Tag: November

Yorkshire Pudding

Posted November 30, 2023 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

When I first decided to make a menu inspired by ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, I knew it had to include Yorkshire pudding. For one thing, the show is set in the Yorkshire Dales. Plus, main character Jim “eats [his] weight in Yorkshire puddings” at the Dobsons’ farm after he helps them out with their cows.

Making Yorkshire pudding is a bit of an art. I wanted to be sure I got it right, so I turned to this recipe from The Spruce Eats. The final results were amazing! The only major change I made was increasing the rest time. When I let the batter rest for several hours like the recipe suggests, I found that the finished puddings had a nice texture but not a strong flavor. I saw some recipes that called for an overnight rest, so I gave that a shot with the same batter as before. The final product was sooo rich and eggy—something special, truly worth the extra time!

Skeldale House Sausage Rolls

Posted November 2, 2023 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

I’ve been craving comforting TV shows for the past few months. I’ve had lots of health issues lately, and it’s got me feeling weary in body and soul. When I feel like this, I just want to curl up on the couch and watch something cozy. For me, peak comfort television is ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. It’s a PBS Masterpiece show about a Yorkshire countryside veterinary practice in the 1930s-40s (based on the memoir of the same name). I just rewatched all three seasons, and the lovable characters, wholesome story, and cute farm animals soothed me to the depths of my heart. Season Four recently released in Britain, but since I’m in the U.S., I have to wait until January. As I eagerly await Season 4, I’m biding my time by making a menu inspired by all the delicious food in the show.

Today’s recipe is sausage rolls, a staple appetizer at every Skeldale House Christmas party. Since the show’s season finales are always set during Christmas, sausage rolls appear in each one. Sausage rolls are especially prominent in the season three finale, where Jenny desperately tries to force a plate of rolls on Gerald to keep him from leaving the party early.

The filling for these sausage rolls is heavily inspired by Rapunzel’s Braided Pastries in my e-cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC. However, I also took a lot of inspiration from this Jamie Oliver recipe, since I wanted the rolls to be authentically British.

They turned out AMAZING. I love a good sausage roll, and these are top tier (if I do say so myself! 😉).

P.S. If you haven’t read the memoir the show is based on, I highly recommend it. My husband got it for me as a birthday present a couple years ago, and it’s sooo good!

Strange Bun

Posted November 17, 2022 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Say hello to the Strange Bun, my latest recipe from the game STARDEW VALLEY! In the game, this recipe is made from void mayonnaise and periwinkle, an appropriately strange combo to be sure. Literally everyone in the game hates them (even the villager who gives you the recipe). I was intrigued by this dish, so I decided to try my hand at making a delicious (but still weird) version.

The in-game recipe thumbnail shows a yellow spiral bun that rises in the center and has red filling, so I knew what my final bun needed to look like. I started with my go-to enriched dough recipe, but I swapped out the egg for mayonnaise. It may sound wild, but mayo has long been known to add fat and complexity to baked goods. In fact, you may have even come across cake recipes that call for mayo.

But what to do about the filling? I loved the idea of adding to the strangeness by making my buns spicy. I decided to make red pepper jam, and since this was my first time making it, I used a recipe by Inquiring Chef and tweaked it to suit my taste. To make the bun higher in the center, I cut the rolled dough into triangles and rolled them from the wide end, baking them in muffin tins to help them keep their shape.

The final product was savory and sweet with a touch of spice. A bit confusing to be sure, but delightfully so. I think if the villagers in STARDEW VALLEY got a chance to try this version, they might change their minds about Strange Buns!

Pepper Poppers

Posted November 3, 2022 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 1 Comment

Today marks the beginning of a menu I’ve been looking forward to all year! Not only is this my first time making a menu for a computer game, but it’s for my all-time favorite game: STARDEW VALLEY!

