Nephalem, you should stay a while and listen to this latest recipe!

After much planning and thinking, I’m ready to go on my next culinary adventure in Sanctuary with a brand new series called “Sanctuary Sliders”. My goal is to create sliders representing regions, monsters, and residents of Sanctuary.

It’ll be a very ambitious project, but I think I’m geared up enough to do it! If you wanna pass a few pieces of gold my way to support this project and the blog, please visit my Patreon.

We’re starting series off with where it all begins in Diablo III — New Tristram!

I’ve gone and gathered the best ingredients I could for these special sliders:

• Mushrooms, arugula, tomatoes and onions from the Forlorn Farm…
• Beef sourced from only the finest place that totally is Not the Cow Level…
• Ale from the lovely Slaughtered Calf Inn…
• And local goat cheese acquired from the goat…men? Um…Yeah…

Well, let’s get cooking!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 2 tablespoons of worcestershire
4. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
5. 2 cups of ale
6. 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
7. 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
8. 1 small red onion, sliced
9. 1 steak tomato, sliced
10. chevre goat cheese
11. 2 cups of arugula
12. 6 small ciabatta rolls
13. 2 lbs of lean ground beef (I used 94/6)

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is about 20 minutes. Cook time is about 35 minutes. This will make about 6 sliders.

OPENING

1. Set a pan on high heat.
2. Add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Saute your onions and mushrooms for about 2 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to medium.
5. Add in 1/2 cup of your ale. Allow the ale to cook out for about 3 minutes.
6. Remove the vegetables the pan and set aside.
7. Using a damp towel, wipe away any charred vegetable bits.

MID GAME

1. In a large bowl, combine your ground beef with your worcestershire sauce and chopped garlic.
2. Add in salt and pepper.
3. Add in your remaining ale and stir it into the mix.
   
4. Begin shaping the meat into burger patties. Use a spoon to help portion out the meat. You’ll want to take about 2 spoonfuls of meat. Roll that into a ball and firmly press it flat with your hands.
5. Continue doing this until you have 6 large patties. Remember, these patties will shrink during cooking!

LATE GAME

1. Set a pan on high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Once it’s come up to heat, add in 3 – 4 patties (depending on the size of your pan).
3. Let them cook on one side for about 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for 5 minutes. The ale will bubble out of the meat at this time. Once done, remove them from the heat and set aside.
   
4. While the patties are cooking, place the ciabatta rolls in the oven at 350° for about 2-3 minutes to toast them. Remove them from the oven and cut them open.
5. Begin building your sliders! Spread the goat cheese on top of the burger patty so it melts. Add your caramelized onions and mushrooms over the goat cheese. You can place the remaining vegetables how ever you’d like.
   
6. Eat!

NEPHALEM, gg wp!

Now you can sit back, relax and an enjoy a good book with your sliders. You may even want to consider staying a while and listening… ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The incredible Meru also took some gorgeous photos for your enjoyment. <3 Feast your eyes on the following food porn:

drool

These sliders will keep your tummy happy while you battle the onslaught of demons!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first installment of this multi-part recipe series. Stay tuned for the next Sanctuary Sliders! See you around, Nephalem!

It’s been a pretty hot summer here, so anything frozen is a welcomed refreshment. With the new season of Diablo underway, it was time to create a chilling dish that would combat the heat from the Burning Hells.

JUSTICE is best served cold! Right Tyrael?

This recipe is pretty easy, so you’ll be able to whip it up between your rift runs! Plus, it’s got a little bit of booze in it. A nice way to end summer with one last tropical cocktail!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 2 oz of blue curacao
2. 3 oz of rum
3. 1 cup of pineapples, chopped
4. 3 – 4 pineapple spears
5. 1 can of coconut cream

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is about 15 minutes. Chill time is about 8 hours (~6 hours without alcohol). This will make about 6 popsicles.

You will want a popsicle mold that has a removable shell. I’m using Zoku popsicle makers for this. This can be done with a standard mold, but it may be a bit trickier!

OPENING

1. Take your pineapple spears and cut them into strips. The goal is to create rays of light similar to this:
   
2. Once you’re happy with the shape and size of the pineapple rays, place them inside the popsicle mold.
3. Place the molds face down in the freezer and let the pineapple harden for about 5 minutes.
4. Any left over pineapple pieces from this process can be added into the next step!

