If it weren’t a cookbook, this book already has value just as a documentary on various gaming and fictional foods. Cassandra Reeder had to dig pretty deep to find famous food in a franchise like Silent Hill, but she managed to do it. That’s the thing, this book may not be a collection of the most famous or most deliciously described food, but Reeder’s descriptions bring back the memories of why the source material made it special. For example, there’s a recipe for Lamb Stew with Plums from The Hunger Games books. Lamb stew is not an exotic, purely fictional food by any means. It’s really not all that unique on its own. But when you remember the story of how Katniss experienced the simple dish (new to her) as a delicacy, and then later used the stew in the games to survive, it brings back a whole range of feelings. And the way we feel about a dish can affect how we feel when we eat it. What makes food better for geeks than that?
Speaking of feelings, I should fully disclose that Reeder must be a big Legend of Zelda fan like me; there are loads of Zelda recipes filling out this book. Yeto’s Superb Soup is actually the dish that inspired her to create this book. This particular dish is inspired by the soup in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess that Link helps to create. The story is quite touching, actually, and involves a Yeti who is trying to care for his sick wife by creating the perfect soup. He sends Link off to find the ingredients. With Link being the kind of hero that he is, there is no job too big or too small if it involves helping someone. The final product is a hearty soup of pumpkin, onion, garlic, and stock, with salmon fillets and goat cheese topping it off. You really do feel like this soup could revive you on a cold winter day. And for Zelda fans, there’s just that extra bit of warmth and accomplishment you feel when you complete this recipe. You might wonder if some lovely Yeti couple is out there enjoying the same soup right now.
Other recipes include Elixir Soup from The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, which has the cute distinction of being the only potion in the game where Link actually smiles after he drinks it. There’s Hasperat from Star Trek, which is a spicy burrito type of food and Lemon Cakes from A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones), which fans of the TV series will remember as the favorite food of Sansa Stark. There are several delicious items from Harry Potter including Butterbeer, as well as Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties.
I actually did make the Pumpkin Pasties, Lemon Cakes, Bowl o’ Brown (Game of Thrones), and Spiced Wine (Game of Thrones). Of all the things I tried, I probably loved the Pumpkin Pasties the most and would make it again as a nice Thanksgiving dessert. They are pretty much mini-pumpkin pies, and they don’t hit me as super sweet, which I like in a treat. Everything I tried to make was pretty good, but I felt I could change something here and there to make it better. I probably needed to alter the Lemon Cakes for high-altitude, but they came out pretty well considering (just a tad bit too moist and were falling apart). The Bowl o’ Brown was very hearty and comforting, though I kept adding spices to get it where I wanted it; that’s kind of the point of Bowl o’ Brown anyway. Spiced Wine was pretty amazing too, but with so many pricey ingredients such as 2 bottles of wine, vanilla pods, and star anise, I’m not sure if I would make it again.
One thing I couldn’t get to work, but I really wanted to, was the Peanut Cheese Bars from the game Earthbound. To be fair, this was never going to be anything but a crazy combination, but I still felt it could have had something to make the cheese super savory and sharp while the chocolate layer remained a sweet touch on top. Still, just the ideas for these foods is something this book is good at presenting, and it gives me a jumping off point for future attempts. I honestly would have had no idea where to start without this book.
I really do love this book, and I still have so many recipes I want to try from it. What may surprise people is that even though there are wacky recipes like the Peanut Cheese Bars and Soylent Green (NO, there’s no secret ingredient in this version, ha!), there are also excellent everyday items you can pull from this book. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to Adventure Time’s Bacon Pancakes or the Sweet Rolls from The Elder Scrolls games. And hey, super props to this book for managing to transport the Big Kahuna Burger from Pulp Fiction to reality. Now you have a delicious recipe for a teriyaki burger, all because Jules liked burgers for breakfast. I am even more amazed to find a recipe from the Dragonriders of Pern book series here, which is a franchise that has not gotten its due, perhaps because of several failed movie attempts and some game flops. One more thing to note: of course, most of the recipes are accompanied by mouth-watering photography as well.
There are websites for this sort of thing, yes, but there is still something valuable about a good coffee table book. You have geeky friends over, with a multitude of geeky interests, and everyone will find something to talk about in this book. Even if your friends aren’t quite the geeks you are, you can count on one thing: everyone likes food. With the wide range of geeky interests covered in The Geeky Chef Cookbook, you’ll witness even geeks in denial about their geek status flipping through the pages and exclaiming wonder at a mug of Butterbeer or that famous square of Lembas bread. The writing, the recipes, and the stories this book conjures up make it well worth the price. I can only hope for Volume 2 in the future!
