If you’re ever feeling hungry in World of Warcraft, you can always ask a friendly mage to conjure up some delicious refreshments. It’s like POOF, food just comes out of no where!

Unfortunately, I didn’t roll a mage, so I have to create brownies a different way: by scratch!

Whelplings love brownies!

These conjured mana brownies vary from its Azeroth-counterpart because they’re packed with protein and caffeine. Talk about a real mana boost!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 egg*
2. 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3. 2 scoops of Quest salted caramel protein powder
4. 1 1/2 tablespoons of almond butter
5. 2 tablespoons of raw agave
6. 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut
7. 1/2 cup of cocoa
8. 1/2 cup of apple sauce
9. 5 -6 oz of espresso
10. 1 teaspoon of coconut oil

*Make this recipe vegan by substituting the egg for 1/4 cup of apple sauce!

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe takes about 15 minutes. Cook time is 20 minutes. This will make about 12 brownies.

Each brownie contains: 5g of Protein, 2g of Fat, 5g of Carbs and 2g of Fiber.

Recipe adapted from the Buff Dude’s Protein Brownies.

OPENING

1. In a large bowl, combine your salted caramel protein powder with your cocoa.
2. Add in your egg and vanilla extract. Stir until mostly combined.
3. Add in your almond butter, agave, and apple sauce. Stir.

MID GAME

1. Add in your espresso and stir. At this point, the batter should be at a “runny” consistency.
2. Add in your shredded coconut and stir. This will add some texture and thicken the batter.

LATE GAME

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350° F.
2. Place 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a baking dish. Use a paper towel to rub the coconut oil inside the dish to thoroughly grease it.
3. Pour your batter into the baking dish.
   
4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the brownie has baked through. You can test this with a toothpick — just poke the brownie with a toothpick; if the toothpick comes out clean, then you’re done!
5. Let the brownie cool for about 5 minutes. Then, cut it into even squares.
6. Eat!

GG WP!

Now you’ve got a delicious conjured mana brownie to enjoy! You can keep it all to yourself, or you can share it with some magical friends:

I’m sure those faerie dragons love protein! I mean, how do you think Brightwing got so strong? I bet she eats a TON of protein.

Happy adventuring!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

Pepe is the adorable little bird who lives in your Garrison. You can bring him out on peaceful adventures like running around Draenor destroying your greatest enemies. Hooray!

“Let’s go rekt people, Pepe!”

I thought it was time to immortalize Pepe into a delicious and delectable treat. I had experimented with recreating Pepe as a meringue cookie, but it didn’t work out. When I stumbled upon Maqaron’s tutorial on how to create a no-bake bunny cheesecake, I knew that was the answer!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. 1 pinch of salt
2. 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
3. 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
4. 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
5. 1 tablespoon of chocolate powder (decoration)
6. 2 tablespoons of agave nectar
7. 1 cup of walnuts
8. 1 cup of pecans
9. 2 cups of mascarpone cheese
10. 3 cups of greek yogurt
11. zest from 1 orange
12. 5 – 6 drops of red and yellow food coloring
13. 1 square of white chocolate
14. 4 squares of dark chocolate

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this is about 45 minutes – 1 hour. Chill time for this is 4 – 6 hours.
This makes about 8-10 servings!

OPENING

1. Add the nuts into a food processor. Add in your coconut oil.
2. Season with your nutmeg and cinnamon. Pulse the nuts until they form a fine paste.
3. Using foil, create the outline of Pepe. Basically, you’ll want to take a large sheet of foil and fold it horizontally until the sheet is about 4″ in height. Create a sheet that is about 10″ in length. This will be the body.
4. Create another one that is about 6″ in length and 3″ in height. This will be the head. Shape the foil to a pointed tip.
5. Tape the two pieces of foil together and place them into a baking dish. I used a 15×10″ glass baking dish. Adjust the foil to the size of the baking dish.
6. Where the two foil shapes combine, make a cut into the foil. You’ll want to cut a rectangle that is 2″ high and 3″ across. You’ll want to leave a 2″ “bridge” that holds the two foil shapes together. See this portion of Maqaron’s tutorial for better clarification.
7. Tape down the entire foil mold to your baking dish.
8. Slowly add in the ground nuts to the base of the mold. Firmly press the ground nuts into place. This will be your crust.
   