MID GAME

1. While your pineapples are freezing, combine your pineapples, coconut cream, and rum in a blender.
2. Remove your molds from the freezer. Place the molds in their holder so they’re standing up straight.
3. Slowly pour in the mixture into each mold.

LATE GAME

1. Carefully pour blue curacao into each mold. Since the piña colada mixture is dense, the curacao should easily sit on top of it.
2. Using a chopstick or knife, gently poke the curacao into the piña colada mix. You’ll want to focus mainly on the edges of the popsicle mold in order to make the blue color more prominent. This is the same technique used for the burning hells popsicles.
3. Return the popsicles to the freezer and allow it to chill for about 8 hours.
4. When the popsicles are ready, use warm water to help ease the popsicles out of their molds.
5. Eat!

Now you’ve got a cool treat worthy of the Angels. GG WP!

Now, get back to rifting! See you in Sanctuary, Nephalem!

When I found out the Butcher was stomping his way into the Nexus, I was over joyed. Thankfully, the wait is over and you can now enjoy everyone’s favorite meat-crazed demon in Heroes of the Storm!

What a fitting mount! Let’s hope Billie doesn’t end up grilled after this game...

He’s one of the most memorable bosses from the Diablo series, and when I first started playing Diablo III, I thought the Act I fight against him was pretty awesome.

You basically run the risk of being completely engulfed in flames if you can’t kill him before his enrage timer.

Toasty!

You would think that since he’s always surrounded by fire, he’d be pretty good at barbecuing. Do you think they have BBQ competitions in Sanctuary and the Burning Hells? Hmmm…

Anyway, since I don’t have a BBQ grill, I decided to create a different type of meaty treat. It’s a spicy little meatloaf full of FRESH MEAT! VEGETABLES BAD. MEAT GOOD!

And because The Butcher lives in such a sizzling place, I decided to add a little heat with some fresh jalapeño peppers. Of course, that is only Torment I level spice… If you wanna bump it up to Torment VI, add in some habañero. But if you want to go to Torment X, I suggest you try getting your hands on some crushed Ghost Chili Peppers and some Trinidad Scorpion Chilies.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
4. 1 tablespoon of cumin
5. 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
6. 1/2 cup of ketchup
7. 1 egg
8. 5 cloves of garlic, diced
9. 1 cup of bread crumbs
10. 1 onion diced
11. 1 bell pepper, diced
12. 2 jalapeño peppers, diced
13. 1 lb of chorizo, casing removed
14. 1 lb of bacon
15. 1 lb of ground lean beef (I used 90/10)

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is about 45 minutes. Total cook time is 1 hour 10 minutes. This makes about 5 servings.

OPENING

1. Set a pan on medium heat and add in your olive oil.
2. Sweat your diced onions and garlic.
3. Remove and set aside. You’ll want them to cool before adding them to your meat mixture.

MID GAME

1. In a bowl, combine your chorizo and ground beef.
2. Season lightly with your salt, pepper and cumin. Since the chorizo is already spiced, you don’t need to add that much more seasoning.
3. Add in your worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Stir to combine.
4. Add in your egg and bread crumbs. Stir to combine.
5. Add in your diced bell pepper and jalapeño peppers and stir. You may have to use your hands at this point to make sure the mixture is thoroughly combined.

LATE GAME

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Remember, this dish has chorizo AND bacon, so there will be a A LOT of fat and oils! Make sure your dish is properly lined to reduce clean-up!
3. Pour your meat mixture onto the baking sheet and form it into a loaf.
   
4. Now comes the fun part: create a bacon weave over your meatloaf! If you don’t want to create a bacon weave, you can wrap the bacon around the meatloaf in any way you’d like.
   
5. Place the meatloaf in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature hits 160°.
6. Let rest for 5 minutes.
7. Eat!

GG WP!

Now you’re ready to serve this meaty meal to your fellow Nephalems in Sanctuary or your team of Heroes in the Nexus! Just make sure you don’t let Tyrael get to this… You know how he is about eating.

“Being a mortal is very complicated”

Aww yes….FRESH MEAT.

See you in the Eternal Conflict!

The weather has been heating up which means that summer is upon us! You know what will cool you down in the heat? POPSICLES!

