Adventures in Pop Culture Cooking

[Cryptids]

I don’t know if you want recommendations but I’ve been loving The Witches Cookbook which has recipes from a variety of fandoms (I personally can attest that recipe for syrniki in there is delicious and worth the book all by itself lol)

 

[AquaMarie]

@Cryptids Interesting! I'm not a huge movie/TV person, so I'm not familiar with some of those (outside of gifsets ), but I DO remember liking Hocus Pocus! I'll check this one out, and maybe see if Hocus Pocus specifically has a cookbook while I'm at it.

Thanks for the rec!

 

[Logan]

Blue Light Pudding looks delicious, except maybe that one hair (cat?). Is that in the recipe? If so any allergy substitutions?

 

[AquaMarie]

Oh, for pity's sake . I didn't even notice it! Yep, that's cat fur. She's not allowed in the kitchen, and yet.

@Logan Optional ingredient, so you can personalize to taste

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chunk cookies from Winnie-the-Pooh's Cookie Book

I'm not too fond of chocolate cookies, but I LOVE soft and chewy cookies, so I gave these a try. I made a pretty substantial substitution, though: dried cranberries instead of bittersweet chocolate chunks. Double chocolate would have been way too much for me. And I am so glad I did, because they turned out great! Very soft and tender and not too sweet. Definitely the best chocolate cookie I've ever made. The cranberries were really nice with the chocolate, and now I'm dying to try dried cherries, too. Chocolate and cherries would be good for a Christmas cookie swap, I think.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Meat in the Middle from The Official Horizon Cookbook

These are spiced lamb rolls wrapped with puff pastry dough. They kinda taste like Italian sausage. This was my first time using lamb, and honestly, probably my last. They taste good, but the lamb was just too greasy for me, and it really didn't make great leftovers (which is essential at my house, since I live alone and I hate to waste food ). I might try the recipe again with pork or turkey, and only make a half-batch so I can eat it in one sitting.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Honey Cake from Winnie-the-Pooh's Teatime Cookbook

This is recipe is an old favorite, and I pull it out when I don't want anything fancy. It's very delicate tasting - it only has the honey and a touch of vanilla to flavor it. I like to put a bit of jam or fruit butter on it, though the recipe calls for powdered sugar.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Mesa Bread from The Official Horizon Cookbook

Sticky rooooooollllls! My family would always have cinnamon rolls (out of a can, with orange icing, you know the ones) on Christmas morning. I skipped the last couple of years (they just don't taste good anymore), but when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it for Christmas. They were A LOT of work. I mean, not only did I have to work with yeast, I had to toast nuts too.

But I am so, SO glad I did. The bread is soft and light and fluffy, the cinnamon sugar filling is not too heavy, and the topping, holy cow! Sticky and sweet and vanilla-y and juuuust the right consistency to soak into in the bread just a bit without getting totally absorbed. Absolutely worth it, and something I will be doing every year from now on.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Maple Syrup Cookies from Winnie-the-Pooh's Cookie Book

These were really good! The insides were soft, which I love, and the outside had just a little bit of a sugary crunch from cinnamon sugar. The pecans and the maple syrup gave them a nice, warm flavor, too, if that makes sense. They don't look like much, but they're definitely tasty.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Hummus, part of Feasting Board with Haunch, from The Official Horizon Cookbook

I've had multiple doctors tell me to try to eat more Mediterranean dishes recently, so I'm trying to find some I like to add to my repertoire. (Incidentally, that's why I haven't made a lot of fandom dishes lately - all my cooking has been old favorites or new Mediterranean recipes.) Hummus was specifically mentioned by my PCP, so I made this one, except with white beans instead of the called-for chickpeas. I don't like chickpeas, and my kitchen = my rules, lol. It turned out soooo good. Garlicy and smooth and amazing with carrots and pita bread for dipping. It was super easy to make, too! It's not much to look at, though. Sorry!

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Chocolate Orange Fingers from Winnie-the-Pooh's Cookie Book

There's a lot of 'fingers' in this cookbook. Maybe it's a British thing? Or maybe the author thought that shape would be more appealing to kids? I don't know, but I'm not really a fan, so I just do a standard round cookie. It's a lot easier to just scoop up a tablespoon of dough and flatten it.

