsp. horseradish
Enough Rice to serve as bed for fish

0) Start cooking rice per favorite process
1) If required, thaw meat in shallow dish.
2) Combine beer, oil, mustard, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Add fish; cover and marinate 30 minutes in refrigerator or similar cool place.
3) Remove fish from marinade and broil 4 inches from heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.
4) In a saucepan, melt butter and blend in paprika. Add onions and saute until tender but not brown. Combine warm sour cream and horseradish.
5) To serve, make bed of rice, place steak, top each steak with onions and several spoonfuls of sour cream mixture.

Makes 6 servings.

Land Shark or Sky Shark can be substituted, if not prefered to sea shark. Sharviton (shark humanoids) should be avoided on principle. This recipe also works for Gator and any number of good sized saurians. Go to Comment

Lamb and Wolfberry Porridge
This is porridge for improved health and spirit in the winter. It norishes the liver and kidney, benefits essence and marrow, and dispell cold evil. (If you allready have a cold/ flu, avoid the recipe.

Per Person:
250g (9 oz) Lamb Meat (kidneys if possible)
30g (1 oz) Wolfberry (Chinese prefered)
200g (7 oz) Rice
20g (1 oz) Raw slice ginger
salt and green onion to taste.

Silce meat and place it in water to cook. In seperate container, cook the rice down to porridge. When the porridge is read, mix in the lamb, wolfsberry and ginger, add other seasonings to taste. Go to Comment

Home Beef Also known as Pasta and Gravy
This is a common fare in Antioch and found in western SecondLand. It is served in homes of all social levels, as well as inns across the land.

Some people in other areas on ThirdLand call this Antioch Beef.

1/2-1 1/2 lbs of meat (stew or roast)
3 Cups beef broth
3 tsp beef fat
3 tsp flour
Several half cups of various chopped/ diced vegetables (Carrots, potatoes, rutabaga, peas, what ever is suitable... These vegetables can be parboiled first.)
1 Onion (medium to small)
.5 to 1 lb pasta

Take either cubed stew meat or rough chopped left over roast beef.

If new meat, cut into 1/2 (1 cm) chunks and brown in skillet with butter or olive oil. Drain the pan, into a cup. Wait a few minutes to cool, then skim three teaspoons of fat off the top. Put meat aside and use same pan.

If using roast beef, cut and chop remaining roast to be used into smaller than 1/2 inch chunks (1/4' or so). You will need several teaspoons of fat from the roast (gathered by skimming off cooled pan and conserved in a chill box).

1) Add 3 cups of Beef Broth, preferably strong broth. (This can be made from the same roast beef, if possible), and 1 cup of water. Heat to a simmer. Put in diced vegetables. You can add a dose of spices and herbs of choice (parsley, rosemary, tyme or jsut toasted cummin, or any peppery combination or soy sauce)

1 1/2) Chop and carmelize one small onion.

2) Take 3 table spoons of fat and flour, cook under moderate heat until mixture is well browned. At the very end, you can add a dose of spices and herbs of choice (parsley, rosemary, tyme or jsut toasted cummin, or any peppery combination or soy sauce, as long as it is the same as before)

2 1/2) If pasta is dried, begin to boil it now.

3) Add broth and veggies (onions too) to fat/ flour mixture. Add profuse salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Continue stirring while gravy boils 2 to 3 minutes. If it gets too thick, add a little more broth.

3 1/2) If pasta is fresh, cook while gravy is being made.

4) Remove pasta, strain well, toss with a small amount of olive oil, to avoid sticking. Wait till sets slightly, then plate (traditional Antioch style serves in bowl).

5) Slather gravy upon noodles. Serve with a nice crusty bread. This should serve 4-6

Tested recipe. Works well without herb/ spice dose. Go to Comment

Drow Spider Jerky By: Agar

Thin, tough, gummy almost to a point of rubber, and pitch black in color, it was only by sheer accident that anyone outside the drow race ever learned it was food.

http://www.strolen.com/content.php?node=611 Go to Comment

Rafute

This fine dish is native to a region known for its pork. Rafute is named after the chief village in the region. It is a strange set of tastes to those not from the south east and archipelagos, but this pork dish is good enough to be served at many a noble and royal table throughout The Land.

