This time around, they've added more flavor to the flavor text. In the previous book, the illustrations featured a cast of nameless characters. Now, those characters return, but with names, personalities and a punny adventure that reminded me of Robert Asprin at times - which is a good thing. Your culinary adventuring party or, "The Bureau of Dark Tables" as they call themselves, consists of Squirladax the Goblin Poet; Sasha, Fighter and fitness enthusiast; Deelia, Sorceress and servant of the Raven Queen; and Brt'An, Dragonborn Exalted Cleric of Tyr. At the beginning, end, and each transition between chapters of the gastronomic gallivant, we are treated to a few pages of their continuing story, catching us up with their meandering across the multiverse. This story takes up a total of just thirty-five pages, spread across the book, but is an interesting read and gives some fun context to the realms and recipes within the book. Luckily, the flavor text describing the recipes is not part of this story, but is essentially presented in the voice of a narrator.
The book's visual appeal is remarkable, with distinct color codes for the pages of each realm, enhancing the immersive experience and making it easy to locate a desired chapter in the book and to know when you've wandered from one realm's chapter to the next. The index is fairly well done, listing all of the recipes, having entries for generalized names (such as "Buns" and "Fish") and some category entries (such as "Drinks" and "Salads"). However, there can be times when you've been poring over recipes and purchased ingredients and then you find you have an ingredient and you don't know what recipe it came from, such as, say, sage. Having the ability to look up sage in the index and find the recipes that call for it would be great, but, sadly, isn't to be found here... or in the other cookbooks I've reviewed this year. If it's because of the cost of the extra pages to print such an elaborate index, a more in-depth index could be available online, with a link included on the printed index. Ah, well. As I said, the index is fairly good, at any rate. Do be aware that there are no times listed for prep time and cooking time, aside from the individual steps within the actual recipe, so you'll have to estimate your prep time and do some math to calculate how long a recipe may take to prepare. It's not a deal-breaker, but it is worthy to note that the info isn't easily seen above the ingredients list of the recipe, as is pretty customary. For those curious about integrating this cookbook into game night, a brief 'Afterword: Playing with Your Food' provides insightful suggestions. Now, on to the recipes...
From the outset, I should share that things have changed since we reviewed Hereos' Feast. We are now on fairly restrictive diets, which cuts out beef, pork, fried foods, bacon and alcohol. Meat-wise, we can have... fish and fowl. That leaves us eating a lot of chicken and turkey and some fish and trying to find interest and variety in spices. So, when we saw Halfling Game Birds* - a recipe for roasted Cornish Hens, we had to try it. We're not really too accustomed to cooking dishes from mostly whole sources (preferring to use chicken breasts, tenders, or fish filets, that sort of thing), at least outside of making a turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas, so having to take a Cornish hen from a whole hen to a half hen and then folding the wing into place was a new experience, but other than being a bit salty on the outside, these came out scrumptious and succulent. Highly recommended. Will make again.
While not a culinary expert, I navigated the recipes with Psibabe, our resident Editor-in-Chef, leading the way. However, Mingari-Spiced Owlbear Milk* was a recipe I selected to make, myself, because it seemed like it wasn't too difficult to prepare. It does require you to toast some old-fashioned oats in a skillet without burning them, but I have a method for that** that make the process take a little longer, but keeps me from burning things I'm trying to toast. The flavor text hints at versatility, ranging from a morning pick-me-up to a soothing nightcap, but the recipe's instructions specify serving it cold. Psibabe and I both thought that it would be better served as a hot beverage. We tried both and, while I did enjoy it warm, I think I preferred it cold just a bit more. Also, I froze a bit and tried using it as an ice milk, to limited success. The flavor lends itself well to a creamy frozen dessert, but the rich creamy texture simply wasn't there.
When making rustic, old-world and tavern-style recipes in a fantasy-themed cookbook, it can feel like cheating to use prepared ingredients, such as a pre-made pizza dough, but dang it, the Barovian Garlic Bread* recipe didn't say not to... and didn't provide a recipe for making the pizza dough, so I'm sticking by our decision. That said, using a square, rolled up pizza crust from a tube required some... hmm... "translation" to fit our crust to the instructions. And, for whatever reason, not everyone was overly pleased with it. However, personally, I thought they were almost there, that we just didn't get them toasty enough. To test this, I set it atop the toaster and toasted both sides to a golden brown, then dipped them in some butter and some kosher salt, resulting in some delicious, garlicky pretzel knots that had a little bit of a sweetness to them and the perfect "mall pretzel" texture. I will definitely be doing this again.
