Minecraft – Mushroom Stew

Is it a stew? Is it a soup? Not even Notch seems to be sure. What we do know is that mushrooms are awesome. Why, you ask? Because mushrooms are the very foundation of the gaming industry. Without the iconic ‘1-UP’, perhaps gaming wouldn’t have become as popular as it is today. It’s a sobering thought, but from Mario to Minecraft, mushrooms have appeared in innumerable titles across the years. I’m also a personal fan of the fungi, as a vegetarian they feature a lot in my diet. They’re incredibly delicious, but mushroom soup is probably one of the most foul things you can ever taste, especially when it comes from a can. So change your mind, and follow in the footsteps of gaming heroes by enjoying some real, fresh mushroom stew. (No Mooshrooms were harmed in the making of this recipe).

This recipe serves 4.

What you will need: A large and deep frying pan/skillet, kitchen towel and a small pot.

For the Croutons:

Olive Oil

Salt

4 Slices White Bread

For the Mushroom Stew:

Olive Oil

Truffle Oil (Optional)

Salt & Pepper

300g / 4 Cups Mushrooms (Chopped)

• Portabello
• Pink Oyster
• Yellow Oyster
• Shimeji

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Small White Onion (Chopped)

1 Clove Garlic

500ml Vegetable Stock (Or use 250ml Vegetable and 250ml Mooshroom/Beef stock)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme (Chopped)

1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley (Chopped)

110ml / ½ Cup Single Cream

Making the Croutons:

1. Using a sharp knife, cut out the shape of the pixelated mushroom. You can use this image as a template. Cut out some squares too and set aside.
2. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and a dash of truffle oil in a large frying pan. Add a little salt once heated, then carefully lay the bread shapes into the pan.
3. Once they are golden on one side, flip them over. Remove the croutons from the pan when crisp and lay them on some absorbent kitchen towel to drain any excess oil. Set aside for garnishing later.

Making the Mushroom Stew:

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan on a medium high heat. Once hot add the mushrooms and fry for one minute.
2. Next, add the butter, onion and garlic and stir. Season with a little salt and pepper, drop in the thyme and allow to cook.
3. Once the moisture in the pan has reduced and is almost gone, add the stock. Bring it to the boil, then allow the soup to simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Once simmered, pour the soup into a bowl and blend for a few minutes. You can blend it to be very smooth, or leave it a little chunky – whichever you prefer. Once blended, pour the soup into a clean pot and warm through.
5. Add the cream and some parsley and stir well. Serve the soup up, and garnish with the croutons, some thyme, parsley and a drizzle of truffle oil.

I was really pleased with how this turned out, and by some stroke of fate I managed to pick mushrooms at random in the store that just so happened to be perfect for soups! There’s a great depth of flavour that’s light and warming, and the croutons add a delightful contrast in texture and taste. I will make a warning though, this stew/soup certainly wont be for everybody. I think you’d probably have to love mushrooms to like this. And I mean really love mushrooms. You’d have to be, like, a spore away from being one yourself – or maybe just a fun guy or gal (that’s right, I went there). For those of you that do like it, however, just make sure not to gobble the bowl while you’re at it.

Like this? You might also enjoy the Minecraft - Cake.

Bastion – Leechade

Bastion was the impressive and visually stunning Indie hit of 2011, if you’ve not played it yet I recommend you pick it up right away on Xbox Live, Steam or Google Chrome! One of the most awesome things about the game is the Distillery where The Kid can choose all sorts of interesting potions to help him on his journey. Each one has a unique effect, taste and appearance – I just wish I had the amazing bottles to do each spirit justice. “Leechade’s so sour, it’ll perk you right up when you’re feeling low”.

This recipe makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1 Measure Advocaat

1 Measure Dry London Gin

0.5 Measure Triple Sec

0.5 Measure Blue Curaçao

Top Up Cloudy Lemonade

Lemon Wedge Garnish

Like this? You might also enjoy the Sims 3 - Love Potion #8.5.

Costume Quest – Pizza Sundae

Pizza Sundae was the big winner of the Costume Quest vote, even my own mother was begging for this one to win! When thinking about how to make this I had to consider quite a few things – is this more savoury and pizza based? Or sweet and ice-cream based? I decided that blue layer indicated something sweeter, in fact it reminded me of fond memories eating tutti-frutti ‘Smurf’ ice-cream in Italy as a child. So I constructed a kind of pie filled with the many layers and heart of an ice-cream sundae.