So, I invited an honorable guest to help me create these frozen delicacies… And let me tell you, he sure knows a thing or two about how to deal with the heat!

Tiny bourbon for a tiny Lord of Terror.

I imagine that it must get pretty damn hot in the Burning Hells, and I would think that Diablo likes to enjoy a good cocktail or two while he’s plotting the demise of the Nephalem. I always knew he was an Old Fashioned kind of demon.

For this recipe, instead of going with something spicy to burn your mouth , I decided to go with a different type of burn: BOOZE!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 oz of bitters
2. 3 oz of bourbon
3. 1 cup of cherries, pitted
4. 2 cups of orange juice
5. 1 peach, chopped
6. OPTIONAL: sweetener of your choice*

*These popsicles are a little bit on the tart side, if you want it to be sweeter, feel free to add 1/2 tablespoon to each of the mixtures before freezing.

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this recipe is about 20 minutes. Total idle time is about 8 hours (or 5 – 6 hours if you make this without the alcohol).
This makes about 6 popsicles.

OPENING

1. Combine your chopped peach and 1 cup of orange juice in a blender. Add in 1/2 of your bitters and bourbon.
2. Blend the mixture and set aside.

MID GAME

1. Combine your remaining orange juice, bourbon, bitters and cherries in a blender.
2. Blend the mixture and set aside. The cherry mixture should be less viscous than the peach mixture.

LATE GAME

1. Begin pouring in your orange and peach mixture into each popsicle mold. You’ll want to fill it up to 2/3 of the mold.
2. Top off each mold with the cherry mixture. Using a chopstick or knife, poke the cherry mixture into the peach mixture. This will cause the cherry color to bleed into the orange color.
3. Let chill for 8 hours.
4. Remove the popsicles from the mold.
5. Eat!

GG WP!

Since this recipe does contain alcohol, I do recommend making these popsicles right before you sleep since alcohol takes a much longer time to freeze. As a result, they’ll also defrost faster once you take them out, so eat them quickly!

If you don’t like alcohol, or if you want to make this kid-friendly, this recipe works great without the bourbon and bitters. You’ll just need to add a little bit more orange juice.

Now, go forth and enjoy the warm weather, Nephalem!

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time playing Diablo III recently. It’s the 3rd season, and with every season, there’s always a new build for each class. For the past 3 seasons, I’ve always stuck to playing Demon Hunter and only Demon Hunter. #DHLIFE

I’m super creative with names too.

The build that seems to be the latest hotness is the Natalya’s set. Not only does it do insane damage, but you look super cool doing it. Your DH probably gets super dizzy though…

SPIN TO WIN ISN’T JUST FOR BARBS ANYMORE!

This 3rd season also happens to fall during the 3rd anniversary of Diablo III. HOW PECULIAR. Diablo Life 3 confirmed. 

In honor of their anniversary, I decided to bake up something sweet. It’s something that you could nibble on during your Greater Rift runs. It’s the edible form of Greater Rift Keys!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. pinch of salt
2. 1 teaspoon of vanilla
3. 1 tablespoon of agave (feel free to adjust this depending on how sweet you like your cookies)
4. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, melted
5. zest from 1/2 a lemon
6. 1 1/4 cup of blueberries
7. 2 eggs
8. 2 tablespoons of lemon curd
9. 1 cup of coconut flour

recipe adapted from detoxinista.com 

Since this recipe is using coconut flour, it’s gluten-free! Hooray!
Wanna make it vegan? Substitute 1 banana for the 2 eggs.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe takes about 10 minutes. Decorating time is about 10 minutes. Cook time is about 15 minutes. This makes about 10 cookies.

OPENING

1. In a large bowl, combine your salt, flour, lemon zest, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla and agave.
2. Stir until thoroughly combined.

MID GAME

1. Puree your blueberries.
   
2. Add it into your batter. This will give the keystones a purple color.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Scoop out golf-ball sized balls from the batter. Shape them to look like keystones.
   

LATE GAME

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350°.
2. Using a chopstick or knife, carve out numbers (I choose 3 just because it’s the 3rd anniversary) or infinity symbols.
3. Place your lemon curd in a ziplock bag. Cut off the end. Pipe the curd into the carvings.
   
4. Use a butter knife to smooth out the designs and the cookies.
   
5. Bake for 13 – 15 minutes.
6. Eat!

Now, you’re ready to tackle rifts! GG WP, Nephalem.