We really don't grill as often as we'd like, so when I saw Tears of Selune*, a recipe for grilled fish with an exotic glaze, we had to try it. The flavor... I liked this dish more than the other two tasters, but I loved the flavor of this glaze. Sadly, while the taste was delicious, grilling cubes of fish on a grill didn't work out very well. Luckily, we had been concerned of exactly that, so the grill was set up with a tray with very small holes, so that when the fish came of the skewers, they weren't lost to the flames below. Additionally, we aren't located in a coastal region, so we were using fish that had been frozen; fresh fish might work better for this recipe.
Ever made a bread pudding? We hadn't, although we'd enjoyed the delicacy at restaurants before. The Kender Loaf* recipe gave us the opportunity to make our own. I didn't participate much in the making of this one, but it didn't seem to be overly difficult to make and the resulting bread pudding was scrumptious, if a bit too tempting. I will share that, since we have dogs who (with or without permission) occasionally will manage to get tastes of our food, we didn't include the golden raisins the recipe calls for, since grapes (and hence raisins) are poisonous for dogs. Additionally, Psibabe isn't a fan of raisins, so that seemed to be a win-win solution. This was delicious warmed a bit and served with a scoop of real vanilla ice cream... or fake frozen ice-milk approximation using frozen Mingari-Spiced Owlbear Milk*.
Explore magical elixirs with fourteen enchanting drink recipes featured in Flavors of the Multiverse. Five of them are non-alcoholic and one of those that caught my eye is Kaeth*. This interesting brewed coffee drink has an exotic spiced flavor and would be excellent to serve when adventuring in a city known for its renowned spice market or in a upscale inn in the high-town area of a palace on the edge of a desert, mayhaps. The flavor tastes much like a combination of a strong coffee and a spiced tea, thanks to the anise and orange zest. Per the recipe, a French press is required to make the coffee. I settled for a workaround to approximate the result of using a French press as best I could***.
Another recipe that was really delicious is Seelie Court Cheese and Potato Soup*. The Boursin cheese really made for a creamy texture and the garlic, onions and potato also helped to make it a hearty and filling dish. Highly recommended. This recipe has earned a place in our rotation. And that's saying something; not every dish that comes out great ends up getting made frequently. Take, for instance, the Elfharrow Baked Goat Cheese*: baked, not fried, so no strikes against it there, very light, with a light melba toast breading. We made this recipe with three different goat cheeses: a plain, an garlic and onion, and a dessert goat cheese that was apple and cinnamon flavored. Of the three tasters, I was the one who liked this recipe the most and, for me, the best one was, surprisingly, the apple and cinnamon flavored. The melba toast doesn't bring a lot of flavor, so if the cheese isn't very flavorful before the breading, it won't be after, either. The apple and cinnamon goat cheese had a stronger flavor to it, which translated into a more flavorful end result. With the addition of the breading, the apple and cinnamon flavored goat cheese bites reminded me of McDonald's apple pies... but in a good way. Imagine them with the lightest of crusts, but it's breading on goat cheese. Anyway, it was very tasty, but it's not a main dish, just a side... and it was involved and messy to make, so, despite the deliciousness of the result, I don't expect we'll make this recipe many more times. Someone else might enjoy getting their hands in goat cheese and this might be their favorite dish. It's good, but not something we're likely to do very often.
As mentioned earlier, cooking isn't my forte, but the allure of a fantasy-themed cookbook always piques my interest. Instead of leaving all of the work up to Psibabe, I do try to find a couple that look simple enough that I can make them. (Mind you, the two dishes I'm known for are my elevated ramen noodles and my ability to reheat cold pizza in an appealing way without firing up the oven.)**** Still, I try. As I said above, that was one of the reasons for me making the Mingari-Spiced Owlbear Milk*. It's also why I made the Harengon Coffee Carrots*. I tried to cook it as closely to the recipe as possible and I liked the results: fancily sliced carrots with a bit of a coffee-molasses glaze, cooked to the point of being mostly soft, but with just the slightest bit of bite to them in the middle. They have a nice mix of sweet and savory flavors, from the inclusion of vanilla and fresh thyme and freshly ground black pepper. I didn't use espresso, but instead used a bold brew coffee (which is another option in the recipe), but to me there was not a strong coffee flavor in this dish. Instead, the coffee seemed to add to the heartiness of the flavor. If you opt for the espresso, this dish may be more coffee-forward. I could see making this one again, for myself, as the other tasters aren't carrot fans. The third recipe that was selected on the basis of being so simple to make even I could do it is Sprucebark Quaff*. This is a fancy name for a recipe that is basically a flavored water. With the flavors of mint and cucumber, this quaff is a pleasant tasting and refreshing drink. The recipe calls for thinly sliced cucumbers, which I discovered I could easily achieve by the careful use of a vegetable peeler. Soooo thin. Out of all the recipes in the book, this one seems like the easiest to prepare and could easily become a "thing" at every gaming session, if well received, providing a healthy alternative to soft drinks and actually hydrating the party at the same time.