These were really tasty. The orange flavoring in the shortbread wasn't too strong, and the smooth chocolate balanced the sandy texture of the cookie. I will definitely make these again.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Crunchleaf Bowl from The Official Horizon Cookbook

I haven't made a lot of recipes from the Nora tribe's chapter in this book, so I decided to give this one a go. It's spinach with berries and nuts, and I substituted feta for goat cheese. The dressing is really interesting: it's a lemon and poppy seed vinaigrette. It gives a tart balance to the berries that I really like.

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Waldorf Chicken Salad from Winnie-the-Pooh's Picnic Cookbook

This chicken salad was really good (the dill and cucumber one from Pooh's Teatime Cookbook is still my favorite, though)! It had granny smith apples and walnuts in it, so it had a nice little crunch. The recipe made A LOT, too; I halved it, and I still had so much I gave some away to friends AND ate chicken salad sandwiches for a week!

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Haycorns from The 100-Acre-Wood Cookbook

A new Winne-the-Pooh cookbook? Yes, please! It's based on the Disney movies more than the books, so the tone and art is different from the others. I like how it's organized: the chapters are occasions (holiday, teatime, picnics, etc.), and every so often there's an art page dedicated to one character that lists the recipes they'd like best. The intro to each recipe is written as if spoken by The NarraTOR, and one recipe is dedicated to him (super cute!)

Haycorns are Piglet's favorite food, and these are look-alikes (suitable for Christopher Robin and other humans). They are a peanut butter candy formed and dipped in chocolate, and they are AMAZING. I took this batch to work and they disappeared before I got one! Good thing I know how to make more!

 

[Saffity]

They look delicious!

 

[AquaMarie]

@Saffity Thank you!

Recipe: Valley Cakes from The Official Horizon Cookbook


These were so, so good! They're pan-fried sweet potato and onion fritters: a little sweet, a little savory, a lot tasty! I ended up eating two for breakfast, and the rest didn't last until lunchtime. I don't like to fry often (my whole apartment smells like hot oil for the rest of the day), but for these I will make an exception!

 

[LiteraryMatcha]

Great, you made me hungry xD

 

[AquaMarie]

@LiteraryMatcha Happy snacking! (And thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the log )

 

[SweetPotato]

I am a fellow fan of fandom cookbooks, and I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fallout Cookbook and the Heroes Feast (Dungeons & Dragons) cookbook. I have found at times that the recipes in these types of cookbooks are lazy and consider the book a money-grab. (I was more than a little miffed about the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - I expected a proper recipe for Pumpkin Pasties and got eggs on toast.) However, the aforementioned books have excellent and unique recipes with fully developed flavor profiles and thoughtful notes for successful cooking or baking. One of the nut bread recipes from Heroes Feast has become something I bake and gift at Christmastime - it's that good. The Fallout Cookbook has a recipe for Nuka Cola syrup that can be used for soda, AND as a base for a really unique barbecue sauce for an (also super tasty) burger recipe. Definitely worth a peek.

 

[SweetPotato]

Recipe: Haycorns from The 100-Acre-Wood Cookbook

A new Winne-the-Pooh cookbook? Yes, please! It's based on the Disney movies more than the books, so the tone and art is different from the others. I like how it's organized: the chapters are occasions (holiday, teatime, picnics, etc.), and every so often there's an art page dedicated to one character that lists the recipes they'd like best. The intro to each recipe is written as if spoken by The NarraTOR, and one recipe is dedicated to him (super cute!)

Haycorns are Piglet's favorite food, and these are look-alikes (suitable for Christopher Robin and other humans). They are a peanut butter candy formed and dipped in chocolate, and they are AMAZING. I took this batch to work and they disappeared before I got one! Good thing I know how to make more!

View attachment 9147

These are absolutely darling. I cannot wait to make them!

 

[AquaMarie]

@SweetPotato Oooo, thanks for the recs!

