Mrs. Cotton’s Amazing Autumn Tart

Posted October 16, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

This post is not sponsored by TALES OF THE SHIRE or Wētā Workshop Game Studio.

Time for my favorite dessert from TALES OF THE SHIRE: Mrs. Cotton’s Amazing Autumn Tart! It’s one of the first recipes you learn in-game, and it’s a common craving of Farmer Cotton’s. Understandably so!

In the game, you can use any two fruits and a berry to make the tart, along with cream and flour. Since this is an autumn tart, I decided to stick with forgables you can find in autumn in-game: apples, peaches, and blackberries. Plums might work even better than apples, but I recently tested several versions of a plum recipe so I’m kinda over plums for the moment.

For the tart shell, I used the same one as my Raspberry Basil Tart. To incorporate the cream, I made some almond pastry cream and spread it on the bottom of the tart. I made the blackberries into a seedless blackberry jam, which I spread on top of the pastry cream. Then I studded the top with fresh apple and peach slices.

I love this tart’s interplay of flavors: sweet apples and peaches, tart blackberries, rich pastry cream, and buttery crust. If you close your eyes, you can picture yourself enjoying it while sitting on a blanket in an orchard, the autumn sun on your face while a light breeze stirs the crunchy leaves around you. A truly hobbity dessert if there ever was one!

Gaffer Gamgee’s Root Soup

Posted October 2, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Taters! Can’t have a TALES OF THE SHIRE menu without them. Not only are they Sam Gamgee’s favorite food, but they’re the first item you grow in your garden in-game. This recipe is an ode not just to taters, but all root vegetables. It’s packed with carrots, parsnips, turnips, and onions too! Don’t worry, if you don’t like turnips, you can double up on another veg or add rutabaga (my personal favorite soup veg).

According to the recipe’s description on the TALES OF THE SHIRE wiki, “only the most seasoned gardener could create a soup with such simple ingredients,” so I kept mine simple too. Just some chopped root vegetables in a simple simmered broth flavored with garlic, ginger, and bay. And a Parmesan cheese rind if you have one on hand! That’s my secret ingredient for adding richness and depth to any broth. 😉

The Bywater Dish

Posted September 18, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

There is one recipe in TALES OF THE SHIRE that stands out more than all others: the Bywater Dish! In the game, the hobbits of Bywater must come up with a village dish, something that sums up the “flavours and heart” of their village. After talking to lots of villagers to determine what should be in the dish, it’s decided that you should make something with Mr. Sandyman’s flour, Young Tom Cotton’s cream, mushrooms, fish, and hearty vegetables. Since there are loads of different mushrooms, fish, and vegetables in the game, you can make the dish a little differently each time, depending on what the villagers are craving and what you have in your pantry.

For the mushrooms in my Bywater Dish, I decided to go with shimeji and hen of the woods mushrooms. Hen of the woods has a similar profile to the in-game mushrooms called wild beef, and the shimeji reminded me of the field ring mushrooms you can find in the fields around Bywater. In the future, I’d love to try it with morels or chanterelles when they’re in season!

For my fish, I went with catfish, since all the fish in-game are freshwater fish, and there’s an in-game fish called a “little beard” that has catfish-like whiskers. For my hearty vegetable, you know I had to go with taters—namely baby red potatoes, or “ruby taters” as they’re known in TALES OF THE SHIRE. I also threw in some rosemary and lemon, since those are available seasonings in-game.

If you look closely at the top of the pie’s thumbnail photo from the game, you can see see the design of a tree on top, so I made a little puff pastry tree to adorn the top of my Bywater Dish (though I think next time I’ll make it smaller—the branches kind of disappear into each other at the top of the pie!).

This savory, creamy, hearty dish is truly a taste of Bywater, a village surrounded by fish-filled rivers, mushroom-studded woods, and the most welcoming of hobbits. Pull up a chair, grab a fork, and dig in with the citizens of Bywater!

Raised Cheese Bread

Posted September 4, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Welcome to the first recipe in my TALES OF THE SHIRE menu! I’ve been looking forward to this game ever since it was first announced in 2023, and I’ve been playing it nonstop since it came out in July. I love the cozy aesthetic, relaxed pace, and—of course—deeply integrated cooking system.

There are 120 recipes to learn, and much of the game’s progress is tied up in inviting other local hobbits over for meals. Many of the recipes require general ingredients, and whatever specific ingredient you choose to fill that slot affects the flavor of the dish. For example, a recipe might just call for mushrooms, but using chanterelles can make the dish spicy while morels make it bitter. I love how the cooking skill slowly expands, adding more cooking stations to your kitchen, which allow you to further transform the flavors and increase the quality of each dish.