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds pork shoulder
1 cup pork stock or combination of pork and chicken stock
1 cup bonito stock
1 cup soy sauce
A finger-sized chunk of ginger, sliced
1 cup sugar
1 cup awamori (Okinawan distilled rice spirit)
½ cup mirin

Place pork in a saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove pork from water (which can be made into a pork stock with time and effort). Let cool and slice into 1 1/2 inch squares.

Combine pork stock and bonito stock in saucepan. Add 1/2cup soy sauce and bring to a boil. Place pork and ginger slices in sauce and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours over low heat. Add the remaining soy sauce, sugar and awamori. Continue to cook until pork becomes tender. As pork tenderizes, add mirin and cook for a half-hour uncovered until pork is very tender.

If you have the time, you can shred the pork instead of cubing it. The results are fairly the same, though you might want to cook it a touch less.

Serve any number of ways. Over rice. In a bowl with the end sauce. On a roll. The imagination boggles at the possibilities.

Note: This recipe is also known as Shoyu Pork
If you are in Honolulu, HI, go to Restaurant Kariyushi to try this. Go to Comment

No, not really. Food is one of the great glues of civilization. Families gather around it. Friendships are cemented with it (breaking bread with your friends). Religions focus on it (No meat on fridays, no eating until after sundown on holy days, no pork, no flesh of the beast, the list goes on). What people eat shows what kind of resources are available and what they think is important (compare French Dinning vs Spanish Tapia tradition vs American Convenience food vs English Tea and Evening Drinks). It shows cultural ties (You can see that certain people have French roots, just because of how they cook...) The list goes on.

Sure you probably think food is just a cheap way to get energy points/ endurance points for your video game esk character. But the world is impacted by food. The search and trade for spices, salt, and food are some of the great motivators for social change and historical moments: setting up the first river boats, one of the reasons for some of the first cities, the use of written language, true sea faring vessels, The Crusades (which was about trade and travel rights originally, until they added religion to it), the Renaissance, the exploration of the new world, and completion of the transcontiental railway (to get western beef to eastern markets), and so on.

That is why food is important. Go to Comment

Vengence Rice ARTH
http://www.strolen.com/guild/index.php/topic,1629.0.html

The Humanti of SecondLand were driven away from their "homeland" by the viscious Wapti. This Octopoid like species nearly managed to hold on to it against the Humanti and Elventi forces of the Returners War. The Eastern region of Western Secondland, and even the coastal Amazonti from the Middle Biomes of SecondLand have been attacked by the dreaded Wapti within memory. To say the Humanti, and to a limited extent Elventi, hate the species is to be kind. At one time, it was even thought that octopi were inmature Wapti. This reviled animal was killed and thrown away. Even though the truth was learned, the hatred towards them is still a part of SecondLander society.

Thus the name of the dish.

Over the last century or two, this dish has cropped up in DeUritican and DeOarians biomes. There has been an influx of octopi in the catches. SeaClanners eat the creatures without any ill effect, and that has finally spread to the lands. The idea that it was vengance against the Wapti has made the dish popular. It can now be found in many places in the Eastern Region of Western SecondLand. Even the coastal Amazoni occasionally make it.


2 lb Octopus
1 c Red wine
3/4c Olive oil
1 Onion -- chopped
2 Garlic clove -- finely chopped
3 Tomato -- skinned & chopped
1 lg Bell pepper, green -- chopped
Salt -- to taste
Pepper -- to taste
Chilli powder -- to taste
1 lb Rice, short grain

Precook octopus in red wine with a little water. The octopus will exude liquid so that you are likely to end up with more cooking liquid at the end. Retain this and add water to make it up to 2-1/2 cups. Cut the drained octopus into small pieces.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan; add a chopped onion and cook gently, stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and pepper. Season with salt, pepper and chilli powder to taste. Cook for a few minutes longer.

