Request: Fallout: New Vegas – Wasteland Omelet

Oh my, is it Wednesday already!? I’ve recently started a new job working full-time and I’ve been so busy I’ve not had a moment this week to even play Fallout: New Vegas which has been sitting on my shelf for several months now. So when I get in from work or you settle down after a long day roaming in, well, nothing, you want something quick and nutritious (plus you really have to use up those Deathclaw Eggs). I’m personally a big fan of Omelets (Omelettes? What an odd word) and I love that New Vegas has Hardcore survival style gameplay. It’s this mode which has attracted me to the game and I’m excited to see how well it’s been implemented – for games like Fallout it’s an aspect I really miss! So stoke your fire and follow this very simple but delicious recipe.

This recipe serves 1.

What you will need: A large non-stick frying pan, a bowl, a spatula and a whisk.

Ingredients:

1 Teaspoon Butter

40g / ¼ Cup Red Delicious Apple (Finely Diced)

3 Large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Milk

Salt & Pepper

30g / ¼ Cup Emmental Cheese (Grated)

2 Thick Ham Slices

Making the Wasteland Omelet:

1. In a bowl whisk together the eggs and milk, season to taste and set aside. Then heat the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat.
2. Add the apple to the frying pan and warm through, once the apple begins to soften remove it from the pan and set aside.
3. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the frying pan and allow it to cook. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn underneath and move the pan to help any liquid on top cook.
4. Once the top begins to look firm and cooked, sprinkle half the omelet with the apple, followed by the cheese and then the ham slices.
5. Add a little bit more cheese on top of the ham and carefully use the spatula to fold the omelet in half – the cheese should help it seal once folded.
6. Allow everything to melt and then serve!

The ingredients and inspiration behind the recipe are pretty self-explanatory; the combination of BlamCo Mac & Cheese, Crunchy Mutfruit, Deathclaw Eggs and Lakelurk Meat are simply the ham, cheese and apple which go so well together. Only with less radiation. Maybe. Before anyone mentions those bizarre claw/feet – I know. I tried sculpting some out of chicken, ham and even attempted fish but it just looked ridiculous. Lakelurks don’t even have a piece of anatomy that looks like that. If you’re really distressed I think the closest real-world representation would be a chicken foot. I bet you’re glad I kept it out now, huh?

If anyone would like to re-create this recipe and actually use chicken feet or create a convincing version of the claws – send it to me and you’ll get a special reblog. Because you’d be a braver person than I.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Fallout 3 - Yum Yum Deviled Eggs.

Christmas Special Appetizer: Fallout 3 – Yum Yum Deviled Eggs

After the complication of a trio of recipes for last weeks post, I felt something from a simpler time was needed. A time when women were women, men were quite possibly all exactly like Don Draper and mutants were mutants. Christmas is often hailed as the tackiest holiday thanks to gaudy decorations and glitter, but this also makes it the most retro. Apart from making my starter a prawn cocktail, deviled eggs come in as more of the American classic of yesteryear and Fallout 3 just happens to be full of these strange, vintage consumables. In the interest of safety I’ve removed all rads and rehydrated the eggs for your dining pleasure.

This recipe serves 6.

What you will need: A pot, a bowl and a spoon.

Ingredients:

6 Large Eggs

3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

½ Teaspoon Mustard

Salt & Pepper

Garnish

• Paprika
• Fresh Parsley
• Sliced Spring Onion

Making the Deviled Eggs:

1. Boil the eggs in a large pot of water for 6-10 minutes to make sure they’re hard. Remove the eggs and leave them to cool in a pot of cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Carefully peel the shell off and slice the eggs in half lengthways.
3. Remove the yolks and put them in a bowl, add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt & pepper and mix well until creamy.
4. Using a spoon (or an icing bag for that added retro touch), fill the eggs back up with the yolk filling.
5. Arrange artfully on a plate, garnish with the paprika, parsley and spring onion, then serve.

Fallout 3 sparked a kind of hysteria in me that seems to appear any time I play a Bethesda game; I distinctly remember collecting bottle caps from nights out (possibly trying to pay for cabs home with them) and sharing bobby-pins from my hair with people, explaining why they would need them before they awkwardly all gathered at the opposite end of the bar – I was, in a word, obsessed. Making these Yum Yum Deviled Eggs has made me rather excited to catch-up on my ever growing backlog of games over the Holidays and play Fallout: New Vegas. And if there’s one food that could survive a nuclear disaster, it probably is a deviled egg.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Fallout: New Vegas - Wasteland Omelet.

Christmas Special Drink & Nibbles: Skyrim – Black-Briar Mead, Grilled Leeks & Elsweyr Fondue

Everyone knows cold weather demands a warming drink and something to nibble on, preferably in front of a roaring fire. For the start of my Gourmet Gaming Christmas feast I thought taking a trek back to Skyrim might be worth while due to a lot of requests and let’s not forget its cold, snowy, Nordic landscape. Someone managed to source me some authentic Norfolk mead (thank you!) which I’ve used as my base for creating the infamous Black-Briar brew. I didn’t want it to be just a plain old mead; I felt that spices and fruits available around Skyrim could be added to create a more hearty drink. I’ve also been in enough bars in Skyrim to know that you can’t drink mead without some grilled leeks, why not dip them in a Kajiit’s favourite - Elsweyr Fondue?

