#recipe

EGG OVER RICE

(From M/FoMT)

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/04/tamago-kake-gohan-egg-rice-tkg-recipe-breakfast.html

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked hot white rice (about 12 ounces cooked rice; 340g)
• 1 egg (plus 1 optional egg yolk)
• Soy sauce
• Kosher salt
• MSG powder, such as Aji-no-moto or Accent (optional)
• Mirin (optional)
• Hondashi (optional)
• Furikake (optional)
• Thinly sliced or torn nori (optional)

Directions:

1. Place rice in a bowl and make a shallow indentation in the center. Break the whole egg into the center. 
2. Season with ½ teaspoon soy sauce, a pinch of salt, a pinch of MSG, ½ teaspoon mirin (if using), and a pinch of Hondashi (if using). Stir vigorously with chopsticks to incorporate egg; it should become pale yellow, frothy, and fluffy in texture. 
3. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Sprinkle with furikake and nori (if using), make a small indentation in the top, and add the other egg yolk (if using). Serve immediately.

ROASTED RICE CAKES

(From M/FoMT)

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/12/roasted-rice-cake-recipe.html

Ingredients:

For the roasted onions:

• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt

For the roasted rice cakes:

• ¼ cup mirin
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 pound rice cake sticks
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 scallions, ends trimmed, green parts thinly sliced

For the Korean Red Dragon Sauce:

• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup ssamjang (fermented bean and chile sauce)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Heat oil in 12-inch cast-ion skillet over medium-high heat until lightly smoking. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until onions begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until richly caramelized, about 30 minutes longer. Adjust heat as needed to prevent burning. Transfer cooked onions to bowl.
2. Meanwhile, make the dragon sauce. Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir constantly until sugar is dissolved then remove from heat. Let cool for one minute, then stir in ssamjang until dissolved. Add soy, sherry vinegar, and sesame oil.
3. For the rice cakes, pour mirin and broth into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-high and cook until lightly thickened, about two minutes. Add red dragon sauce, reduce heat to medium, and cook until glossy and thick, about six minutes. Add roasted onions and stir well.
4. Meanwhile, clean out iron skillet, and return to stove. Add two tablespoons canola oil and heat over medium-high heat until just starting to smoke. Add rice cakes and reduce heat to medium. Cook until light brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.
5. Toss rice cakes with sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

SOBA NOODLES (Buckwheat noodles)

(From M/FoMT)

https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/soba-noodles-recipe/

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces soba noodles dry
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger grated
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or peanut oil
• ¼ cup green onions thinly sliced

Garnish:

• Green onions
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• Chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions. Rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger.
3. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and heat until shimmering, once hot, add the chopped green onions. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds or until just softened.
4. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add the noodles and toss until heated through.
6. Garnish with the sesame seeds, green onions and chopped peanuts.

RICE PORRIDGE (Rice Gruel)

(From M/FoMT)

https://www.rotinrice.com/top-commenter-chinese-comfort-food-and-award/

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice (400g)
• 10 cups water (2.4 liters), and a little more to dilute
• 2 bone-in chicken breasts (skin removed)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 inch ginger (finely julienned) (30g)
• 3 green onions (finely sliced)
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce

Directions:

1. In a large pot, rinse rice till water runs clear, about 3 to 4 times, drain.
2. Add 10 cups (2.4 liters) water to the rice and set it on the stove to boil. When water comes to boil, remove lid, add chicken breasts. As soon as water comes back to a boil, add salt and pepper and reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. If porridge gets too thick at any point, stir in ½ cup (120ml) water to dilute.
3. Remove chicken breasts from pot with tongs. Shred the chicken breasts and return shredded meat to the pot.
4. Add ginger and one to two teaspoons of sesame oil to the porridge. Turn off heat.
5. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of green onions, pepper, and soy sauce. Add a few drops of sesame oil if desired.

TOAST

(From M/FoMT)

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/quick-garlic-toast/

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 12 slices bread
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Cut each slice in half; place plain side down on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Broil 4 in. from the heat until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Cookies - Dessert Contest Inspiration

Recipe #102 -Fried Green Tomatoes with Vidalia Relish

Another recipe that takes nine-million pots, paper towels, bowls, and assorted whisks, and measuring cups. Phew!

The difficulty level for this one was relatively low but I did struggle with two things: slicing the tomatoes and getting them breaded. The recipe called for 1/3 inch thick tomatoes but, without a slicing machine, I can’t really slice tomatoes with such precision. As a result, my slices might have been too fat. Next, breading them wasn’t so fun since tomatoes are slippery by nature and I was trying, and failing, to find a good way to do it without my fingers getting in the way. In the end, frying is a pretty forgiving method of cooking and everything worked out fine.