It was difficult to narrow down which recipes I wanted to use for this menu, but I knew for sure I wanted to include a hearty homemade bread. One of the early recipes you learn is Raised Cheese Bread, which requires flour, yeast, cheese, and onion.

For the base dough, I reworked the dough from the Dracula Dinner Rolls in my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY PARTY. It makes a delightfully soft, fluffy, almost smooshy bread, which was exactly the texture I wanted. I mixed shredded Cheddar into the dough, as well as grated fresh onion and snipped fresh chives. Although chives aren’t listed in the ingredient list for Raised Cheese Bread, they are an available seasoning in the game, and the thumbnail image of the bread shows little green flecks in the dough. For the finishing touch, I topped the bread with as much shredded Cheddar as it would hold.

This bread is so soft and perfect slathered with butter, and the fresh onion and Cheddar complement each other well. I LOVED this and will definitely make it again. The recipe makes two loves, and I brought one to a get together with friends—they ate it right up!

Changeling Dumplings

Posted August 21, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Today’s final DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON recipe is a 3-in-1: three flavors of dumpling in one recipe, inspired by the array of dumplings the characters eat after being transformed by a changeling mushroom ring. This is my favorite episode in the whole season because my favorite character, Senshi the dwarf, gets temporarily turned into an elf. Wherever he walks, the air around him blooms with flowers and glitters with sparkles. 😆

Senshi makes fried dumplings, and in a moment of inspiration, he passes the dumplings through the mouth of a changeling statue, transforming the food into a variety of tasty dumplings.

Only a few are described, so I used those as the inspiration for my three flavors. Izutsumi says one of the dumplings is filled with Barometz meat, a dungeon monster that looks like a lamb, so I filled one dumpling with ground lamb seasoned with garlic and onion. Marcille bites into a dumpling filled with stretchy yellow cheese, so I made one stuffed with Velveeta. Laos says one of the dumplings is sweet, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. I LOVE Nutella-stuffed fried wontons, so I filled my final dumpling with a mix of Nutella and cream cheese.

These all turned out amazing, but I think my favorite was the Velveeta. How is no one already doing this? It was like eating deep-fried grilled cheese! Plus, it was easy to assemble since the cheese is solid but soft at room temp. My kids, on the other hand, loved the lamb dumplings. They’re already asking me to make them again!

I’m sad that this is the end of my DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON menu—I had SO much fun coming up with monster-inspired recipes—but I’m glad I got the opportunity to try some things that were a little more “out there.” I’m also excited for my next menu. I can’t reveal it yet (you’ll have to wait a couple weeks), but I’ve been looking forward to doing it for two whole years. I can’t wait to share it with you!

NOTE: This recipe needs to chill for 2 hours before frying.

Senshi’s Quick Risotto with Mushrooms and Cheese from the Orcs

Posted August 7, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Welcome to my latest DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON recipe! Today’s recipe is shortcut mushroom risotto with cheese, which Senshi makes for Izutsumi, a new party member who joins them partway through the dungeon. I chose this recipe because quick mushroom and cheese risotto has long been one of my go-to meatless recipes at home, and I reeeeally wanted to make a DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON recipe that features mushrooms, since the walking mushroom monsters feature so heavily in the show.

I used Senshi’s recipe instructions in the show as my inspiration, with the details filled in by my go-to risotto recipe. Senshi’s instructions call for adding the water all at once instead of adding it a bit at a time and letting it absorb before adding more (which can take a while). This is what makes it a “quick” risotto, rather than a true risotto. Usually, shredded Parmesan is added, but in the show it looks like Senshi uses Swiss, so I did that instead.

For the titular mushrooms, I used royal trumpet mushrooms I found at the farmers’ market, but you can use regular baby bellas if you want. I just think the look of the trumpet mushrooms is more similar to the walking mushroom monsters. One of the ones I bought was even split at the bottom in a way that looked like legs (here’s a photo!).

I love how this turned out, which was no surprise since I’ve been making something similar for years. It was so rich and creamy, and the mushrooms offered a delightful earthiness. The perfect dish to welcome Izutsumi to the party!

Onion Pizza Bread Topped with Seared Dragon Steak

Posted July 24, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

The most important moment in Season 1 of DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON is the party’s battle against the Red Dragon, so I knew I needed to make it the entrée of my menu! Senshi makes several dragon dishes, including dragon roast and several hams, but I decided to make the onion and cheese pizza bread, which another character tops with some strips of dragon steak.

