Heroes-feasting - Hello Bonjour

"Orc" Bacon

“No, it isn’t made from orcs - but for orcs.” - Heroes’ Feast, p. 156

Until I found this recipe, I’d never thought of trying to dress up bacon. After all, bacon is bacon! However, “Orc” Bacon brings a tasty spin to this popular classic.

Coated with a savoury-sweet glaze and absolutely the easiest thing to make in Heroes’ Feast so far; this tasty treat is a great snack to prepare for a table of hungry adventurers or for yourself when life gets busy!

Try snacking on them with a side of the Yawning Portal Buttermilk Biscuits to really immerse yourself in that tavern vibe!

See below for my notes on the results and for some helpful tips and tricks when making this yourself! Get Heroes’ Feast here: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast

Prep: 1 min               Cook: 30 mins*               Total: ~30 mins

* Varies based on how crispy you like your bacon.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a snack):

1 lbs. (450 g) thick-cut bacon*

3 tbsp. (38 g) light-brown sugar

½ tsp. (1 g) freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. (2 g) garlic powder

2 tbsp. (30 ml) orange juice

* I used regular cut bacon instead of thick-cut with no issues.

Start by preheating the oven to 375℉ (190℃) with a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Coat a large wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and set it in the foil-lined pan.

Next, arrange the bacon slices on the rack, laying them tight against each other so the entire pound fits (top-left).

Roast the bacon strips until they render some of their fat and shrink a bit, about 12 minutes (top-right).

NOTE: I struggled to fit all of the regular cut bacon onto the rack even after cramming everything as tight as possible (rip those pieces at the top). This may be different for thick-cut but I ended up having three extra slices to spare.

While the bacon renders, in a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, pepper, garlic, and orange juice.

Lightly brush the rendered slices with about half of the brown sugar mixture (top-left).

Continue roasting until the brown sugar adheres to the bacon and the bacon appears glossy, about 7 minutes (top-right).

Using tongs, turn over the pieces.

Lightly brush the slices with the remaining brown sugar mixture and continue roasting until the brown sugar mixture adheres to the bacon and looks glossy, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer slices to a serving plate and serve warm.

NOTE: For this last part, feel free to roast the slices for as long as it takes them to your preferred crispness level. The slices above roasted for about 11 minutes.

Overall, I would give this recipe a 5/5. I couldn't personally see myself eating these with eggs in the morning (clashing flavours) but it does make for a nice sweet and savoury snack!

Like I mentioned in the intro, the flavour and ease to throw it together make it a good choice to bring to a D&D session or make as a nerdy snack for yourself when you’re busy, no matter what level your cooking skill is at.

Watch out though! They’re super sticky so make sure to have plenty of napkins on hand.

Baked Feta Wrap

I’ll make a better pub night, with chicken and feta! - Me

Who doesn’t love a night with friends after a long week? Whether you’re meeting up with a large group or settling in with a few close friends, it’s always nice to take some time to unwind and catch up. You know what we all don’t love? Expensive prices at bars and pubs. So, why not bring the vibe of pub night home and save some cash!

Popularized on TikTok back in 2020, the original tomato-feta sauce took the app by storm and spawned a whole batch of variations. Although I can’t find it anymore, the most interesting, to me, was from a woman roasting her cheating SO while turning this tasty sauce into a wrap (disguising the elastic as olives? Oof).

So, as midterm season comes to a close (or reaches its penultimate), this recipe is sure to make some great, easy snackables to kick off either a study sesh or a night out. Or, make your friends jealous by bringing it with you to school for an eating-out-style lunch without having to spend the cash!

Cheating SOs dni.

VEGETARIAN? No problem! Check out the results section for how to make this recipe work for you!

(Adapted from Rachael Ray’s recipe and the TikTok mentioned in the intro)

Keep reading

Yellow Yaks: Oat-Fudge Bars

Did you know? In MCC 22, the Yellow Yaks were nicknamed The Golden Girls and were MCC’s first all-female team!

Welcome to the stage, the Yellow Yaks themed dessert: Oat-Fudge bars! 

I’ve had this idea knocking around in my head since last summer and now it’s done and I finally get to share it! This event is so much fun to watch and participate in as an audience member, so I really wanted to create something that everyone could enjoy!

Best of luck to the Yellow Yaks this MCC! Which team will you be rooting for?

And, of course, thank you Scott Smajor.

(Check out the recipe below and huge thanks to Garbange for fixing the lighting in the picture! Inspired by these.)

Keep reading

episode twelve: honeyed ham 🍖🍽🗡

Look, I don't make the rules but you're legally required to watch this.

Baked Feta Wrap

I’ll make a better pub night, with chicken and feta! - Me

Who doesn’t love a night with friends after a long week? Whether you’re meeting up with a large group or settling in with a few close friends, it’s always nice to take some time to unwind and catch up. You know what we all don’t love? Expensive prices at bars and pubs. So, why not bring the vibe of pub night home and save some cash!

Popularized on TikTok back in 2020, the original tomato-feta sauce took the app by storm and spawned a whole batch of variations. Although I can’t find it anymore, the most interesting, to me, was from a woman roasting her cheating SO while turning this tasty sauce into a wrap (disguising the elastic as olives? Oof).