9. Place the entire thing in the fridge and allow it to cool.

MID GAME

1. Place your mascarpone cheese and yogurt in a large bowl. Add in your agave and a pinch of salt.
2. Whisk gently until combined. Take about 1 cup of the mixture and set aside. This will be the white parts for Pepe’s eyes and stomach.
3. Zest the orange over the cheesecake filling. Fold in the orange zest.
4. Slowly add in the red and yellow food coloring. Continue folding the cheesecake filling until orange. If the color isn’t bright enough, add in more color.
   
5. Remove your mold from the fridge.
6. Spread the orange cheesecake mix over the crust.
   
7. Place it back in the fridge for about 5 minutes.
8. Take your white cheesecake mix and spread portions over the orange part like so:
   
9. Place it back in the freezer and allow it to cool for at least 4 hours.

LATE GAME

1. Slowly cut away the foil mold from Pepe.
2. Using two spatulas (highly recommend getting some help with this!), gently lift Pepe from the baking dish and place him on a large dish. Use a butter knife to smooth out the edges.
3. Using a double boiler, melt your dark chocolates and white chocolate separately.
4. Gently pour “V” shapes with the dark chocolate on a piece of parchment paper. This will become Pepe’s feet.
5. Pour a triangle shape to create his beak and two circles for his eyes.
6. Place the chocolate in the fridge and allow it to cool for about 2 minutes.
7. Remove the chocolate from the fridge. Using the white chocolate, draw two white circles on top the dark chocolate eyes. Place them back in the fridge.
8. Using a sifter, dust the dark chocolate powder over the tip of Pepe’s head.
9. Place the chocolate decorations on Pepe.
10. Eat!

GG WP!

The super talented Meru came by and took these awesome photos of my Pepe cheesecake! Did I mention she is AMAZINGLY talented when it comes to food?  SERIOUSLY!

Chirp chirp!

Since cheesecake is so decadent, I highly recommend that you share it with friends.

Selama Ashal’anore!

Everyone’s favorite vengeful Blood Elf mage, Kael’thas Sunstrider made his way into the Nexus a few months back. I’ve had a chance to play him several times in ranked, but honestly, I’m not super comfortable with his play style.

I’m more of a Jaina kind of gal (awwwwkward). However, Kael’thas is still a super fun hero to play! I mean, c’mon, FREE living bombs?! YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. AND YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. EVERYONE GETS A LIVING BOMB!

And it’s all thanks to those magical Verdant Spheres. Those Verdant Spheres are his signature accessory. A powerful fashion statement only worn by most haute blood mages!

I’ve immortalized these iconic artifacts in food form: edamame falafels! These falafels are packed full of nutrients which will surely keep you fueled during your quest for vengeance.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 cup of tahini sauce*
4. 1 tablespoon of cumin
5. 1 tablespoon of coriander
6. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
7. 5 – 7 cloves of garlic, diced
8. 1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
9. 1/2 cup of parsley, roughly chopped
10. 1 1/2 cups of edamame, shelled
11. 1 onion, roughly diced
12. 2 jalapeños, diced

*To make homemade tahini sauce, combine: tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is roughly 15 minutes. Cook time is about 35 minutes. This makes about 3 servings (about 3 falafels each).

OPENING

1. Put your onion, edamame, onion, cilantro, 1 jalapeño, and 1/4 cup of parsley in a food processor.
2. Add in your salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander.
3. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to combine.
4. Continue until it forms a smooth paste.
5. Remove and set aside.

MID GAME

1. Set your oven to 375° F.
2. Line a pan or baking dish with parchment paper.
3. Using a spoon, scoop out golf ball sized balls of the falafel dough. Roughly shape them into a sphere and drop them onto the parchment paper. Use a butter knife to smooth out the balls.
4. Bake for 35 minutes or crispy. In order to keep them green, I decided not to flip them.