For those who are unfamiliar, STARDEW VALLEY is a farming and life simulation role-playing game. There are loads of farming sims out there, but this one is special because it is just so perfectly balanced. It’s well-paced, relaxing but rewarding, easy to play in both short bursts and long hauls, and incorporates fun storytelling and lore. In fact, STARDEW VALLEY is the only computer game I’ve continued to play since having kids (sorry, Sims). On top of it all, the art style and music are beautiful in their simplicity…and the food looks AMAZING. Which is why we’re here today. 😉

Food plays a big roll in STARDEW VALLEY. Many of the recipes provide buffs to the player’s speed, energy, luck, attacks against monsters, and more. There are loads of iconic STARDEW VALLEY recipes so I had a hard time narrowing it down, but I knew from the beginning that today’s recipe needed to make the final cut. Let’s make Pepper Poppers! 😀

Pepper Poppers is probably the food I eat most early in the game. It provides buffs for both farming and speed, making it perfect for when I’m working on building my farm to max capacity. Judging by the recipe’s in-game thumbnail, Pepper Poppers consists of a mix of red and green breaded peppers, which the description states are spicy and filled with cheese.

I chose jalapeños for my green peppers and mini sweet peppers for the red (since my store didn’t have any red chilis). For the filling, I used a mix of cream cheese and shredded Cheddar, then threw in some chopped pepperoni and chives to make it my own. Since this recipe is a favorite of the character Shane—and he’s the one who gives the player the recipe—I decided to create a batter than uses his favorite beverage, beer. My beer batter is loosely based on this Paula Deen recipe.

These were SO satisfying. Crisp on the outside, then a hit of spice, and ultra creamy in the center. I can see why they’re Shane’s favorite!

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Hazelnuts

Posted November 18, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments

I had an open-fire entree planned for this week, but I haven’t been able to make it yet due to prolonged rainy weather. So while we wait for more clement conditions, let’s make a side dish: roasted hazelnuts!

For all the recipes in my HATCHET menu, I want to draw inspiration from the rugged setting of the book. The main character, Brian, eats a variety of nuts and berries, including hazelnuts, which caught my interest since I don’t get to cook with them much. At first I planned to make roasted nuts seasoned with fresh oregano, but then maple syrup popped into my head. It’s the perfect seasonal ingredient for November, and I’ve never seen maple roasted nuts before. I decided to experiment using my go-to candied walnut recipe as a base.

They turned out amazing! The buttery earthiness of the hazelnuts is balanced by the warm sweetness of the maple, and the cinnamon adds just a hint of aromatic lift. It’s a food that feels fancy but is actually just a combo of a few raw materials. Those materials are a match made in trail snack heaven. Enjoy! 😉

Raspberry Fruit Leather Inspired by HATCHET

Posted November 4, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago, I learned of the passing of Gary Paulsen. His books have a special place in my heart, so I decided to finish the year with a menu dedicate to his most famous work, HATCHET.

Paulsen’s books first entered my life when I was in college. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be an author, so when I went to college, I majored in English Writing with the intention to work in publishing and hone my writing skills. My junior year, I interned for Paulsen’s literary agent.

Along with reading queries and reviewing manuscripts, a big part of my job was organizing and updating the “Paulsen files.” This was the agency’s collection of his awards, reviews, interviews, etc. I relished the opportunity to take a magnifying glass to the life and works of such a talented writer.

As I learned more about Paulsen, I came to respect him not only as a writer but also a resilient soul. Despite growing up in hardship, he had the courage to be vulnerable in his work, letting his most difficult experiences inform the emotions of his characters. In HATCHET, when the main character, Brian, struggles with hunger, thirst, injury, and danger, the reader can tell Paulsen experienced these things firsthand.

In honor of HATCHET’s rugged setting, this menu will consist of trail recipes, the sort of food you could take hiking or camping. Today’s recipe, raspberry fruit leather, is adapted from THE ALASKA WILD BERRY COOKBOOK. It was the perfect resource–I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to include a nod to Gary’s love for the Alaskan wilderness! 🙂

My hope is that someone out there will make this snack and take it out into nature, either to enjoy with the scenery or as sustenance on a challenging outdoor excursion. Because the best way to honor Gary Paulsen is to get out there and appreciate the wild places of the world.