This recipe serves 4-6.

Black-Briar Mead

What you will need: Large pot, a sieve and a serving jug/bottle.

Ingredients:

200ml / 1 Cup Mead

200ml / 1 Cup Dry Cider

200ml / 1 Cup Cloudy Apple Juice

2 Tablespoons Honey

3 Star Anise

1 Teaspoon Cloves

1 Cinnamon Stick

1. Add all the ingredients to a pot and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Sieve the mixture into a clean bowl or serving jug. Can be enjoyed warm or chilled.

Grilled Leeks

What you will need: A pot, a bowl, and a griddle pan.

Ingredients:

Leeks

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

1 Clove Garlic

1. Slice the leeks vertically in half and wash thoroughly in cool water. Pop the halved leeks in a large pot of water and bring to the boil. Cook for 4 minutes or until cooked about half way through, then drain and instantly submerge the leeks in a bowl of ice cold water to stop them from cooking any further.
2. Dry the leeks in some paper towels then season with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic. Warm a griddle pan on a medium heat.
3. Lay a few leeks at a time, open side down on the pan. Try to keep them intact so they still have their shape. Turn them gently every few minutes to prevent from burning. Once cooked, lay on a plate or tray to serve.

Elsweyr Fondue

What you will need: A fondue pot/a heavy pot and a grater.

Ingredients:

200ml / 1 Cup Ale

110g / 1 Cup Mature Gruyère (Grated)

110g / 1 Cup Emmental (Grated)

1 Tablespoon Flour

¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg

1 Teaspoon Sugar

1. If you have a fondue pot with a heater than use that. If not – you can also use a heavy pot to melt your ingredients.
2. In the pot heat the Ale on a medium heat – do NOT allow it to boil.
3. Mix the grated cheeses with the flour until it is lightly coated. Add the cheese a little at a time to the ale, stirring gently. Reduce heat to low.
4. Once the cheese has melted, add the nutmeg and sugar and mix gently. Grate over a little more fresh nutmeg and serve.

The original recipe calls for black-market “Moon Sugar” which we know is used to make Skooma, so I had to do some research on what this could be. I instantly thought of nutmeg; it’s seasonal and is a traditional spice to serve with Swiss based fondues. It also has psychoactive and toxic effects if consumed in large amounts, causing sickness and hallucinations – not unlike the in-game drug. Skooma: Not Even Once, Elsweyr Fondue: Delicious. Try dipping in chunks of fresh bread or fruits and eating with savoury preserves or chutneys.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Sweet Rolls.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Sweet Roll

This Friday Skyrim will be hitting the shelves and it’s one of my most highly anticipated releases of this year! Since I’ll be spending the entire weekend glued to my TV and ignoring all signals from my body that it’s tired and wants to go to bed (my brain will be shouting “DRAGONS!” to keep me perky) I figured I’d need some suitable snacks. I read a pretty funny article last week called “Things I Ate In Skyrim” that obviously included the infamous Sweet Roll. Before you climb up on your high armoured horse and start saying “that doesn’t look like any Sweetroll I’ve ever seen” this is a Skyrim edition Sweet Roll (note: no longer “Sweetroll” as it used to be in Morrorwind and Oblivion) that we got a sneak peek at - it seems to have gotten a bit of a visual upgrade and some frosting! I’ve gone with a dense spiced cake recipe that I think compliments the rustic, fantasy setting.

This recipe makes 6 Sweet Rolls.

What you will need: Large deep muffin tray, greaseproof paper/baking parchment, sieve, 2 bowls, wooden spoon, a pot and a knife.

For the Sweet Rolls:

180g / 1 Cup Butter (Room Temperature)

175g / ¾ Cup White Caster Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

2 Eggs (Room Temperature)

250g / 2 Cups Self-Raising Flour

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

125ml / ½ Cup Milk

For the Frosting:

200g / 1 Cup Cream Cheese

55g / ¼ Cup Butter

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

125g / 1 Cup Icing/Confectioners Sugar

For the Cinnamon Syrup:

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons White Caster Sugar

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Preparing the Sweet Rolls:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. To prepare the muffin tray, cut small squares of greaseproof paper and stuff them into each muffin well – create folds and crinkles and then smooth them out to help create a rustic, uneven finish to the cakes.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and maple syrup together until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one and a time and mix well.
3. Sift in the self-raising flour and cinnamon then add the milk and stir gently until a smooth batter forms.
4. Fill the prepared muffin tray with the batter, filling each well nearly to the top and place in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown (a skewer inserted should come out clean when cooked thoroughly). Set aside and allow to cool completely while you prepare the syrup and frosting.

Making the Frosting:

1. Add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix gently until combined.
2. Slowly sift in the icing/confectioners sugar and stir gently. Allow to chill in the fridge before using.