LATE GAME

1. Place tahini sauce, jalapeño pepper, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and your remaining parsley in a food processor.
2. Process until it’s a smooth paste.
3. Dip a spoon in the sauce and place the back of the spoon against a plate. Drag the spoon up and lift carefully to create a smear affect (or the flame for the verdant spheres).
4. Place one of the falafels on top of the sauce.
5. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle parsley over the plate.
6. Eat!

GG WP!

Now you can embrace AND eat the power of Verdant Spheres! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ GLORY TO THE SIN’DOREI! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

I’ve been wanting to make Gorgrond Chowder for a while… So I finally had a chance to sit down and hammer out the recipe. I wanted to do it right, so was a lot of research involved. There’s something very special about enjoying a creamy seafood soup in a toasty sour dough bread bowl on a chilly day.

It’s a hearty soup, and it has to be since Gorgrond is a pretty rough neighborhood.

GUYS…GUYS WE CAN TALK THIS OUT. MAYBE OVER A BOWL OF CHOWDER?

You could probably make this meal while doing runs of Blackrock! Just don’t die and upset just don’t upset your raid lead.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
3. 1 cup of water
4. 2 cups of fish stock
5. 3 cups of milk
6. 1/2 onion, chopped
7. 1/2 lb of carrots, chopped
8. 1/2 lb of celery, chopped
9. 1/2 lb of red potatoes
10. 1/2 lb of italian sausage
11. 1 lb of cod, chopped
12. OPTIONAL: 1/2 lb sour dough bread rounds
13. OPTIONAL: parsley

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this dish is about 20 minutes. Total cook time is about 35 minutes. This makes about 6 servings.

OPENING

1. Set a large pot on high heat. Add your tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Cook your Italian sausage until golden brown (roughly 5 – 7 minutes).
3. Remove from the pot and set aside.
4. Add in your chopped onions, celery, and carrots. This blend of ingredients is called a mirepoix.
   
5. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the mirepoix to sweat. Stir it occasionally to prevent it from burning.

MID GAME

1. Slice the Italian sausage and re-introduce it into the pot. Make sure you pour in any juices left over from the sausage.
2. Bring the heat back up to high.
3. Add in your fish stock, water and potatoes. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

LATE GAME

1. Add in your chopped cod.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and pour in your milk.
3. Allow the cod to cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often.
   
4. OPTIONAL: to make a bread bowl, cut off the top of the round of bread and scoop the insides out.
5. OPTIONAL: garnish with parsley
6. Eat!

GG WP!

Now, the bread bowl is totally optional. You can serve this chowder in a bowl if you’d like!

As always, I try to replicate the in-game appearance. Here’s what it looks like in-game:

And here’s how it turned out with the bread bowl:

Close, I think!

Yessss….

One of my favorite cuisines in the whole world is Thai food. There’s something so amazing about the flavors in each dish. It’s like a well orchestrated symphony of flavors that happens in every bite. So I was more than excited to try out Sungshin Ironpaw’s new take on a classic Thai dish.

We’re traveling to the beautiful Valley of the Four Winds for this week’s recipe: Green Curry Fish!

The continent of Pandaria is a vast area full of lovely places to camp out and start a fire for cooking.

For this rendition of the Pandarian Green Curry Fish, I decided to add in some extra veggies for that healthiness factor. The actual in-game recipe just calls for rice and golden carp, so I have definitely made some slight modifications for the real life version!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
3. 1 teaspoon of agave nectar
4. 1 shallot, diced
5. 2 sprigs of basil
6. 1 cup of snow peas
7. juice of 1 lime
8. 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
9. 5 tablespoons of green curry paste
10. 1 can of coconut milk
11. 1 green bell pepper, sliced
12. 1 cup of rice
13. 1 whole 2lb tai snapper (pink sea bream)*, cleaned and fins removed

*You can substitute red snapper, sea bass, or any white, non-oily fish.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this is about 15 minutes. Total cook time is about 30 minutes for the curry and 45 minutes for the rice. This makes about 4 servings.

OPENING

1. Prepare your rice so that the rice will finish cooking by the time your curry is done.
2. Heat a large wok on high heat. Then, add in your coconut oil.
3. Once the wok comes up to temperature, saute your shallots. Let your shallots saute for about 1 minute. 
4. Then, add in your curry paste and fish sauce. Stir to combine and allow it to cook together for another minute.
5. Add your coconut milk three parts, stirring between each part to help the curry paste incorporate with the coconut milk.
6. At this point, try your curry and add salt and sweetener (agave in this case) to taste. When you’re happy with the taste, move on to the next steps!