Add the cooking liquid from the octopus and bring it to the boil. Add rice (preferably a short-grain risotto rice like arborio) and bring back to the boil, then turn the heat very low and put the lid on the saucepan. After 15 minutes, stir to ensure the rice is not catching on the bottom of the saucepan. In 5 minutes more, taste a grain or two to make sure it is soft. The rice should still be quite damp.

Serve. Serving Size : 4

This is based on a Portuguese dish called ARROZ DE POLVO (OCTOPUS RICE). Go to Comment

Does courge have a real word substitute (or something you would use in place of it in this recipe?) Go to Comment

Union Roll
This tasty treat is served after many ceremonies of joining as a symbolic reminder of the beauty of a union. The knotted top and the layered flavors inside show how many seperate things work well together, and how a union (the knots) hold seperate things together. Many a minister or cleric has waxed poetically about Union Rolls in their sermons.

Dough
1 oz. dry active yeast (or 1 oz. cake yeast)
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

Filling
1/2 lb (.2 kg) of each pastrami, pepperoni, hard salami or three meats of your choosing (turkey ham, turkey pastrami, hot capicola, or proscuitto).
1/2 lb of sliced or shreded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb of sliced or shreded provolone cheese

Make dough first.

Yeast mixture:
Combine yeast, warm water and sugar. Mix lightly. Float olive oil on top of yeast mixture. Yeast should stand for 10 to 15 minutes and be bubbly on top before use.

Gently combine with flour. Let stand for at least 15 minutes.

Assembly:
Take half of prepared dough and flatten it out in a rectangle as long as common pan (cookie sheet (18-24") or 45-70cm) and 8-10" (20-25 cms) wide.

With a sharp knife, cut equal number of slits about 2” (5cm) from the edge towards the middle along each long side of the dough. Alternating between meat and cheese, begin layering the entire length of the dough. For neater results, start and stop about 1" (2cms) from the top and bottom edges.

Take hold of the slits cut earlier, and pull them up over the mound, twist and tuck. Do this until all the slits have been paired, twisted, and tucked under.

Bake at 500 degrees till slightly brown. Do not preheat oven!

Takes about ten to fifteen minutes to bake. Remove and allow to cool slightly.

Serve hot or cool. Cold and Slices also works.

Serves one to four depending on appitite. (Tested and Approved)
Note: I add a hot pizza sauce as a dipping sauce if served cold or cool. Go to Comment

Valdemar Pub food

See. I am not the only one with this affection. Here is some recipe from the Valdemar section of Mercedes Lackey's site: http://www.mercedeslackey.com/text/1cook.shtml

Meat Pies

Common tavern fare in Valdemar. Meat pies come in two basic forms. A large baked pie for main meals and a smaller pie, shaped in a half circle that fits comfortably in a hand to be eaten as a snack or as a travelling meal.

Basic Recipe: Pastry Dough
The pastry dough is a combination of lard, salt, and finely sifted flour. The lard salt and flour are cut together, mixing the lard and dry ingredients thoroughly. Enough cold water is then added to form a stiff dough. This is rolled out thinly, and the desired size of the pie is cut out of the rolled dough. For large pies, the dough is shaped into a shallow pan, the filling is placed in the pan, and then a second piece of dough is placed over the top, and the edges crimped together.

For small pies a small circle of dough is cut out, the filling is place in one half of the circle, the dough is folded over, the edges are sealed and crimped shut, and a few holes are poked n the top of the dough to let steam escape during the cooking process.

Basic Recipe: Meat filling
This varies depending on location, season of the year, and availability of meat and produce. The filling starts with finely chopped cooked meat, either raw meat lightly cooked, left over meat (the remains of the previous evenings a roast) or broiled meat. To the meat, vegetables in season are added, usually a combination of root vegetables, onions, garlic and mushrooms.

Winter pies often include dried fruit mixed with the meat in a mince-style filling.

A small amount of flour and water, wine or broth is added to the meat and vegetables, then this mixture is seasoned to taste, and sealed in the pastry shell. The resulting pie is baked in the same oven that the daily bread is cooked in, typically using the residual heat from the first baking of the day.