Now, you can enjoy these tasty little treats all by yourself with a cup of your favorite tea. Or, you can share them with some friends from Sanctuary.

Happy 3rd anniversary, Diablo III! Hope your birthday week is full of not cows… I mean, why would you even bring that up? There’s no cows ever.

Sanctuary is a scary scary place. You never know what sort of demons are lurking in the shadows! But you know what you can use to scare away demons?

The Bottomless Potion of Fear is the latest addition to the Legendary Potion arsenal. When used, it will fear surrounding enemies. However, one thing I noticed is that this potion looks strangely familiar to açaí juice!

I love açaí. It has a very interesting taste and I love incorporating it into my daily breakfast. So why not create a delicious smoothie that’s great in the mornings and great while slaying demons in Westmarch?

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1/2 cup of rolled oats
2. 1/2 tablespoon of raw agave
3. 1 cup of pineapples
4. 1 cup of blueberries
5. 2 cups of açaí berry juice

If you want your smoothie to be icier, use frozen blueberries and pineapples. This recipe is also vegan!

BUILD ORDER

This recipe takes about 7 minutes total to make. This will make 1 serving.

1. Place your oats in your blender and pour your açaí juice over the oats. Allow the oats to soak up the juice.
   
2. Add in your pineapples and blueberries. Blend to combine.
3. Add in your agave. If this isn’t sweet enough, feel free to add more.
4. Enjoy!

GG, WP Nephalem!

This recipe is easy, quick, and healthy. You’ll feel refreshed and ready to take on the day… Even if that day includes facing the Lord of Terror.

HEY, THAT’S MY DRINK!

If you’re looking for more Sanctuary inspired drinks to quench your thirst, check out the Bottomless Potion of Kulle-Aid and the fabled Bottomless Potion of Pumpkin Spice.

[tweet https://twitter.com/kierpanda/status/514235954047893504 width=’600′]

I have spent my shopping days wandering the aisles of various stores looking for their most pumpkiny of offerings. I assume that my apartment will soon be covered by a thin film of pumpkin spice flavor for the duration of fall.

[tweet https://twitter.com/kierpanda/status/516791705149140992 width=’600′]

I enjoy pumpkin spice so much that the very talented @Urgoslav made me a gif compiling some delectable pumpkin spice treasures that I’ve posted to my Twitter.

[tweet https://twitter.com/Urgoslav/status/514607282605158400 width=’600′]

 So when Lylirra informed me about this thread, I went into a pumpkin spice fueled fury. DIABLO and PUMPKIN SPICE? Two of my most favoritest things in the world combined into one delicious and healthy treat? WHY YES, NEPHALEM.

Little Lord of Terror makes a new friend!

It has been oddly hot here in Northern California, so a refreshing smoothie is something I needed to beat this heatwave.

Much like my last bottomless potion recipe, Bottomless Potion of Kulle-Aid, this Bottomless Potion of Pumpkin Spice will also be a very simple-to-make drink.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
2. 1/4 teaspoon of ginger
3. 1/8 teaspoon of cloves
4. 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
5. 1/2 tablespoon of honey (substitute agave to make it vegan!)
6. 2 teaspoons of chia seeds
7. 1 cup of almond milk (substitute for regular milk, soy, or coconut milk)
8. 3/4 cup of canned pumpkin

You can also use pumpkin pie spice instead of getting cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Just use about 3/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this is about 15 minutes. This makes 2 servings.

1. Combine your cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
2. Pour your pumpkin and spices into a blender. Drizzle in your honey.
3. Pour in your chia seeds.
4. Begin blending your pumpkin smoothie while slowly pouring in your almond milk. Blend until thoroughly combined.
5. Enjoy!

This smoothie will taste like a big ol’ pumpkin pie in your cup. Enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anytime you need to quell your pumpkin spice cravings!

Not only is this smoothie very easy to craft, but it’s very nutritious for you as well. Chia seeds and pumpkin are both full of fiber. It’s the perfect hands-free nutrition you need to squash your hunger while squashing the demons of hell.

So drink up, Nephalem!

See you in Sanctuary!