MID GAME

1. Place your whole fish in the green curry.
2. Gently ladle sauce over the fish. Allow it to cook for about 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes, flip the fish over and cook for another 5 minutes.

LATE GAME

1. Squeeze your lime over the fish and add in your basil, peas and green pepper.
2. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes on medium heat.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. Place your fish curry on a large bowl for serving with your cooked rice.
5. Eat!

And you’re done. GG WP! Please be aware that because you are cooking a whole fish, there will still be bones present.

Typically, you can remove the meat from the bone in one fell swoop, but just be weary of bones

So my goal with this dish was to try to replicate the in-game food item. I think I got pretty close! What do you think?

Here it is again as a single serving:

Good luck in your adventures through Azeroth and beyond!

We’re headed back to Draenor for another delicious treat! This time, we’re looking to the skies for our meal… It’s RYLAK CREPES!

As a Hunter, it’s always awkward to create a dish from a beast that could have easily been one of your own companions.

LOOK AWAY, MOCHI! JUST… LOOK AWAY.

 However, I’ve gotta eat somehow… You can’t fight the Iron Horde when your stomach is rumbling. Besides, those Rylak crepes do look mighty tasty.

In Draenor, Rylak crepes only require five Rylak eggs. Unfortunately, since I couldn’t find any Rylak eggs where I live, I had to improvise with a few more ingredients.

Rylaks are predators, so I would assume that any dish made from them would be packed full of lean protein. My version of Rylak crepes features chicken breast and Quest protein!

UNIT COMPOSITION

FOR THE CREPE

1. salt
2. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
3. 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
4. 1 scoop of Quest protein powder
5. 2 eggs
6. 1 cup of milk

FOR THE FILLING

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
4. 1 egg
5. 1/2 cup of whole wheat powder
6. 1/2 scoop of Quest protein powder
7. 2 bags of Quest BBQ protein chips
8. 1 lb of chicken breast, cut into strips
9. 1/2 cup of arugula or baby spinach, washed
10. 1/3 lb of asparagus
11. 2/3 lb of fingerling potatoes, cut into fries

FOR THE SAUCE (optional)

1. 1 tablespoon of honey
2. 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise
3. 2 tablespoon of mustard

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this dish is about 45 minutes. Total cook time is about 35 minutes. This will make about 4 servings. Each serving contains about ~57g of protein.

OPENING

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Open your bag of chips to let out the air. Then, crush the chips in the bag to create the crispy coating for your chicken.
3. Place your sliced chicken, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, mixed egg and crushed chips into separate dishes. This will be your dredging station.
   
4. Add in 1/2 scoop of protein powder to your whole wheat flour and mix to combine.
5. Take your chicken breast and dip it in the whole wheat flour. Then, dip it in the egg. Then, lightly coat it with the crushed chips. You will want to different hands for this to avoid getting the flour and egg mixture stuck to your hand (something that Alton Brown refers to as “club hand”).
   For example, use your left hand for the flour to egg portion. Then, use your right hand for the egg to chips portion.
6. Place the coated chicken strips on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
   
7. Lightly drizzle 1 table spoon of olive oil over the chicken strips.
8. Bake them for about 14 minutes. While your chicken is baking, prepare the rest of the filling.

MID GAME

1. In a medium sized pan, add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Set it on medium high heat.
2. Once your olive oil comes up to temperature, place your sliced potatoes in the pan.
   
3. Let them cook for about 2 -3 minutes on each side or until browned.
4. Once they’re crispy, remove them from the oil and let them dry on over a paper towel. This paper towel will be used to absorb any extra oil.
5. Steam your asparagus or boil (you can cheat by throwing them in the microwave for about 2 minutes in a dish with water!).
6. Carefully wipe your skillet with a paper towel. You will be using this same skillet to make your crepes.

LATE GAME

1. In a bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 scoop of protein powder and 1 cup of milk. Add in salt for seasoning.
   