So, as midterm season comes to a close (or reaches its penultimate), this recipe is sure to make some great, easy snackables to kick off either a study sesh or a night out. Or, make your friends jealous by bringing it with you to school for an eating-out-style lunch without having to spend the cash!

Cheating SOs dni.

VEGETARIAN? No problem! Check out the results section for how to make this recipe work for you!

(Adapted from Rachael Ray’s recipe and the TikTok mentioned in the intro)

Prep: 5 mins               Cook: 1h 30 mins               Overall: 1h 35 mins*

* Will take 1h 15 mins time if not allowing the sauce to fully cool.

Ingredients*:

½ cup (118 ml) olive oil

2 pints (550 g) cherry tomatoes

One 8-ounce (225 g) block feta

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ tsp. (0.5 g) red pepper flakes

4 large fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 handful of smaller ones)

Salt and pepper

1.5 pounds (750 g) chicken strips

1 box (142 g) baby spinach

24 medium (not mini) whole-wheat tortillas

* Makes enough for ~24 medium wraps (8-12 servings).

To start, preheat oven to 400℉ (204℃) and move the oven rack to the middle.

In a baking dish, toss the olive oil, whole cherry tomatoes, salt, and pepper until all tomatoes are coated (above-left).

Next, add the feta to the middle of the baking dish. On top of the feta, add a splash of olive oil and some pepper (above-right).

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

NOTE: I used 2 blocks of feta so I put olive oil and pepper on each block and stacked them.

While the tomatoes and feta bake, prepare the chicken.

To remove extra juices on the outside (and prevent the strips from sticking to the skillet) blot both sides of the chicken strips with a clean paper towel.

Then, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper and lightly massage it in.

Next, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chicken strips to the pan and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes a side until the inside is no longer pink and the internal temp reads 165℉ (74℃).

After cooking, remove skillet from heat and move the chicken to a plate to rest.

After 30 minutes in the oven, increase the heat to 450℉ (232℃) and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the tomatoes and feta have browned.

Once everything has browned, remove the baking dish from the oven and add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. Break apart the feta block and stir so the residual heat cooks the garlic and incorporates the flavour from the red pepper flakes.

Unlike the pasta recipe, your goal here is to make sure everything is incorporated and has cooled down a little before assembling the wraps. It will take ~10 minutes to incorporate the sauce and then another ~20 minutes to cool. I recommend placing the baking dish on a wire rack to help it cool faster. If you’re in a rush, you can make the wraps with the warm sauce right after incorporating everything but it will be much harder to roll the wraps.

You’ll know the sauce is ready when you don’t see large streaks of olive oil while stirring or clinging to the sides of the baking dish.

NOTE: I recommend placing a kitchen towel or paper towel under the baking dish as you stir. I’ve made this several times now and always manage to stir a little too hard and spill some olive oil. Best to cut the spillage mess off at the pass.

TIP: Take the time when the sauce is cooling to clean the dishes created in earlier steps!

Stir in the chopped basil leaves once the sauce has cooled and everything has been incorporated.

To assemble the wraps, place a medium tortilla on a clean surface and layer a handful of spinach leaves on one side. Spoon ~1 tbsp. of sauce over the spinach and spread it out a little using the back of the spoon. Place a chicken strip over the sauce (above-left).

To wrap it up, fold the edge with the filling tightly around the chicken. Push in the corners and fold in the top and bottom edges. Continue to wrap everything tightly and fold in the corners that are created as you roll (above-right).

Overall, I would give this recipe a 5/5. Served warm or cold, the infamous sauce lends itself really well to being used in wrap form.

Although you may feel a little impatient while incorporating the sauce, the flavour is absolutely worth it (as is not just taking a bite of pure olive oil). Don’t skip the spinach either! The sauce is very rich and, although just using 1 tbsp. helps a little, the greens are really what stops it from becoming overbearing.

VEGETARIAN? The chicken inside can easily be substituted for Beyond Meat alternatives. However, if you’d like to change it up, reduce the amount of sauce used and pack the wrap with your favourite bagged salad! I’ve done this a couple times now and it’s tasted great!

Yellow Yaks: Oat-Fudge Bars

Did you know? In MCC 22, the Yellow Yaks were nicknamed The Golden Girls and were MCC’s first all-female team!

Welcome to the stage, the Yellow Yaks themed dessert: Oat-Fudge bars! 

I’ve had this idea knocking around in my head since last summer and now it’s done and I finally get to share it! This event is so much fun to watch and participate in as an audience member, so I really wanted to create something that everyone could enjoy!

Best of luck to the Yellow Yaks this MCC! Which team will you be rooting for?

And, of course, thank you Scott Smajor.

(Check out the recipe below and huge thanks to Garbange for fixing the lighting in the picture! Inspired by these.)

Keep reading

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

I was looking through my holiday stuff and realized I never shared this picture from last year’s Heroes’ Feast Gingerbread Showcase!

This style of cookie picture, with the dusting of powdered sugar in the background, has always been a personal favourite of mine. I’m so happy that I got to try it out for myself and that it turned out so well!