Using premade pizza dough from the grocery store, I topped my pizza with shredded Gouda and red onion, along with some barbecue sauce (no sauce is mentioned in the show, but it felt like the perfect companion to these flavors). To finish, I seared an eye round steak (the smallest cut I could find at Aldi, since I didn’t need a lot) and laid slices of it on top the finished pizza.

It was sooo good, like something out of a restaurant. The steak and cheese bring a rich, fatty saltiness, which is balanced by the sweetness and tang from the bbq sauce. Add in the bite of fresh onion on top to brighten it all up, and you’ve got the perfect reward for fighting the evil Red Dragon!

Three Teas to be Discontinued at End of July

Posted July 23, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Teas / 0 Comments

Hi, everybody! As you may recall, in January I announced that this year I will discontinue a few of my custom tea blends every few months. I’ve been making blends for almost 10 years and have over 60 blends by now, so I think it’s time to say goodbye to some of the less popular teas.

Before I discontinue each set of teas, I share a post here (and link to it on social media) one week before the blends are officially discontinued. This will give people time to grab a few final tins if they’d like. This month, all the teas I will discontinue are inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation. So if you’re a trekkie (like I am), now’s your last chance to get my TNG teas, but don’t worry—my Vulcan Mocha blend is sticking around!

This month I will discontinue the following teas:

Command Red

Sciences Blue

Operations Gold

These teas will be available to order until the end of July.

Thanks for your continued support of my teas and recipes!

I’ll be back tomorrow with another recipe post. See you then!

Command Red from Star Trek TNG

Science’s Blue from Star Trek TNG

Operations Gold from Star Trek TNG

Mandrake and Basilisk Bacon Omelet

Posted July 10, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments

Welcome to my latest menu! I’m so excited for this one. When DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON first premiered on Netflix, I knew I had to watch it. It’s a fun, quirky, manga-inspired anime about a party of adventurers who travel ever deeper into a dungeon, hoping to rescue a friend they lost there. The dungeon is riddled with monsters like walking mushrooms and basilisks, and the party leader, Laios, is fascinated with how they might taste. He recruits a dwarf named Senshi, who passionately loves food and cooking, and together the party makes delicious monster-based recipes as they fight their way through the dungeon.

One of the first recipes they make is a mandrake and basilisk bacon omelet. It seemed pretty easy as far as monster recipes go, so I decided to make it the first installment in my DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON menu. The basilisk (half chicken, half snake) provides both the eggs and the bacon.* Snake products aren’t exactly easy to source, so I went with standard eggs and bacon. The mandrake is a root vegetable shaped a bit like a human, and it utters a high-pitched scream when removed from soil. It reminded me of parsnips, so I sautéed some in the leftover bacon fat before mixing it with the chopped bacon. Then I enrobed it all in a golden yellow omelet.

Of course, this was amazing. You can’t go wrong with bacon and eggs! Parsnip has a mellow starchiness similar to a potato with a touch of sweetness reminiscent of carrot, so it complemented the other flavors well. My husband and I demolished it quickly. I can’t wait to make my next monster-inspired recipe!

*In the show, it looks like the bacon might actually be provided by a Big Bat one of the party members caught, but according to the Delicious in Dungeon wiki page (which covers both the show and the manga), the bacon comes from the basilisk.

4th of July Recipe Roundup

Posted June 26, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Holidays / 0 Comments

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Hi, everybody! I don’t have a bonus recipe for this month’s menu, but with the 4th of July coming up, I thought it would be fun to share a roundup of Independence Day-worthy recipes I’ve posted over the years. Here are 5 of my favorites!
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MY 4TH OF JULY RECIPE ROUNDUP

Arrietty’s Mini Cherry Cakes

If you use blueberry jam instead of cherry (but still put the cherry on top),
this would be the perfect red, white, and blue dessert!

Fairy Dust Star Cookies

Say yes to star-spangled treats!

Healthy Dessert Pizza

If you’re looking for something less sweet, this giant oatmeal cookie topped with
yogurt, fruit, chocolate, and nuts has you covered.

Sugar Plum Punch

This is actually a recipe inspired by The Nutcracker,
but it works perfectly as a festive Independence Day beverage too.

A Patriot Tea Party

Last but not least, a two for one:
almond cookies and queen cakes inspired by the American Girl doll, Felicity!

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July,
and I’ll see you in a couple of weeks
for the start of a new menu!