2. Set your pan to medium heat.
3. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small bowl. Dip a paper towel into the olive oil and use it to coat the pan with olive oil. You will be doing this between each crepe.
4. Use a ladle or measuring cup to add your crepe batter to the pan. Quickly swirl the pan to ensure that the batter evenly coats the surface of the pan.
   
5. Allow the crepe to cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. Then, flip it over.
   
6. Continue cooking for another minute and a half. Remove the crepe and repeat the process. Be sure to wipe down the pan with olive oil.
   
7. Once you’ve finished making all your crepes, it’s now time to assemble them. Place a fresh crepe on a plate.
8. Place your asparagus, spinach/arugula, chicken, and potatoes in the center of the crepe.
   
9. Then, roll the crepe up and use a toothpick to hold the crepe in place. ‘
10. OPTIONAL: Create a honey mustard dipping sauce by combining mayonnaise, honey and mustard.
11. Eat!

GG WP!

As you can see, I had a lot of fun making this recipe. Hopefully you’ll have as much fun as I did!

Happy travels, adventurer!

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This recipe was created with support from Quest Gaming. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to learn more about how other gamers eat healthy and #CheatClean.

The Raven Lord demands tribute… in the form of tasty appetizers!

I have been playing a ton of Heroes of the Storm lately. I’ve been trying to climb the ladder to finally hit Rank 1. Recently, I have been fortunate enough snag Sylvanas in draft. AW YISS BANSHEE QUEEN.

I have no time for games!

I am totally loving Sylvanas’ play style. It’s an awesome feeling to be fighting someone and then throw out your “E” to teleport when the fight gets too rough.

One of the battlegrounds I enjoy playing is the Cursed Hollow. On this map, the goal is to collect three tributes for the malevolent Raven Lord. He’s totally a big jerk.

There’s usually a ton of fighting when these tributes pop up. And that’s what I absolutely love about this map — the team fights!

Hahaha, big head mode!

Since the Raven Lord demand tribute… We better start cooking!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. 2 tablespoons of butter
3. 4 – 5 cloves of garlic, grated
4. 1 egg, mixed
5. 1/3 cup of milk
6. 1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
7. 1 lb of purple sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this dish takes about 30 minutes. Cook time takes 20 minutes for boiling the potatoes, and an additional 12 minutes for baking. This makes 4 servings (about 8 tributes).

OPENING

1. After peeling and cutting your sweet potatoes, place them in a pot of large water.
2. Bring that pot of water to boil and cook the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft. Then drain the sweet potatoes and return them to the pot.
3. Add in your salt, cheese, butter, garlic and milk. Use a potato masher to combine the ingredients.
   
4. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes to a bowl.
5. Add in your egg and stir to combine.

MID GAME

1. Place the sweet potato mixture in a piping bag.
2. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
3. Begin piping out the shape of the raven lord tributes. Start with an oval, and then a pointed tip for the beak.
   
4. Then, pipe out the wings.
   
5. Use a butter knife to smooth out the entire shape. Use the edge of the butter knife to create the eyes by gently pressing down at an angle.
6. Continue making the tributes until you run out of sweet potato mixture.

LATE GAME

1. Set your oven to 350° F.
2. Let your tributes bake for about 12 minutes. Remove and let cool.
3. Eat!

GG WP, Heroes!

Please note that eating three of these tributes will not cause the Raven Lord to curse your enemies. However, these are delicious and can satisfy a rumbling tummy. MY BELLY DEMANDS TRIBUTE.

By the way, I have set up a Patreon! I have been posting previews of upcoming blog post there, so if you’re interested, please check it out.

I’ll admit that I am a horrible fisher in World of Warcraft. Since I started so incredibly late, my fishing skills are insanely sub-par. I basically can only catch the dinky little fish. However, on the rare occasion when I can catch a normal sized fish, it’s pretty exciting.

AWW YEAH, NOW I ONLY HAVE TO CATCH 9 MORE OF THESE INSTEAD OF 19 MORE SO I CAN COMPLETE THIS GARRISON DAILY! 

I’ve been trying to simultaneously level up my fishing and cooking, so I’ve been spending a lot of time sitting in my garrison next to a roaring fire.