Each inn or tavern cook has their own version of this common dish, and many cooks prick an identifying design into the crust of their pie. Prosperous inns will brush the top of the pie with water and beaten egg to give the crust a lovely golden brown color, and have the apprentice cooks fold the edges of the pastry of the meat pies together in an intricate design rather than use the faster method of pressing the edges together with a fork. Recipes are passed down within a family, or from master cook to his students.

A handful, a large bowl, a bit, and a pinch are the most common measurements, cooking being a fine art, and not an exact measured science.

Other Pub Favorites
Sweet Pies
A favorite treat in Valdemar. Sweet pies come in many forms, utilizing any fresh or dried fruit locally available. The pies come in the same two basic forms as the Meat pies, a large baked pie for service to tavern customers for their main meals and a smaller pie, shaped in a half circle that fits comfortably in a hand. In the northern part of Valdemar, a large slice of the sharp yellow cheese of the region is served with a sweet pie made from the local tart apples.


Egg and Onion Pie
Favorite tavern fare across all of Valdemar. Egg and Onion pie is created in an open pastry shell usually baked in a round pan. Onions are sauteed in some kind of grease, bacon or goose grease is common. Some cooks include the green tops when cooking the onions for the pie. The cooked onions are placed in the pastry shell, and a mixture of beaten eggs and heavy cream is poured over the onion mixture, to completely cover the onions. This is typically baked in the bread oven, after the first baking of the day has been removed, and the second batch of bread is rising. The pie is removed when the egg mixture is completely firm. The pies may be eaten hot, right out of the oven, or cold later in the day. Go to Comment

Moon Cream

In the various habitats and craft floating around the system this has become a popular holiday item. The supplies required are simple and not bulky, the preparation easy in gravity and not, and it is darn tasty.

1 Envelope Gelatin (You will be unable to find a space going craft that does not have too many of these in its galley)

700 ml (3 Cups) Milk

115 ml (.5 Cup) Sugar

3 Eggs Seperated (see recipe notes): (This is the hardest ingredient to get despite the fact that chickens have taken to zero-gravity like a rock to a gravity well. Frozen or powdered components can be used for less than ideal results.) (20th century note: try to get pasteurized eggs if possible, to avoid eating uncooked eggs).

1 ml (1/4 teaspooon) salt

50 or more ml (1/4 cup) sherry

Directions
Sprinkle gelatin in a 100 ml (.5 cups) of cold water and left soften for five minutes,

Heat Milk, Sugar, and Gelatin mixture (in a heavy bottomed pan if in G), until milk is barely scalded, stirring often. DO NOT BOIL.

Beat egg yokes slightly (yes you have to seperate them) and pour some of the hot milk mixture over them, stirring constantly. (This is to temper the eggs, the culinary equivalent of preheating the shields.).

Pour back into the milk mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until custard begins to thicken.

Caution: do not overcook or boil or you will have scrambled eggs with other stuff in them.

Remove from heat, add salt and sherry.

Beat egg whites untill siff but not dry and fold them carefully in.

Presentation depends on the gravity of the situation.

In zero G, dallop a serious serving into a ball and keep in the chill chest. Chill until firm. It should set up nicely into a moon like sphere. This should make about six good sized ones.

In low G or real G, spoon into white, round, standard (230 ml/ 1 cup) carrans (serving bowls). Chill until firm, and again it should make six.

Presentation options, after chilled, add a dusting of nutmeg or crushed nuts. Sugar sparkles are fun too.

Titan Option:While the custard is still hot, added 1 coursely grated ration square of chocolate (1 oz/ 28g). It makes chocolate moon cream.

This is known as Spanish Cream the mid 20th Century. This recipe would be rediscovered in the mid 21st century and adapted to the new environment. Go to Comment

Convert to post with a touch of fantasy please...... Go to Comment

Cook Your Own Rat on a Stick

While sorting through the Judges Guild archives I, your humble Webmaster ( johnn@roleplayingtips.com ), unearthed the following recipe. After a bit of research and some help from a reader I found out that the author was Pixie Bledsaw, who also drew some of the first art in the early days of Judges Guild. Clearly a very creative lady!