Recipe: Flavored Honey from The 100-Acre-Wood Cookbook

I bought itty-bitty mason jars just for this recipe. The recipe has several suggestions for infusing, from dried chili flakes to rosemary to cardamom, and I decide to use cinnamon (on the left) and vanilla (on the right) for the first trial . The cinnamon stick didn't work very well (I still can't taste it after a month; next time I'm going to try ground cinnamon), but the vanilla! I could taste it after 3 days, and the longer it's gone the better it's gotten. I've used it in tea, mixed into yogurt, and in smoothies. It's so good!

 

[SweetPotato]

Recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chunk cookies from Winnie-the-Pooh's Cookie Book

I'm not too fond of chocolate cookies, but I LOVE soft and chewy cookies, so I gave these a try. I made a pretty substantial substitution, though: dried cranberries instead of bittersweet chocolate chunks. Double chocolate would have been way too much for me. And I am so glad I did, because they turned out great! Very soft and tender and not too sweet. Definitely the best chocolate cookie I've ever made. The cranberries were really nice with the chocolate, and now I'm dying to try dried cherries, too. Chocolate and cherries would be good for a Christmas cookie swap, I think.

View attachment 8030

Cranberries as a swap for chocolate is genius! I love the idea of a chewy, slightly sour burst in the midst of all the chocolate flavor. Flavor aside, these look so appetizing I wish we could grab one from the screen for a taste! (Willy Wonka predicted this future, why isn't it here yet?)

 

[AquaMarie]

@SweetPotato Thank you so much!

Now that I've figured out what I can (and can NOT ) change in my recipes, I love trying substitutions and additions in dishes. I really want to try those cookies with every fruit I've ever enjoyed covered in chocolate, basically: cherries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries. Alas, chocolate is one of my 'sparingly' foods, so I can't make them as often as I'd like. But at least I have lots of possibilities when I decide to splurge!

Happy cooking!

 

[AquaMarie]

Recipe: Breakfast Parfait from The 100-Acre-Wood Cookbook

This one was fruit, quinoa, and yogurt sweetened with just a dab of honey and vanilla. I used grapes and pears since that is what I had on hand - the recipe calls for grapes and pomegranate seeds. It was tasty, but.... This was the first time I had ever tried quinoa, and the texture just was definitely not to my liking. If I ever make this again I'll have to substitute something for the quinoa - maybe cookie bits? Or use cake cubes and turn it into a trifle.

 

[Dyneti]

Recipe: Breakfast Parfait from The 100-Acre-Wood Cookbook

This one was fruit, quinoa, and yogurt sweetened with just a dab of honey and vanilla. I used grapes and pears since that is what I had on hand - the recipe calls for grapes and pomegranate seeds. It was tasty, but.... This was the first time I had ever tried quinoa, and the texture just was definitely not to my liking. If I ever make this again I'll have to substitute something for the quinoa - maybe cookie bits? Or use cake cubes and turn it into a trifle.

View attachment 9327

This looks nice, perfect for a weekend breakfast! I'm not a big fan of quinoa either and would maybe try to substitute it with millet?

 

[AquaMarie]

@Dyneti I've never had millet, but from what I've heard that sounds like it would work. Oats might work, too, if you use the quick-cook oats and assemble it the night before so they had time to soften up. Let me know how it turns out if you try it, please!

 

[Dyneti]

@AquaMarie are the steps just
- sweeten the yoghurt
- assemble in glasses

 

[AquaMarie]

@Dyneti Yep! Cook and cool grains, sweeten yoghurt, and layer with fruit.

Happy cooking!

 

[LiteraryMatcha]

Recipe: Breakfast Parfait from The 100-Acre-Wood Cookbook

This one was fruit, quinoa, and yogurt sweetened with just a dab of honey and vanilla. I used grapes and pears since that is what I had on hand - the recipe calls for grapes and pomegranate seeds. It was tasty, but.... This was the first time I had ever tried quinoa, and the texture just was definitely not to my liking. If I ever make this again I'll have to substitute something for the quinoa - maybe cookie bits? Or use cake cubes and turn it into a trifle.

View attachment 9327

Respectfully. That looks amazing.

 

[SweetPotato]

I love checking this thread for new creations Keep up the good work @AquaMarie!