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.

If you’ve had a chance to play the Garden of Terror map in Heroes of the Storm, you will completely understand the importance of eating your vegetables. LET ME IMPROVE YOUR WEAK FLESH! 

On the Garden of Terror map, players are encouraged to collect seeds by smacking Garden Shamblers and the Garden Terror.

Once your team collected 100 seeds, you can return to your base and summon your own GARDEN TERROR! When a player controls the Garden Terror, they are free to roam the map and cause havoc. Typically, what I try to do is run straight for the towers and start smacking away.

There’s just something so darn awesome about being a giant plant and rampaging across the map. ROOAAARRRRR.

However, one should not play Heroes on an empty stomach… So I’ve devised this recipe to curb your hunger while channeling your inner Hero of the Storm!

Since the seeds are key to success on this map, it seemed natural to recreate such an important feature in food.

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
4. 1/2 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
5. 5-6 cloves of garlic, diced
6. 1/4 lb of crimini mushrooms, diced
7. 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
8. 1/3 lb of spinach
9. 1/3 lb of  ground turkey
10. 1 red cabbage

BUILD ORDER

Prep time is roughly 30 minutes. Total cook time is about 45 minutes. This will make 4 servings (about 2 each)

OPENING GAME

1. Set water to boil in a large pot.
2. Carefully peel the leaves from the red cabbage.
3. Place leaves in boiling water for about 6 minutes or until soft (the water will turn dark purple).
4. Remove and let cool.

MID GAME

1. Set a pan on high heat and add olive oil.
2. Add in your diced garlic. Let garlic brown. Then, add in your mushrooms and tomatoes. Saute for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
4. In a bowl, combine your ground turkey, salt, pepper and worcesteshire sauce. Add in your sauted vegetables. Mix until combined.
5. Take a tablespoon of meat and place it in center of one of the cooked cabbage leaves. Then fold the edges of the cabbage leaf to create a pouch. Use a toothpick to hold the top together.

LATE GAME

1. Place the “seeds” on a baking dish and bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 375° F.
2. While the seeds are cooking, lightly boil your spinach. It will take about 2 minutes to cook.
3. Once the spinach has cooked, drain it and arrange it to form leaves on the plate.
4. Remove the seeds from the oven and place them on top of the spinach.
5. Eat!

And BOOM, you’re done! GG WP!

Hopefully you have made enough so you can share with your teammates:

I’ll see you in the Garden of Terror… But let’s hope you’re on my side! GOOD LUCK, HEROES!

[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!

Yaarrr, matey! Are ye after some edible treasures? Well, you’re just in luck because THAR BE TREASURE ON YOUR PLATE. Hahaha!

So you might have been wondering what has happened to little ol’ me for the past few months… I basically needed a hiatus. But don’t worry, I’m back with new tools (including a brand spankin’ new cutting board YES) and new recipes! This time, I’m writing a recipe about a newish, but unreleased game: Heroes of the Storm.

I was fortune enough to gain access to the Technical Alpha, so I messed around trying out various heroes. Considering my history with Blizzard games, it should be no surprise that Valla is typically my hero of choice. I even scored her master skin before the wipe! Vengeance! 

Towards the end of the Technical Alpha, I attempted to level up Nova so that I could flaunt the fancy new master skin… Unfortunately, I fell a little short of that goal! But, playing those games on Blackheart’s Bay inspired me to create my latest dish…

BLACKHEART’S DOUBLOONS!

If you’ve seen this map played, you’ll know that there are two treasure chests which spawn doubloons. These chests, especially the midlane chest, are always points of contention between the teams.

I have seen games won solely because one team completely controlled the the chests throughout the match.

When you collect enough doubloons from raiding chests or killing mercenaries, you can pay good ol’ Blackheart to bombard your opponent’s base.

However, my favorite part about this entire map is how goofy the coins are compared to the actual characters in the game. Have you seen the size of those things? They’re ridiculous!

I wanted to recreate these massive coins into something more edible and savory, which is why I chose the pasta route… I even picked up a pasta machine just for this recipe! Yep, we’re going all in on this one!