I should warn you that I haven't actually tried this recipe yet. It looks very tasty, however. It is basically cheese-stuffed meatloaf, and the mere thought of that is making me want to abandon my computer and head for the nearest kitchen. I'll report further when I have a chance to cook up some.


Ingredients

* 1 to 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
* 1/2 cup finely crushed cheddar cheese crackers
* 1 egg
* 1/4 tsp. black pepper
* 1/2 lb. cheese (Colby, Colby Cheddar, or Jack Colby)
* 1 Tbsp. honey
* 1 cup barbecue sauce
* 8 wooden meat skewers or equivalent

For optional tails:
* 4 pieces spaghetti
* red food coloring


Instructions

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
* Cut cheese into half-inch cubes. Impale cheese cubes on skewers, dividing cheese cubes evenly among skewers.
* In large bowl, mix beef, egg, cracker crumbs, and pepper. If mixture doesn't stick together well, add 2 tablespoons milk.
* Divide mixture into 8 sections.
* Press each section flat until 1/2 inch thick.
* Wrap each stick of cheese in a section of meat. Make sure there are no holes or cracks in the meat that would let the cheese leak out while baking.
* Shape top end of meat "rat" into a point.

Optional tails:
* Fill a small saucepan with water and add four drops of red food coloring. Bring to a boil.
* Break 4 sticks of spaghetti in half. Place spaghetti in water, leaving one end out of water.
* When spaghetti has softened and turned pink, remove from water.
* Using unsoftened end, insert 1 piece of spaghetti into round end of "rat."
* Drape soft end of spaghetti around handle of stick.

* Place rats on baking sheet. (One with sides.)
* Dribble honey over rats.
* Pour barbecue sauce over rats
* Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees F, basting and turning occasionally.
* Serve to hungry gamers. Go to Comment

62 Scroll Subs. I thought there was more. That brings us up to 65 recipes (not counting all those different ways to make Hard Tack). Go to Comment

Orange Rosemary Chicken - A Dish of Nobility

This dish was found in the speical event menus of many a noble house in southern Europe and around the mediterranean durring the Renaissance. The reason? Oranges were once considered a prized delicacy and not easy to obtain. In addition to the use of Oranges, known to impress, spices only available along the silk road (from India) made the dish one of nobility because of its impressive price tag.

3 Chickens (cut into pieces)
4 Cups Orange Juice
2 Tb Olive oil
1 tsp Garam Masala *1
4 Oranges
4 Springs of Rosemary
2 Turnips, peeled and cubed OR 4 large white potatoes peeled and cubed. *2
1 Parsnip, cleaned, peeled, and thinly sliced
7 Carrots cleaned and cubed
1 Leek cleaned well, diced finely (optional)
Black Peper to taste.

*Start all cleaning, peeling, cubing, and slicing. As a modern consideration, be careful with the chicken and wash everything in contact with it carefully.
*Marinate the chicken pieces in OJ for a minimum of 4 hours.
*Juice, then Zest (long curl), the 4 oranges (conserve 2 tbs zest to the side)
*In a Dutch Oven (or large pot), heat up the oil.
*Remove chicken from maranade, drip a bit, then put to the Dutch Oven
(Dispose of the maranade - in early times they would of just drank the juice or used it in the next steps, but cross contamination and all that.)
*Once browned, add bulk of orange zest, the fresh juice, and just enough water to cover the chicken.
*Add turnips, parsnips, leeks, and carrots.
*Tear rosemary in half or thirds and add to mixture.
*cook until the vegetables are tender (this could take a while)
*Pull off heat and let set of 5 minutes. If too much liquid remains, it can be poured off (but it makes a nice sauce of sorts)
*sprinks conserved zest and garam masala.
*serve family style. Serves 9-12 with some rustic bread.


*1) Garam masala is a collection of spices that have been combined, ground, and roasted. There were many regional variations on this mixture, but they all included cloves, green/ black/ brown cadamon, cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg. Most modern (and many early) ones also include dried chilli pepers, dried garlic, dried ginger, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, bay leaves, star anise, and fenel. It s now availble in specialty stores, Indian Markets, and better Megamarts, across the country.