Making the Cinnamon Syrup:

1. In a pan on a medium-high heat melt the butter, sugar and cinnamon together until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside for use later.

Making the Sweet Rolls:

1. Unwrap the cakes from the paper and careful slice the puffy top off the cake. Turn the cake upside down so that the cut top is now the bottom.
2. Cut a small hole in the top of the cake that’s about 1cm deep and 1cm across. Pour a little of the cinnamon syrup into the hole.
3. Drizzle the frosting over the top of the cake and serve.

Now for the infamous question: While in town the baker gives you a Sweetroll. Delighted, you take it into an alley to enjoy only to be interecepted by a gang of three other kids your age. The leader demands the Sweetroll, or else he and his friends will beat you and take it.

1. Act like you’re going to give him the Sweetroll, but at the last minute throw it into the air. Hoping that they’ll pay attention long enough for you to get a shot in on the leader.

2. Drop the Sweetroll and step on it, then get ready for the fight.

3. Give him the Sweetroll now without argument, knowing that later this afternoon you will have all your friends with you and can come and take whatever he owes you.

Protip: Don’t take your Sweet Rolls into any alleys.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - S’Jirra’s Famous Potato Bread.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - “S’Jirra’s Famous Potato Bread” with a Nirnroot Salad

My only experience of RPGs until I played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion were games like Final Fantasy which all my friends played and I seriously struggled to get involved with. Each time one came out I’d go “maybe this time!” and pick it up and after about 10 hours would start to go insane with the start-stop action and repetitive stories… So when I was encouraged to play Oblivion I was sceptical. Then I spent over 200 hours of my life on it and I haven’t been the same person since! “S’Jirras Famous Potato Bread” is a rare food item you are rewarded with, obviously by S’Jirra, at Faregyl Inn for completing ‘The Potato Snatcher’ quest. 

But what would one eat with their potato bread while wandering the wilds of Cyrodiil? What possible vegetation could one gather?! Why that fauna so rare, the elusive and delicious Nirnroot of course! So instead of handing those precious Nirnroots over to Sinderion for an Elixir of Exploration, why not make a delightful salad?

This recipes serves 6-8.

What you will need:

Large baking tray, a pot, two large mixing bowls, a sieve and a little oil for greasing.

For the Potato Bread:

185ml Water

60ml Milk

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 ½ Teaspoons Salt

2 Tablespoons Sugar

225g Mashed Potatoes (approx. 2 medium potatoes)

400g Strong Bread Flour

1 ½ Teaspoons Fast Action Yeast

For the Nirnroot Salad:

Rocket

Baby Spinach

Watercress

Flat Parsley

½ A Fennel Bulb

For the Dressing:

50 ml Olive Oil

4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Salt

Pepper

Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) 

Making the Potato Bread:

1. Peel and boil approx. 2 medium potatoes that are suitable for mashing - I used Vivaldi baking potatoes. Once mashed, do not add anything to them!
2. In a pot, gently heat the water, milk and butter until the butter melts. 
3. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and add the salt, sugar and mashed potato. Mix thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Sieve in half of the flour (200g) and mix well to form a kind of paste.
5. Once the mixture is lukewarm sprinkle in the yeast and mix thoroughly again.
6. Sieve the remaining 200g of flour in and mix until a ball of dough forms.
7. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and kneed for 10 minutes until it is soft, smooth and no longer sticky. This may take a while, and you will have to re-flour the surface several times but keep at it and it will come together.
8. Grease a large bowl with a little oil, place the ball of dough inside top surface down, then turn it over so that both sides are lightly coated in oil. 
9. Cover the bowl with a damp tea-towel, put a plate on top and set in a warm place to rise for about 40-45 minutes.
10. Once the dough has risen and doubled in size - grease a large baking tray.
11. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Punch back the dough to knock out any air. 
12. Form the dough into the desired shape, a kind of rustic bloomer, slice the top several times across to create the pattern and place on the prepared greased tray.
13. Leave in a warm place again for 40-45 minutes. 
14. Once doubled in size - pre-heat the oven to 190C.
15. Sprinkle a little flour over the dough and cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the loaf turns a golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Preparing the Dressing:

1. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together and stir well.

Preparing the Salad:

1. Wash and dry the Rocket, Baby Spinach, Watercress and Parsley.
2. Wash the Fennel and trim the base, then slice it in to fine strips and add to the salad.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well until all the leaves are coated.
4. Finely grate some parmigiano-reggiano over the salad.

I was really worried about making bread, I had tried once before in the past and failed miserably, it ended up like a rock, but this bread came out perfectly. I made it all by hand too so there’s seriously no need for a mixer or bread-maker. As a potato bread it did have a slightly different texture to most breads, it was incredibly light and moist but slightly dense, almost cake like. It went fabulously with the Nirnroot salad and array of vegetables and cheeses I served up and was super tasty with jam too - my friends thought I’d lied and bought it from the bakery around the corner it was that good! I’d say this bread was a complete success, it even looked just like S’Jirra’s, only I didn’t have to chase down any Ogres for the ingredients.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Elsweyr Fondue, Black Briar Mead & Grilled Leeks.