I must admit that I had an insanely difficult time choosing the winner. Even though the Diablo NA and EU community teams had chosen the top recipes from tons of entries, there was still the huge challenge of picking the overall best recipe. There were dishes from all walks of life — from savory dishes inspired by various regional cuisines to sinfully sweet treats with a very Diablo flare. Sanctuary is filled with tons of creative chefs!

But, one recipe stood out from the rest.

One nephalem traveled to the dusty deserts outside of Caldeum and captured a Sand Shark, cooked it up, and created a legendary Caldeum delicacy! I present to you the winning recipe of the Reaper of Souls Challenge:

Fish-aficionados will note that the fish isn’t a hake, but rather a mackerel — I’ll explain why later.

The winning recipe, Sand Shark Caldeum Style, was artfully crafted by Louis S., though he is more commonly known in Sanctuary as Nerzulaman! Here’s the photo he submitted along with his outstanding recipe:

FIERCE! He did an excellent job at recreating a Sand Shark in food form!!

So, if you want to try to create this delicious dish in the comfort of your own kitchen, here’s what you’re going to need to gather:

UNIT COMPOSITION

Please note that I’ve made some rough conversions from metric to American standard measurement units. The units in parenthesis are the accurate measurements from Nerzulaman’s original recipe.

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
4. 2 teaspoon of olive oil
5. 1 clove of garlic, minced
6. 1 shallot, minced
7. 1/2 of a red onion, diced
8. 1 teaspoon of powdered hazelnut (50g)  (I bought whole hazelnut and grinded it on a microplane — this is roughly ~4 hazelnuts)
9. 1 egg
10. 1 lemon
11. 1/2 cup of flour
12. 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
13. 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
14. 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream (15cl)
15. 1 1/2 cup of rainbow quinoa, rinsed (180g)
16. 1 firm apple (I used a granny smith apple)
17. 1 whole hake, cleaned and gutted (25-30cm long, or ~11-12 inches) — (I substituted mackerel for hake here)

I mentioned a bit further up that the fish I used for this recipe is a mackerel instead of a hake. The silver hake is a species of hake typically found on the Eastern United States. Unfortunately, I’m on the Western United States, so finding whole hake is a bit more difficult here. I decided to go with a fish that was readily available here and is somewhat similar size to the hake. The mackerel is a bit smaller, so cooking times have been slightly adjusted.

Basically, my recipe is for tiny sand sharks, while Nerzulaman’s is for big sand sharks.

If you’re looking for a fish that has a similar flavor to hake, cod is a good substitute. Mackerel belongs in the “oily fish” category (with salmon and tuna), while hake belongs to the “white fish” category (with cod and halibut).

Anyway, I’ve included Nerzulaman’s original cook times and mine in parenthesis.

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this dish is roughly 25 minutes. Cook time is roughly 35 minutes. This will make 2 servings.

OPENING

1. Wash and cut your apple into two halves. Use one half and cut them into thin wedges (this will be used for the “fins”). Marinate these wedges in balsamic vinegar.
2. Cut the rest of the apple into small cubes with your shallots, garlic, and red onion.
3. Heat a pan on high heat and add in on 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
4. Sautee your cubed apple, shallots, garlic, and red onion.
5. Once they have caramelized, deglaze your pan by using some of the balsamic vinegar from your apples.
6. Remove from heat and reserve. You’ll use this to stuff the fish.

MID GAME

1. Empty and clean the cavity of the fish, and open its belly until the base of the tail.
2. Use a sharp knife to score the skin around the tail, then remove the dorsal fin cutting along the dorsal cartilage head.
3. Preheat your oven to ~350° F (180° C). Once your oven comes up to temperature, bake the fish for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the fish from the oven and gently peel back the skin from tail to the head by pulling the skin along the line in the middle of the threads so as not to tear it. You will want to be extra careful with this process because you don’t want to damage the flesh of the fish. If you have patches of skin (especially around the fins) scrape them gently with the back of a knife lightly oiled, always from tail to head.
5. Gently open the cavity of the fish and begin stuffing it with your filling. You’ll want to stuff the fish so that it will be able to stand on its own. If have extra stuffing, you can use it to prop his head up after cooking.
6. Sprinkle your flour onto the fish. Gently rub off any excess flour.
7. Mix your egg, remaining olive oil, juice from 1/2 of a lemon, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. This will be your egg wash.
8. Generously brush the fish with your egg wash. Then, sprinkle your bread crumbs onto the fish. If you have excess, tap it off the fish.
9. Set your oven to ~390°F (200°C) for 15 minutes (12 minutes for my mackerel). Use aluminum foil to cover the head to prevent tarnish (I failed and forgot to do this, so my sandshark is a bit…. uhhh, well let’s just say he should have used moisturizer). 
10. While your fish is baking, prepare the quinoa.