The Vidalia relish recipe was WAY more involved then the tomatoes, even though it’s just a condiment. So many ingredients and spices I’ve never used before (turmeric, celery seed, mustard powder). It’s definitely yummy with a very powerful mustard zing to it, but I also definitely made way too much. If you attempt it, I’d recommend halving the recipe for sure.

Recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes:

Here is my source

-1 large egg

-½ cup buttermilk

-½ cup flour

-½ cup cornmeal

-1 teaspoon salt

-½ teaspoon pepper

-3 medium green tomatoes

-vegetable oil

Recipe for Vidalia Relish:

Here is my source

-4 large Vidalia onions (I only used 2, no idea where they got 4 from)

-2 cups shredded cabbage

-¼ cup salt

-4 ½ cup water

-2 bell peppers

-½ cup light brown sugar

-2 cups apple cider vinegar

-1 tablespoon dried mustard powder

-¾ teaspoon turmeric

-¼ cup flour

-1 teaspoon mustard seed

-2 teaspoons celery seed

That’s all for today, folks. Best of luck to Her Interactive with the big release of Midnight and Salem. I really hope we can relive the glory days of two games a year soon.

Recipe 102 - Fried Green Tomatoes with Vidalia Relish

“Fried Green Tomatoes with Vidalia Relish” is the seventh recipe I’ve done from Ghost of Thornton Hall and the fifth I’ve pulled from Charlotte’s masquerade invitation. The other six GTH recipes can be found here,here,here,here,here, and here. 

This was a wholly new experience for me because I’ve never had fried green tomatoes nor Vidalia relish. I actually wanted to make this recipe a long time ago but I wasn’t able to find any green tomatoes anywhere. I stumbled upon some at a farm stand last weekend and knew it was time. The result? Well, not my favorite fried thing on the planet. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I found the tomatoes to be pretty bland. The relish, on the other hand was delicious and tangy. I just wish I was using it to complement something more interesting.

Let me know if you ever eat/make fried green tomatoes. I’m from Massachusetts and to me they’re completely alien. I’m wondering if I just made them wrong and normally they taste amazing? Anyway, happy to be back at it with the ND recipes :) 

Recipe 101 -Taco Salad 

My initial misgivings about taco salad had to do with the fact that A. I don’t usually like the type of lettuce in it and B. Ground beef recipes can be pretty bland. 

Somehow, I didn’t realize that there’s a lot of seasoning and cooking involved in making taco salad. I guess the word “salad” to me just translates to “quickly whipped together” in my mind. Nope. This was a process. I mean, it wasn’t hard by any means but it’s not something I see myself making after a long day at the office. 

As for the lettuce thing, you really need sturdier, crunchier lettuce for this recipe that can withstand all the juices of the meat without getting soggy. Even though I’m normally not a fan of this variety of lettuce, it makes sense here. This is one of those recipes where you have a bunch of ingredients that complement each other perfectly and you couldn’t really leave anything out without messing up the chemistry.

 A rookie mistake I made while making this recipe was that I didn’t drain the  meat of excess fat and ended up with a soup towards the end. I was able to get away with draining it right before adding it to the lettuce but I regret not following the instructions carefully. When a recipe tells you to drain the fat. Drain the fat!

Recipe:

For prep instructions I used this recipe here. 

Happy New Year Clue Crew! Time to begin the countdown to 2019  Let’s keep on cookin’ in 2018. ;D

Recipe 101 - Taco Salad

“Taco Salad” is a Tex-Mex recipe featured in The Secret of Shadow Ranch. It is the final recipe I will be doing from the Rawley family recipe box and the game. I finally made it through them all!

I’ve never made taco salad and I’ve barely ever eaten it so I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m not a fan of cold foods (like cold meats and soups) so I usually avoid the dish at parties. Making the salad myself, however, definitely improved my opinion! Being able to appreciate all that goes into it and getting the chance to eat it fresh and warm was an enlightening experience. Taco salad’s delish!

I followed the recipe from the game exactly and it made a really big portion. Sharing it with my family it still lasted 3 days as leftovers. This would be a great dish to bring to parties but if you make it the night before, make sure you don’t add the chips until right before serving (they get soggy).

Recipe #100 -KoKo Kringle

I based this recipe on my headcanon for what KoKo Kringles taste like. I’ve never been lucky enough to get my hands on the real deal but I’ve always imagined that the bar was based on this:

it has a similar K spelling and they’re both advertised as crispy milk chocolate. (I wonder if there’s a KoKo Kringle dark??) So I searched around the internet and I managed to find a recipe based on the bar. 