*2) Turnips were used originally, but most modern diners are ... not accustomed to their unique tasted and textures. Potatoes were not cultivated in the Old World until long after this dish became one the well to do, not the providence of nobility. Go to Comment

Oxtail Stew

This is a classic European (and Asian) dish has many variations, served at inns and family tables. Oxtail was a cheap meat that when prepared well was most excellent (flavor and texture of prime rib - on a working man's wage). This very rich and hearty dish comes across quite well

2 Soup Pots
3 lbs oxtails
1 lb beef shoulder soup bones
2 lbs red potatoes, thinly slied
3 parsnips, peelked and shredded
1 lb leeks cut into rings
3 sprigs rosemary
1/4 cup of butter (or veg oil)
2 lbs carrots, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper (kosher salf or sea salt prefered)

*Place soup bones in large pot with enough water to cover the bones. Add 1 tsp of salt.
*Bring to low boil for about 30 minutes
*Remove and dispose of bones, reserve the broth.

*Heat butter or oil in a different soup pot.
*Add oxtails to brown.
*When somewhat done, add in leeks and garlic
*When the meat is browned, add enough of the new broth to cover the oxtails by an additional 3" (a handspan)
***You can add water to stretch this.
*Cook for one hour, add potatoes, carrots, and rosemary.
*Cook for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
*Serve in shallow bowl or a removed from liquid and served on a plate (Served on the plate has the advantage of being easier to cut the meat, so it may be fit our neater and well table mannered present diners better).
**If the goods are removed from the liquid, you can reduced the liquid to make a lovely sauce. This step is optional. Go to Comment

Tater Pie

This is a popular dish in The Villages. Traders who moved their families out of the wartorn area brought it to Antioch. From that community, it escaped to Antioch in general due to it being in a dogbound culinary book. The food carters took to it and made it their own. The most recent variation is to put in a toasted bread bowl (think Tortilla bowl). The sea clanners and traders disperse it to the Inns and Ports about the Known World Variations of this can now can be found around Avon (who grow a tremendous amount of taters and have few ways of serving them) and SecondLand. Avoners and FourthLanders make the dish with crisps of various kinds and the same basic filling, but includding some sweet and salty elements. MaskLanders have a spicier verson that was native to their land.

Ingredients:
1 tb extra virgin olive oil
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 tb garlic, minced
1 lb sirloin steak, chopped into small pieces (left over turkey or venison can be used instead)
3 cups of beef demi glace (3 cups of hot water blended with concentrated store bought demi glace)
2 tsp fresh rosemary, snipped
2 tsp fresh thyme, snipped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp crushed peppercorns or fresh ground pepper
1 tb flour
1 lb of mashed potatoes (prepped as you would)
1 tb fresh Italian parsley, snipped
1 tb unsalted butter, melted

*In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat; stir in the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic.
*Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes).
*Add the sirloin and increase the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned (about 5 minutes).
*Add the beef demi glace, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; reduce heat to low. (Demi glace can be purchased at higher-end and specialty grocery stores.)
*Simmer the pot with the beef, demi glace, and vegetables until the beef if cooked through (10 – 15 minutes); whisk in the flour until thickened. (I can suggest using just a bit of demi glace or other liquid in with the flour, spend the time to mix it well, then incorporate with the wisk).
*With the mashed potatoes, stir in the parsley and blend. (Leftovered potatoes are the best way to go, but feel free to make some earlier before you start the rest of the project).
*Divide the beef and vegetable mixture into 4 portions in 1 cup ramekins.
*Spread the mashed potatoes over the top and brush with the melted butter.
*Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the potatoes are lightly browned (approx 20-25 minutes).
**Warning these will stay hot for quite a whle.
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This is a "Writing Exercise" mostly.  Find a recipe you like and apply a touch of fantasy/ history to it. I found some recipes that match what is served in various regions of my game world for example.   Or simply find a way to make it relate to a game. (Moon Cream is a science fiction recipe). 

I will go back here and fix all this bad formatting. GGGRRRRRRR annoying updates slapped my formatting.

 

 

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And thank you. I was just logging on to fix all fo that. You have saved me good sir. Go to Comment