Miruvor: A LOTR-Inspired Recipe from The Geeky Bartender Cookbook

Posted November 12, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Hi, everybody! To celebrate the recent release of my second book, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK, I’ve been doing a monthly post series devoted to recipes from fiction-inspired cookbooks. Today’s recipe is from THE GEEKY BARTENDER COOKBOOK by Cassandra Reeder, creator of The Geeky Chef blog. When I first started blogging, The Geeky Chef was one of my greatest inspirations when choosing a focus for my blog, so making a recipe from Cassandra’s book is great honor for me! Let’s get started!

Mrs. Markham’s Steak and Ale Pies with Mushroom and Caramelized Onion

Posted November 5, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Say hello to Anne Bronte’s newest fan: me! * waves excitedly * Admittedly, I’m a bit late to the party (about 172 years too late). I have a habit of putting off hefty books if my library doesn’t have the audiobook, since my kids try to climb on me whenever I sit down. Still, I managed to eke out little parcels of time over the past month to read an ebook of Anne Bronte’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and I’m SO glad I did! I like it even better than Wuthering Heights, my first foray into the Bronte books. The main characters are much more likeable, and I love the role books play in the story. For example:

Want to declare your undying fidelity and affection for someone? Give them a book!

Want to express your disdain for your husband’s paramour? Lend her a book and write a note on the flyleaf declaring her unworthy of consideration or respect!

Want to let your friends know your soul is filled with disquiet and anguish? Continually pick up and discard a book (alternatively, stare at the same page for several minutes while absorbing nothing).

Seriously, can we make the Victorian attitude towards books a thing again? Because I’m all for it.

Maple Apple Pie with Walnut Crust

Posted November 22, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Can you believe I’ve never written an apple pie post before? I’ve made loads of apple recipes for my classic lit menus (homemade apple sauce, apple rose tartlets, and apple cider crullers—just to name a few) but never pie. Of course, when I decided to make one for my Sleepy Hollow menu, I knew it needed to be more than your average apple pie. I wanted to kick it up a notch!

I started with seasonal flavors, bouncing a few flavor combo ideas off the Mister, and we both agreed that maple and walnut were great seasonal additions to an apple pie. I decided to swap maple syrup for the sugar usually found in fruit pie filling, and since I’m not a big fan of chopped nuts in my pie filling, I decided to grind the walnuts up and mix them in with the pie crust. I used a basic version of the pie crust recipe from my cookbook, and the filling is just a slight variation on my family’s favorite apple pie recipe: the one from “How to Make Apple Pie and See the World.”

The result was a glorious pie filled to bursting with the flavor of sweet-tart apples, rich maple syrup, and a hint of nuttiness from the crust. I brought mine to Thanksgiving, where it was a big hit!

NOTE: This recipe needs at least 4 hours to set.

Apple Cider Crullers

Posted November 1, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments

November has arrived and, with it, our brand new book of the month: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! Normally I save spooky stories like this for October, but as I was rereading Sleepy Hollow in preparation for this menu, I noticed that pretty much all the food was perfect Thanksgiving fare: pies flavored with pumpkin and apples, dressed turkey, cider, and so much more! Thus, I decided to save this menu for November, when people would be hankering for classic autumnal flavors, rather than Halloween-specific recipes.

I’m starting things off with delicious apple cider crullers. When Ichabod Crane describes the delicious food served at the Van Tassel party, crullers are high on the list, as is cider, so I decided to make a recipe that combined the two together. I’d never made crullers before and originally planned to find a recipe online, but when I realized they’re made with choux pastry, I whipped up a batch of the trusty choux recipe from my cookbook, simply subbing apple cider for half the water. The icing was easy to improvise too: just make powdered sugar icing and use cider instead of milk for the liquid. These were scrumptious and fun, a big hit with everyone at our house. They were gone by the end of the day!