The recipe I used is European and being a dumb American, I couldn’t really figure out the conversions. The recipe said it was supposed to make 3 large chocolate bars and I ended up with one because I somehow bungled the measurement of the cereal. Despite the confusion everything turned out great and it tasted almost how I expected it too. The recipe I used involved caramelizing the rice crispies which gave it an overall caramel flavor (no kidding) that I wasn’t really aiming for. But in the end, I’m glad that I went with a more complicated recipe than “Stick rice crispies in chocolate and cool. The end!” The recipe even called for chocolate tempering which I’ve heard is pretty difficult. I’m not sure I did everything correctly to a T but I ended up with a pretty nice piece of candy. 

The only real struggle here was that I couldn’t figure out how to get the chocolate cleanly from its mold. I think this is due to me not cleaning the mold properly but DANG cleaning silicone is hard! At least the back of the bar looked smooth…

Recipe:

Here is my source 

50 grams sugar

17 grams water

1 pinch salt

42 grams puffed rice cereal

2 grams unsalted butter

300 grams 32% to 38% milk chocolate (I ended up using ¼ of this)

I’ve decided to come back to this blog now that Her has broken their silence on MID. We’ve still got a long way to go before we get a new game but at least there’s now a tiny glimmer of hope on the horizon! Whatever happens, I missed the excuse to bake/cook all the time so here I am :) See you soon and keep on cookin’! 

Recipe 100 -KoKo Kringle

For my 100th recipe I wanted to do something special while still staying true to the purpose of my blog. I could have, for example, just made a big cake that said “100 Recipes” on it. Instead, I realized I could do the number one iconic food of the games, the KoKo Kringle. This recipe transcends category as the candy bar is an Easter egg in every game since Secret of the Scarlet Hand. It is as much of a series mainstay as Nancy’s horse shirt and Mom jeans and everyone loves making Nancy eat them ‘til she’s sick. 

I held off making this recipe for so long because I was worried it would be too hard and not work out but it was actually incredibly easy to make. It ended up tasting like a higher-end caramel, chocolate bar and I was really pleased with the result. This recipe made me want to experiment with other homemade chocolates :)

Recipe #107 -Strawberry Breeze

It’s actually been so long since I’ve had a milkshake, I almost forgot what they tasted like. I drink smoothies a lot and they’re basically the sinful version of that, I suppose. The smooth, fluffy texture was pretty magical, I gotta say.

Usually when I make recipes I kind of push up my sleeves and strap in for a long night, but milkshakes take about 5 minutes. I thought I might add an extra challenge with the bonus whipped cream but even that was a cake walk. The most fun I had with this recipe was setting it up for the photo. It was really satisfying pouring the cream on top until it bulged on the sides like a frothy mug of beer. I also chilled the glass for an extra bit of pizzazz. 

If you want to make this but you’re drinking alone like me (everyone else is on a diet in my house lol), I managed to make only enough for one glass by cutting my source recipe in half. (I was really proud of this because I usually screw up and make like 50 servings lol). 

Recipe:

here is my source

Milkshake:

- ¼ of a 1.5 quart of strawberry ice cream

-¼ cup of heavy cream

-¼ cup of milk

-¼ tsp vanilla

-½ cup of sliced strawberries

Whipped cream:

-½ cup whipping cream

-½ tsp vanilla

-½ tbsp sugar

That’s all for today. I hope everyone who had a long weekend enjoyed the little break. Keep on cookin’ Clue Crew! 

Recipe 107 -Strawberry Breeze 

“Strawberry Breeze” is the fifth recipe I’ve made based on the ice cream/milkshake flavors at Scoop in Alibi in Ashes. If you’d like to see the other four you can find them here,here, here, and here.

This one has been on my backlog for awhile and I felt like I HAD to make it for Valentine’s Day weekend! I don’t get to make a lot of cutesy, pink things and now was the perfect time to do so. This was quick, easy, and delicious. I ended up having it for dinner because of how filling it was (and probably a zillion calories).

The MVP with this shake was the toppings. The thick layer of home-made whipped cream + strawberry slices really enhanced the experience flavor and texture-wise. If I were to drink it again I’d probably layer the whipped cream and strawberry slices throughout the glass instead of just stacking them on top.

Happy belated Valentine’s Day Clue Crew! <3

Recipe #106 -Roast Spring Chicken

Just in case nobody knows what I’m talking about, this is where “Roast Spring Chicken” shows up in the game:

I’ve never cooked an entire chicken before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I was also concerned about the term “Spring Chicken” but when I Googled it, it just said that a “Spring Chicken” is a young chicken that you eat. I think it’s kind of an old-fashion term. 