When I first stared cooking in WoW, I thought that Sturgeon Stew looked amazing and I had to recreate it somehow. So, I did some research and looked around at my local grocery stores for a fish that would vaguely replicate the appearance of the actual in-game item.

However, I honestly didn’t expect that I would find sturgeon at my local grocery store…

But lo and behold, there it was! STURGEON!

If you can’t find sturgeon, you can substitute another fish such as swordfish or cod.

Since the Sturgeon Stew in game has a reddish broth, I decided to create a tomato-based soup. This is similar to a bourdeto, which is basically a Greek fish stew similar to the Italian cioppino.

Let’s get cooking!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
4. 1 cup of white wine
5. 2 cups of fish stock
6. 2 bay leaves
7. 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
8. 5 sprigs of basil, roughly sliced
9. 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
10. 4 red potatoes, quartered
11. 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
12. 1/3 lb of dandelion greens
13. 1 1/2 lbs of sturgeon, deboned

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this dish is roughly 30 minutes. Cook time is about 45 minutes. This makes about 4 servings.

OPENING

1. Set a large pot to high heat.
2. Once the pot is up to temperature, add in your olive oil and sautee your garlic and onions.
3. Reduce to medium heat and add in your tomatoes and basil.
4. Stir the ingredients gently and allow the vegetables to sweat.

MID GAME

1. Add in your white wine and fish stock.
2. Add in your bay leaf and stir.
3. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add in your chopped potatoes.
5. Let this cook for about 30 minutes.

LATE GAME

1. After about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft, add in your sturgeon.
2. Gently ladle liquid over the sturgeon.
3. Add in your dandelion greens.
4. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for ~15 more minutes.
5. Remove your 2 bay leaves.
6. Eat!

So my goal was to try to make the stew look exactly like the in-game item. I think I got pretty close?

I didn’t actually serve the dish like that though. I’M A LIAR! I cut the sturgeon into more manageable pieces:

GG WP!

I’m sure if you sit there and eat this sturgeon stew for at least 10 seconds, you’ll gain some sort of haste buff… or at least, you’ll feel well fed for a while.

There’s nothing better than coming to your garrison from a long raid and enjoying a hearty home cooked meal. Even before I started playing WoW, I was always fascinated by the robust recipe options offered throughout the game. Choosing to level up the cooking profession was definitely a no-brainer for me  because of my interest of mercilessly killing virtual wildlife and throwing their meat over a roaring flame. MEAT GOOD.

LOOK AT ALL THIS POTENTIAL MEAT!

 I guess that it’s fitting that I rolled as a hunter in this game.

Appropriate title: the Butcher

Since my local butcher doesn’t offer River Beast, I had to choose a substitute. I decided to go with lamb as my meat of choice. I personally love lamb and its slight gamy flavor. If you’re not a fan of lamb, feel free to use beef. You may have to adjust the cook time and quantity of liquid since typically larger than lamb shanks.

There’s something special about red wine and red meat. That enchanting aroma that gently wafts through your home as the meat slowly cooks in a bath comprised of its own fatty juices and wine is just magical... Excuse me while I get a bucket for all of this drool.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 6 cloves of garlic
4. 1/2 tablespoon of butter
5. 1 cup of red wine
6. 1/2 cup of beef stock
7. 2 lbs of lamb shank, french trimmed (~4 lamb shanks)
8. 2 carrots, sliced
9. 3 parsnips, sliced
10. OPTIONAL: parsley

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this is about 25 minutes, or up to 45 minutes if you plan to french trim your lamb shanks. Cook time is ~1 hour, 45 minutes. This makes 4 servings.

Just to note, french trimming is completely optional! It’s really only for presentation purposes.

If you’re going to french trim your lamb shanks on your own, you’re going to want a very sharp paring knife. Here’s a tutorial I used.

Basically, you’ll want to make an incision around bone at the very end of the shank. Then, cut into the meat, and remove about 1″ of it. Scrape off any excess fat/tendon away from the bone until it’s fairly clean. When cooking, the meat will slide down from the bone.