UNIT COMPOSITION

1. salt
2. pepper
3. 1 tablespoon of thyme
4. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
5. 3 sprigs of fresh sage
6. 3 tablespoons of butter
7. 2 shallots, diced
8. 4 cloves of garlic, diced
9. 1/2 cup of grated asiago cheese
10. 1/2 cup of cream
11. 1/2 cup of oyster mushrooms, diced
12. 3 eggs
13. 3 cups of flour
14. 1 cup of water
15. 1 butternut squash, cut into halves (mine was about ~2lbs)
16. OPTIONAL: parsley

As I mentioned earlier, I purchased a pasta making machine. You can get by without it by just using a rolling pin, but it will take longer to get the pasta rolled out evenly.

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this dish is about 1 hour. Cook time is 1.5 hours. This recipe will make roughly 6-8 servings (each serving is about 3 ravioli). You may end up with left over stuffing!

OPENING GAME

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375° F.
2. Remove the seeds* and guts from the squash.
3. Sprinkle the two butternut squash halves with salt and thyme.
4. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the halves.
5. Roast the butternut squash for 50 minutes or until soft. Allow the butternut squash to cool for about 15 minutes.
6. While the butternut squash is roasting, prepare the pasta sheets and the rest of the filling.

*once washed and dried, the seeds can be roasted at 375 for ~10minutes with olive oil and finished with sea salt!

MID GAME

The next few parts are extremely messy, so be prepared to clean your kitchen. You will want to have extra flour on hand in order to prevent the dough from sticking to your working area.

1. Pour your flour into a mound on a clean surface.
2. Using a measuring cup, create a impression on the top of the mound. This will the bowl for mixing the eggs.
3. Crack your 3 eggs and place them in the impression:
4. Using a fork, mix the eggs. Once the eggs have been mixed, add in the water and begin slowly incorporating the flour into the liquid to create the dough. As I mentioned earlier, this process is incredibly messy!
5. Once the dough begins to take its shape, use your hands to fold the dough in on itself. You may want to occasionally dust your surface with additional flour in order to keep the dough from sticking.
6. Cover the dough with a towel or cling wrap and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes.

LATE GAME

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan.
2. Sautee your mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Remove once the vegetables have become caramelized. Set aside.
3. Once your butternut squash has cooled, scoop the meat out with spoon and place it into a bowl.
4. Mash the butternut squash until smooth. Add in your sauted vegetables, half of the cheese, and the cream. Stir until combined thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. To prepare your pasta sheets, break your dough into four sections. Using a rolling pin (dusted with flour), roll your dough sections into sheets small enough to fit through your pasta machine. Dust your pasta machine with flour.
6. You will want your pasta rolled out on the 2nd thinest setting on the machine. Roll out your pasta onto a floured surface.
7. Once your pasta has rolled out, cut out circles (I used a 3″ cookie cutter, but you could also use a pint glass) in the dough. Place a tablespoon of filling onto the circle cut outs.
8. Cut out another circle and place it on top of filled piece and seal each ravioli shut by pressing down on the dough. At this point, you may want to nudge the filling to help reinforce the doubloon shape.
9. Using left over dough, cut out skull shapes to place on the ravioli. Once cut out, gently dampen each skull with water and adhere them to the ravioli. (I only made a few of the skulls because they’re a lot of work!)
10. Set a pot of water to boil and season the water with salt. Once the water boils, drop the ravioli in one at a time. The ravioli should take about 2 minutes to cook. Remove them immediately.
11. In a small pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in your sprig of sage. While the butter is cooking, remove the milk solids (the white foamy stuff) by skimming the top of the surface with a spoon. This will create clarified butter.
12. Plate your ravioli doubloons and drizzle the sage butter sauce over them. Garnish with grated cheese, pepper, and fresh parsley.

GG WP, hero!

However, if you don’t want to serve your mateys doubloons, the ravioli looks fine without the skulls.

Since Heroes of the Storm is offline for a few days, you now have a chance to recreate these tasty treasures in your own kitchen. Hopefully I’ll see you in the Nexus once Heroes is back online!

Happy cooking!

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!