One recipe that we almost made is the Sour Cream-Walnut Cake*. It sounds delicious. The only reason we didn't make this one is because we had already made another cake and other desserts recently. With the flavors of cinnamon, espresso, vanilla and brown sugar, I have no doubt that we will end up making this cake in the near future. Possibly something to ring in the new year. Time shall tell.
There are some dishes in here that are more for novelty, I think, than anything else. However, for a gaming session, that could be exactly what is called for. Black Lotus Root* is a bit exotic and, at a deep purple color, has an otherworldly appearance that could fit well with certain adventures. There's also a recipe, however, for Tavern Crickets*, which actually uses crickets. As a wizard with low hit points and not the highest Constitution score, I'd thank you very not. However, if you have a campaign that will lead your players into the wilderness where they have to fend for themselves, to encounter some odd NPCs that live primarily on bugs and would take offense to a gift of food being rejected, or players trying to disguise themselves and infiltrate a group that happens to be snacking on crickets, you could use Tavern Crickets* to enhance the immersion of the experience or, perhaps, add an element of heightened risk/reward in a Fear Factor sort of way. It's your game, get creative...
Another recipe we didn't make - but almost did - is Halfling Iron Rations*. This is a granola / trail mix / snack mix sort of thing that includes some savory elements such as Worcestershire and thyme, along with the sweetness of brown sugar. I was planning to make some for the review, taste a bit, then store the rest to serve at the holidays, but the holidays I had in mind were over two weeks away and the recipe indicates that it can be stored for up to two weeks, so I decided against it. So, points for specifying the shelf life, but then a couple points taken back for "iron rations" with a shelf life of only two weeks? Not sure. Perhaps when I do get around to actually making this one, my opinion will change. If you like the savory versions of Chex mixes, you may want to try this recipe.
Heroes' Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse serves as a delectable addition to the collection of any D&D and fantasy enthusiast with a penchant for culinary adventures. The enchanting realms explored and the flavorful recipes presented make it a worthy investment. However, for those debating between the two, the first installment, Heroes' Feast, holds a slightly stronger allure for us, especially as the exotic chili recipe has become a household favorite. Nevertheless, acquiring Flavors of the Multiverse for someone already enchanted by the first book is undeniably a culinary quest worth embarking upon. Happy cooking in the realms of imagination!
* For your convenience, you can see the page number for the mentioned recipes by hovering over the recipe's names. You're welcome.
** When toasting nuts, seeds, oats or similar in a dry skillet, you have to stir constantly, but even so, the heat can build up quickly and lead to burning. I found that if I alternate between stirring for about ten seconds, then lifting the skillet slightly and giving it a couple of shakes in a swirling motion to shift the small items back so they're forming a thin layer on the skillet and quickly returning it to the burner, I get the items more evenly heated and better turned, and the short interruptions from the heat will change the way-too-quick overheating to burnt timeframe to a much slower, more manageable window of a minute or so.
*** I don't have one, but it seems that the main difference between using a French press or a filtered approach is that you can heat the coffee too much, damaging the flavor and that you end up filtering out oils along with the grounds. Oh, and you can't pour water with steeped spices through coffee machines without damaging them, so there's that, as well. In this recipe, you don't want to lose the oils from the coffee grounds or the orange zest, so avoid a paper filter. However, if you're pressed to make some Kaeth* without a French press, you could make the coffee in your typical fashion, then take the spice ingredients and add them to a reusable tea infuser (see link below for an example) and let the spices infuse into your coffee. You still keep the oils from the spices, if not as much of the coffee oils, without grounds or other detritus in your cup... and get done making your Kaeth* faster, to boot. Think of this as they way they probably prepare it in the business district, when merchants want a taste of the high-town, but can't afford the accompanying luxury of wasting time.
**** I can't share these secrets here... I have to save them for my own cookbook. Okay, not really, but the pizza thing is mainly crisping it up on top of the toaster, moving it around above the slots to prevent uneven browning. Now the ramen recipe is actually what I call, "Fee-Fie" Faux Pho... and that would actually be a full recipe, needing its own article, but yeah... it starts with a package of Nissin Raoh ramen noodles and mainly has to do with what you add in, and when... Not master chef level cooking skills going on here.