LATE GAME

1. In a saucepan, add your quinoa, 1 1/2 cup of water and your cream. Set your sauce pan to medium heat. Add in your hazelnut and nutmeg.
2. Once the quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, salt to taste.
3. Now it’s time to build your plate! Fill a dish with your quinoa “sand”, and make a small indentation for your fish.
4. Transfer your baked fish to the plate. Make slits on the fish for where you’d like to place your apple wedge fins. Insert the fins onto your fish. If your fins aren’t pointy enough, prune them with a pairing knife to your liking.
5. Surround the fish with the “sand” and add in your apple wedge fins into the sand. These will be the Sand Shark’s claws.
6. If desired, add in extra lemon juice on the fish and cream to your quinoa.
7. Eat!

Here’s how mine turned out. I definitely think Nerzulaman’s looks much cooler though. I will admit that I ran out of apple slices for the fins on the side… I was snacking a bit too much during the cooking process!

GG WP!

Maybe your Sand Shark will turn out to be Razormouth and you’ll be able to snag an Essence of the Twin Seas.

I wasn’t so lucky. But, he sure was delicious!

Just remember to be weary of bones when slaying this beast! Since this is full fish, there are still bones present in the flesh. To avoid the bones as best as possible, lay the fish on its side and enjoy it one side at a time. You should be left with the spine fairly intact.

OM NOM NOM NOM!

So congratulations, Nerzulaman! Your creative recipe has earned you a fancy Horadric cache worth of goodies!

‘Till next time, Nephalem!

So, I invited the Prime Evil himself to join us for a pre-birthday dinner:

You’re so much cuter in person!

For this prime rib, I decided to try something different with the sauce, so I opted for a sweeter sauce that uses port wine as a base. Aww yissss. If you want a more traditional sauce, I recommend going for the tried-and-true aus jus sauce.

Cooking a standing rib roast sounds like it might be a Torment IV-level culinary challenge, but it’s actually pretty simple. It just takes some patience, some prep work, and some good technology!

UNIT COMPOSITION

For the prime rib:

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
4. 4lb standing rib roast, bones cut away and tied (your butcher can do this for you)
   

MEAT GOOD!

For the sides:

1. salt
2. 3 tablespoons of butter
3. 1 cup of milk
4. 1 head of garlic
5. 1/2 cup of asiago cheese or shredded parmesan
6. 1 1/2 lbs of red potatoes, cleaned and chopped into quarters
7. 1/2 lb of asparagus

For the sauce:

1. 1/2 cup of port wine
2. 1 cup of cherry preserves

Note: I highly recommend using a probe thermometer for this recipe! I have this one.

The reason is that prime rib roasts come in all shapes and sizes, which means that cooking times will vary based off the size and the temperature consistency of your oven. By using a probe thermometer, you will be able to know when your roast reaches the correct temperature (and desired done-ness):

via What’s Cooking America

BUILD ORDER

Allow the rib roast to come up to room temperature for about 3-4 hours prior to cooking. Prep time for this dish will take about 1 hour. Total cook time for the roast can range from 1hr – 2hrs. Cook time for the sides is about 40 minutes. This dish will make about 3-4 servings.

If you would like to roast a larger rib roast, it’ll roughly be about 1 rib for 2 people (1 rib is roughly 2lbs). A rough estimate for total cooking time is roughly about 15 – 18 minutes per pound, HOWEVER, use a meat thermometer as your guide for when you should remove the roast from the oven. Once the roast has hit it’s target temperature (view the “Level of Doneness” chart above), you should take it out of the oven.

I recommend purchasing your rib roast ahead of time so you can dry-age it in your refrigerator (set your temp to about 40°F). Dry-aging the meat will get rid of excess moisture and will intensify the flavor of the meat — basically your meat will be more meaty.

The Butcher recommends that you dry-age your meat when you can!