This recipe serves 6-8.

What you will need: 9 inch pie dish, greaseproof paper/baking parchment, baking tray, large and medium bowls, a whisk.

For the Base:

110g / 1 Cup Salted Peanuts (Finely chopped/crushed)

200g / 1½ Cups Digestive Biscuits (Crushed)

50g / ¼ Cup Butter (Melted)

For the Sundae:

200g / 2 Cups Good quality:

• Strawberry Ice-cream
• White Vanilla Ice-cream
• Chocolate Ice-cream

Red & Blue Food Colouring

18g / ½ Cup Mini Marshmallows (The smaller the better)

50g / ½ Cup Small Chocolate Chips/Chunks

200ml / 1 Cups Double Cream

6 Tablespoons White Caster Sugar

8 Glacé Cherries (Halved)

Preparing the Base:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and place the baking tray inside to heat up. Grease and line the pie dish and set aside.
2. In a bowl add the peanuts, crushed digestive biscuits and melted butter and mix thoroughly.
3. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pie dish and make a few holes in the base with a fork. Place the pie dish in the oven on top of the preheated baking tray and cook for 10-15 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge to chill.

Preparing the Sundae:

1. Remove the strawberry ice-cream from the fridge and allow it to soften – not too much, just enough that it is manageable. Once soft, adjust the colour (if not pink enough) with a little red food colouring and mix well.
2. Mix the mini marshmallows into the strawberry ice-cream then pour the mixture into the pie crust ensuring it is smooth and even. Place in the freezer to chill.
3. Next remove the vanilla ice-cream and allow to soften. This time add a few drops of blue food colouring and mix well until the right shade has been achieved.
4. Take the now frozen pie from the freezer - please make sure each layer is fully frozen before you add the next otherwise they will mix and it will be more difficult! Pour the blue-vanilla ice-cream on top, spread evenly then return to the freezer to set.
5. Once frozen again, remove the chocolate ice-cream and allow to soften. Add a few drops of red food colouring to add a subtle red hue to the chocolate layer. Mix in the chocolate chunks/chips.
6. Pour the chocolate ice-cream over the blue-vanilla then return the pie to the freezer.
7. Take the pie from the freezer 20 minutes before serving to allow to thaw. Whip the double cream, slowly adding the sugar to taste, then add the whipped cream on top and scatter with glacé cherries. Serve with a hot chocolate or fudge sauce if desired.

From above, the Pizza Sundae actually looks like a pizza covered in some bizarre red olives – mission accomplished! Originally I wanted the crust to be a cookie crust, but after a bit of research I discovered this wouldn’t freeze very well and was forced to use a cheesecake style base. I added in some salted peanuts to create a nice contrast with the sweetness of the ice-cream filing – I always love nuts in my sundaes for this reason and it works just as well here. I had toyed with the idea of the blue layer maybe being minty but decided in the end to go with the classic Neapolitan flavours – the vanilla layer acting as a nice balance between the strong flavours of the strawberry and chocolate. I was really worried this wasn’t going to work and I seriously impressed even myself when I finally cut it open! With whipped cream and a cherries on top I think the Pizza Sundae is the future of sundaes and the combinations are nearly endless!

Don’t forget to check out the other winners - Mossy Log and Choconana!

Costume Quest Hallowe’en Special Winners!

We have in first place, Pizza Sundae, second goes to Mossy Log and in a close third it’s Choconana! A huge thanks to everyone who voted! There were far more of you than I expected. The Hallowe’en Special will be posted on Wednesday October 26th so you can have the recipes in time for your own Hallowe’en celebrations! Now to figure out what costume to wear this year and how on earth to make a Pizza Sundae…

Vote for the Gourmet Gaming Hallowe’en Special!

This Hallowe’en I’ll be doing a ‘Costume Quest’ Gourmet Gaming special! I’ve picked 10 of my favourite Creepy Treats so vote for your favourite in the Facebook Poll by September 30th and see the top 3 come to life for Hallowe’en!

VOTE HERE

Or if you’d rather, you can leave a comment here for the one you’d like and I can add it to the Facebook poll votes.