OPENING

1. Season your lamb with salt and pepper.
2. Put a pan on high heat and add in your butter.
3. Sear the lamb for about 30 seconds each side, or until brown.
4. Place lamb in a large baking dish. Pour in your red wine and stock. You should have enough liquid to cover 3/4 of the lamb shanks.

MID GAME

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
2. Place your garlic in the baking dish.
3. Place the entire baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour.

LATE GAME

1. After an hour, flip over the lamb shanks.
2. Add in your chopped vegetables and continue baking for the remaining 45 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and plate the lamb shanks and vegetables.
4. Pour the remaining liquid into a pan and reduce on high heat for about 5 minutes.
5. Drizzle the reduced red wine sauce over the lamb. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the plate.
6. Eat!

I took some photos of the lamb shank without the vegetables since I wanted to replicate what it looks like in-game:

Image from WoWhead

 But, to have a balance meal, you need to throw in some vegetables!

GG WP!

Hopefully this dish has satisfied your Draenor cuisine cravings for now. Until next time, happy hunting!

Hi! My name is Homebrewed, some of you may know me from Twitter. I am a huge fan of Warcraft and more recently Hearthstone. My favorite amphibious humanoid is the Murloc, I am even quite fluent in Nerglish. So, my recipe I want to share with you today is Murlocos, Baja-style Mur…fish tacos.

The weeks after I came back from BlizzCon I received some news from the doctor, in other words, I need to start eating healthier. So in this venture, I have been cooking at home a lot more and finding different ways to make some of my favorite food to fuel up into between work and gaming. I was inspired by a dish I had one time at The Reservoir – Restaurant and Tap Room – Waterbury.

There are some things you can do ahead of ahead to cut on the actual time from cooking to eating when you go to fry your fish and assemble your tacos. I recommend making the pickled jalapeños and the cilantro onion salsa the day before as it keeps for at about a week. Also, I do want to recommend, that when you slice the jalapeños you buy some cheap plastic gloves, powder free, to protect your hands.

Total prep time for this dish is about 1 hour. Cook time is 40 minutes. This recipe will make roughly about 16 tacos. You will end up with leftover condiments! 

OPENING HAND

EARLY GAME

Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup water
2. 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3. 3 tablespoons white sugar
4. 1 tablespoon kosher salt
5. 1 clove garlic, crushed
6. 1/2 teaspoon oregano
7. 10 large jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings

Directions (Pickled Jalapeño)

1. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, garlic, and oregano in a saucepan over high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stir in jalapeno peppers and remove from heat. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
2. Pack peppers into jars using tongs, cover with vinegar mixture, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

MID RANGE

Ingredients

1. 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
4. 2 teaspoons olive oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions (Cilantro Onion Salsa)

Chop everything, juice your lime, and place all the mixture into a mason jar and pop it in the fridge.

Ingredients

1. 3/4 cup cold seltzer water
2. 1/2 large egg, beaten
3. 1/4 cup cold vodka
4. 2.5 ounces unbleached cake flour, by weight
5. 2.5 ounces white rice flour, by weight
6. 1 liter vegetable or sunflower oil
7. 1 pound haddock or cod
8. Red cabbage, sliced
9. 16 corn tortillas
10. Kosher salt

LATE GAME

Directions (Fish & Assemble)

1. Slice up your cabbage and put aside
2. Slice fish into pieces that are about two inchesin depth
3. Heat oil in a cast iron Dutch oven to 375 degrees
4. Combine seltzer, egg, and vodka in a bowl
5. Combine rice flour and cake flour in a separate bowl
6. When your oil reaches temperature, add the wet to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine and surround that bowl with ice on the outside to keep the batter cold
7. Dip your fish into your batter, shaken off excess, and slowly place into the oil about four pieces at a time
8. Cook for about two minutes until golden brown and remove from heat
9. Place cooked fish on a paper towel and season with salt
10. Heat your corn tortillas directly over the burner if you have a gas stovetop turning with tongs to heat them through or in a pan with a very slight mist of water
11. Put everything together and enjoy!

Aaaaaughibbrgubugbugrguburgle!

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Special guest recipe by Homebrewed. He’s a  writer, a Hearthstone aficionado, and a Murloc whisperer! You can follow his adventures on his Twitter: @HomebrewedDwarf