Tag: Wizard of Earthsea

Dragon Flame Meringue Cookies

Posted July 26, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Time for our Wizard of Earthsea dessert! While I was developing this menu, I knew I wanted to have a recipe dedicated to the dragons. There isn’t a specific one mentioned in the book, and none of the savory ideas I came up with felt right. Then I thought of making a flame-themed dessert.

One of the tricky things about blogging for almost 5 years is that sometimes the ideas you get for new recipes are too similar to something you’ve posted in the past. Flame cupcakes were the first thing that came to mind, but I made them before for my Hunger Games menu and couldn’t think of a way to make a second version unique enough. Then cookies came to mind, but plain old sugar cookies just felt too boring.

Then I thought of meringue! It’s one of my favorite desserts to play with, and I loved that meringue cookies would allow me to make tiny 3D clusters of flame. I whipped up my favorite meringue recipe (a combo of the instructions from my baked Alaska post and this Taste of Home recipe) and started experimenting—and came up with these little beauties! They were SO fun to make. I love that each one is different. It makes you want to take the time to really look at and appreciate them before you take a bite. Enjoy! 🙂

Enchanted Breadstick Arrows from the Island of Roke

Posted July 19, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

I wanted to continue this month’s Wizard of Earthsea menu with a fun little item we hear about during Ged’s revelry with his friends at a festival on the wizards’ island, Roke. The boys are playing around with various spells, and as Ged’s friend Vetch causes the leftover chicken bones from his dinner to turn into owls and fly around, Ged uses magic to fashion breadcrumb arrows that he sends after the birds. I loved the idea of bread arrows, so I created a recipe for Parmesan garlic basil breadsticks using premade pizza dough and added arrowheads with some extra dough.

They turned out delicious! Everyone in our family loved them, especially the baby. He wouldn’t let me walk by the tupperware container I had them in without grunting and reaching for a piece. I’d say that’s a pretty rave review! 😉

Shadow Monster Black Bean Soup

Posted July 12, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 3 Comments

For my Wizard of Earthsea menu this month, I really loved the idea of making a recipe in honor of Ged’s shadow monster, the otherworldly beast he unleashes when he accidentally creates a tear in reality trying to call on dead spirits (y’know…as you do). The monster was a wonderfully spooky antagonist, and its introduction was what really pulled me into the story.

A black food sounded perfect for a shadow monster, and I LOVE black bean soup. This particular recipe from Umami Girl became a quick favorite of mine. Both the ingredients list and the instructions are short and simple, and it’s delicious while keeping the flavors focused on the beans themselves. And it tastes great when paired with with breadsticks!

Ogion’s Fried Honey Basil Goat Cheese Bites

Posted July 5, 2018 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 4 Comments

Welcome to our Wizard of Earthsea menu! I wanted to start the Earthsea series for years, and a few months ago I finally got around to it. It felt a little slow at first, though this may be due to the fact I read it as an audiobook and wasn’t in love with the narration style. However, I stuck with it, and around chapter 5 things REALLY picked up. Forbidden magic, shadow monsters, dragons—I was hooked!

I wanted to start off our menu with a nod to one of my favorite characters: Ogion, the reclusive wizard who lives deep in the wilderness and acts as Ged’s first master. His gentle guidance and wisdom are a great foil to the rashness of Ged’s youth. Since Ogion loves his goats and has been known to serve cheese to his rare visitors, I loved the idea of making a goat cheese appetizer. I hunted through Pinterest for inspiration and came across this recipe for fried goat cheese balls with honey. It sounded just right for Ogion, so I whipped up a batch with a couple changes to make it my own: I mixed chopped basil into the cheese for a bit of freshness and swapped out the original Honey Bunches of Oats coating for panko crumbs. You can definitely try the cereal coating if you want (it sounds delicious!); I just felt like a simple bread crumb was more in keeping with Ogion’s humble home.

I know goat cheese isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and fried goat cheese with honey may sound a little odd, but oh my gosh, guys. The FLAVORS. There’s a bit of tang from the cheese balanced with just the right amount of freshness and sweetness from the basil and honey. You get two different textures too: the crisp outer panko layer and the creamy inner cheese. The flavors and textures all come together to make a perfectly balance bite that, despite having so many distinct components, feels simple and fresh.

So even if you’re not big on goat cheese, I recommend giving this one a try. I DEFINITELY think Ogion would approve. 🙂