To dry-age your rib roast, place your rib roast on a cooling rack in a baking dish. Wrap your rib roast in paper towels (or cheese cloth) and place your rib roast in the fridge. Change the towels every 24 hours.

You can dry-age your rib roast for a week in your fridge (you may need to trim away the uber-dry parts of the rib roast). I kind of waited until the last minute to pick up my rib roast, so mine only had about 3 days of dry-aging.

OPENING

1. Pre-heat your oven to 500°F. 
2. Season your rib roast with salt and pepper. Rub your olive oil into the rib roast.
3. Place the probe of your thermometer in the thickest part the meat (not touching the bone).
4. Once your oven has come up to temperature, place your rib roast in the oven. Allow it cook for about 5 minutes at this temperature, and then immediately drop the temperature to 325°F. The high heat is used to build a crust on the roast. 
5. Place a head of garlic wrapped in foil in your oven (you can place this directly on the rack). The garlic will be used for your mashed potatoes.
6. Allow the roast to cook until it reaches its desired level of doneness/target temperature (program your thermometer to beep at the desired temperature). While the rib roast is cooking, prepare your sides.

MID GAME

1. Set a pot of water to boil. While the water is still cold, add in your chopped red potatoes. Season the water with salt.
2. Allow the potatoes to boil for about 10 minutes, or until soft. Strain the potatoes and add the potatoes back to the pot.
3. Add in your cheese, milk, and butter.
4. Remove your garlic from the oven and peel away the skin — be careful, because it will still be hot!
5. Add in 3-5 roasted garlic cloves into your potatoes and mash to combine. Keep warm until the roast is ready to be served.
6. Prepare your asparagus and gently steam them over hot water for about 6 minutes.

LATE GAME

1. Once the roast has reached the target temperature, remove it from the oven and place it on a separate plate. Allow the roast to rest for about 10 – 15 minutes. The roast will continue cooking while it’s resting.
2. Strain the excess oil from the roasting pan and add the drippings into a sauce pan (if you didn’t use foil in your roasting pan, you can cook your sauce directly in the roasting pan over your stove).
3. Heat your sauce pan on medium heat and add in your port wine.
4. Add in your cherry preserves and stir until combined. Allow the sauce to reduce.
5. Once the roast has finished resting, move it to a cutting board. Carefully cut the rib bones away from the roast (if you had your butcher pre-cut the bone away and tie it, this part will be super easy).
6. Slice your roast into 1/2 inch pieces. Plate with your sides and serve with your cherry port wine sauce.
7. Eat!

Once plated, you should have something that looks sort of like this:

GG WP, Nephalem!

And here’s the prime rib drenched in the diabolical sauce. MEAT GOOD!

And of course, here’s a shot of Diablo enjoying his own special meal! HOW TASTES YOUR ROAST, NEPHALEM?

If you’re looking for a dessert to celebrate Diablo III’s birthday, check out what I made last year: Heart of Sin Cakes!

Happy Birthday, Diablo III!

I’ve got some very exciting news — I’ve teamed up with the amazing folks at Blizzard to present to you the Reaper of Recipes Challenge!

What is the Reaper of Recipes Challenge? Well, it’s the ultimate Diablo-themed cooking contest!

Your goal is to create the most incredible and delicious Diablo III-inspired recipe in all of Sanctuary.

To enter, submit your recipe in English with a complete ingredient list and step-by-step instructions, to RecipeChallenge@blizzard.com by Sunday, May 11th.
This contest is open to all regions.

The tastiest recipes will be selected by the Diablo community team and will be sent to me for the final round of judging.

I will be judging the recipes based off of:

1. Representation of the Diablo III theme
2. Creativity / Originality
3. Taste

The winning recipe will then be cooked, photographed, and featured on my blog. Your culinary masterpiece will also be showcased on the Diablo website!

But, that’s not all… I’m also sweetening the deal by providing the winner with a lovely Horadric Cache worth of loot! Here’s what inside:

TASTY!

(1) Diablo III Collector’s Edition
(1) Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector’s Edition
(1) Book of Cain
(1) Book of Tyrael

I am very excited to see all of your creations! Don your legendary chef’s hat and grab your sharpest knives because it’s time to start cooking!

If you have any specific questions about the contest, please send me a tweet @kierpanda.

Good luck, Nephalem!

By the way, if you ever need to grill something, I think I might know someone who can help you…