Anyway, this recipe wasn’t exactly difficult, but I did find the chicken a little hard to work with. First of all, “painting on” the lemon-butter-rosemary mixture was tricky because of how slippery the chicken’s skin was. Then, I had to cook it a whole extra 15 minutes because it came out partially raw after a whole hour (I kept taking it out and putting it back in, worried it would never fully cook). Finally, I suck at carving meat with bones in it so I kind of just hacked away at it clumsily, unsure of what cutting angle was best. Despite my struggles, I think I ended up with a decent meal.

If I were to do this recipe again, I would forgo the big bird and just paint the seasoning onto some chicken cutlets. Most of the lemon and rosemary just slid off with the skin of the roasted chicken and I didn’t get as much flavor as I wanted. With smaller pieces to work with, I think the meat-to-lemon mixture ratio would have been a lot better. Oh well, you live and learn. 

Recipe:

here is my source

-5 lb whole chicken

-2 tbsp olive oil

-½ cup butter, softened

-2 large sprigs fresh rosemary

-4 garlic cloves

-zest of 4 lemons (this part was really tiring!) 

-salt & pepper

-fresh lemon juice, 2 lemons

-Cavity stuffing slice lemons, sliced onions, and rosemary

That’s all for now, Clue Crew. See you next time and keep on cookin’! :) <3 

Recipe 106 -Roast Spring Chicken

“Roast Spring Chicken” is the second recipe I’ve made based on the “Celebratory Dinner” menu found in the rec room in Warnings at Waverly Academy. My other two WAC recipes can be found hereandhere. 

This recipe is all about the prep work, seasoning the raw chicken and slathering it in butter, lemon, and spices. In the end, you end up with a nice plate of juicy, flavorful chicken that you can then incorporate into other recipes! I think that’s chicken’s best quality: it’s very versatile. I personally think it’s pretty boring as a main dish but I can appreciate it as a complementary topper or filler. 

I’d recommend this either if you have a lot of mouths to feed or if you’re into meal prep and know a lot of ways to use chicken. Simple, but tasty. 

Recipe 105 -Shorty’s Lamb Ragout

“Shorty’s Lamb Ragout” is a recipe based on a line Shorty says during the bonfire scene in The Secret of Shadow Ranch. Tex and Dave weren’t impressed with the recipe but I wanted to try it out all the same. This is the seventh recipe I’ve done based on The Secret of Shadow Ranch. The other six can be found here,here,here,here,here, and here. I actually thought I was 100% done with SHA but then I remembered this hilariously awkward scene.

This recipe was a LOT of work but satisfying in the end and perfect for this chilly time of year. It’s super hearty and has a very sophisticated flavor. It tastes like something you would get at a fancy restaurant on a date. Of course, I pretty much feel that way about anything cooked in wine. I recommend this one for anyone who wants to impress a big crowd of people. The recipe I made yields enough for 6+ and a little bit goes a long way. It’s also versatile in that you can add it to any kind of pasta, rice, or even just eat it on its own!

Recipe #104 -Professor Hotchkiss’ Couscous

Confession time, I had to make the couscous twice because I forgot the whole “boil and then simmer” thing and just flat out boiled it for like 5 minutes straight…whoops. In my defense, the recipe’s instructions were very poorly written. My second batch came out perfectly.

This is a nice and easy-to-make recipe where most of the time and effort just goes into chopping. I highly recommend you chop everything before you start boiling/cooking or else you’ll be scrambling back and forth. I kind of followed my own advice, but made the mistake of waiting until the end to chop the sun dried tomatoes, which I regretted. After everything is prepped, putting it together is a breeze.

I was really excited to find this recipe because I was able to use the golden raisins and slivered almonds leftover from my Dundee cake. Don’t you love it when you can actually use the stuff you buy? According to the original poster of this recipe, it’s based on a dish you can get at the Cheesecake Factory. I would describe it’s mix of ingredients as “hearty” and it has a wonderful combination of soft and crunchy textures as well (thanks to the almonds). It seems like it would be good for any season so it’s definitely one I’ll return to in the near future.

Recipe:

Here is my source

-1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous

-1 tbsp olive oil

-½ cup chopped yellow onion

-1 shallot, chopped

-6 cloves garlic, quartered

-½ cup golden raisins

-½ cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

-½ cup slivered almonds

-½ tsp salt

-½ tsp ground black pepper

-3 tbsp lemon juice

-1 tbsp butter, softened

I’m so glad to be cooking for this blog again. I only have one semester of grad school left so after that I think I’ll be able to post more consistently. I plan on posting some non-game recipes (books, movies, comics, tv shows) every now and then so look forward to those as well. Happy holidays, Clue Crew!