Quest 23: Digdogger Dip

Digdogger is one of those enemies that is more annoying than anything else when playing the original LoZ. One quick toot on the recorder and it shrinks down and your start slashing. I think we can make this dungeon boss a little more epic by making it into a dip. My favorite dip is spinach artichoke. I have played around with this recipe for years, and I think I have perfected it. I made this with pita chips and appetizers to show how to complete the package for a party. We actually just ate this for dinner this week. It was delicious. Enjoy!

Gear!

Olive Oil

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can artichoke hears, drained and finely chopped

4 cups of fresh spinach - frozen won't work here

1 (5 oz) pkg of boursin or herbed goat cheese

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

a slash of cream

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of garlic chili sauce (garnish)

1 large dollop of sour cream (garnish)

1 large sliced olive (garnish)

1 sliced red pepper

GF flatbread, cut into wedges and baked with galic salt and olive oil

GF meatballs, shrimp, and other vegetables

Quest!

Start by chopping your red onion up and softening it in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. We are not sauteing (not browning). When the onions are translucent, chop the garlic cloves and add to the pan. Tip: the smaller you chop garlic, the more intense the garlic flavor - plan accordingly.

Chop up the canned artichokes and add them to the pan. Let them heat up and soften just a bit.

Add all the spinach to the pan. This may seem like a lot of spinach, but it cooks down into nothing. Add a little pinch of salt to help the spinach wilt.

See, that's all that's left afterwards.

Add the boursin (or goat) cheese to the mixture and let it melt. Add the splash of cream to help it along. These are really great melting cheeses and they add a little extra with the herbs that are mixed in.

Add 1/2 the cheddar cheese to the mixture and stir until melted. At this point, check the salt and add some pepper.

Add the rest of the cheddar to the top and just let it melt on top. (It makes it more orange looking.)

Add the sliced red pepper to the sides. A dollop of sour cream in the middle with the olive slice on top to make the eye. Carefully, place a few blobs (yes, technical term) of chili garlic sauce along side the eye.

Pair with pita bread and appetizers and you have a pretty nice looking party or dinner.

Get a printable version of this recipe here!

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Quest 22: Boomerang Cookies

One of the most universal pieces of equipment in the LoZ is the boomerang. It brings you things that would otherwise be out of your reach. It trips switches and in my opinion is one of the best items you can equip. Today, we will celebrate this useful item by creating pecan cookies shaped like boomerangs. These cookies are pretty easy, only have a few ingredients and bake up in a breeze. These pecan crescent shaped cookies will have you coming back again and again. Enjoy!

Gear!
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup finely (and I mean finely!) chopped pecans
2 cups gluten free AP flour with xanthan gum
1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream
colored sugar (blue and yellow)

The Quest!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter and sugar until it is fluffy and creamy.

Creamy! Add vanilla extract, cardamom, and cinnamon.

Finely chop the pecans! I am using a mini chopper to get a more consistent result. It is also much fast than hand chopping.

That's fine!

Add pecans and flour to the butter mixture and combine until dough is crumbly. If it is too dry to make a ball when you squish (yes, technical term) it in your hands, add the 1-2 tablespoons of cream to help bind the dough a little better. It should still be crumbly.

Form inch balls in your hand and then squish into log shapes.

On your sheet pan, shape logs into crescents.

Ta-da!

Sprinkle with colored sugar: Yellow for regular boomerangs; Blue for Magical boomerangs.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Place on a cooling rack to help them set.

Enjoy!

Get the printable version of this recipe here!

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Quest 21: Zol Cream Puffs

Do you remember the large squishing looking enemies that appear in dungeons in the original LoZ? Well even if you don't, they are called Zols and these guys were actually kind of helpful because if you had an upgraded sword, they more often gave you hearts. For me, this was usually good timing. Unfortunately, if you don't have an upgraded sword, they split into two gels that are rather annoying and give you no treasure. These little guys have appeared in a number of LoZ titles, but today we are going to focus on the traditional.

Well, as I was playing the original LoZ on Saturday on my NES that still works :), it dawned on me that these little guys sort of look like cream puffs, which leads us to today's recipe: Zol Cream Puffs. Cream puffs are really easy to make, they just sound intimidating. The pastry part is only 5 ingredients, but it's the filling and glaze that make these special. I am creating sort of a Tiramisu type cream puff. The cream filling is to die for. Enjoy!
Sorry, this recipe is not GF yet!

Quest Gear:
Pastry -
Heavy sauce pan
Rubber spatula
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Filling -
Mixing Bowl
Electric Mixer
Rubber Spatula
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese
8 oz. Heavy cream
4 T. Amaretto liquor
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/4 cup. Powdered sugar

Glaze -
4 T. Heavy cream
2 T. Amaretto liquor
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
3/4 cup. Powdered sugar

About 1/4 cup Dutch cocoa for dusting

The Quest!

Melt a stick of butter, water & salt to sauce pan. Heat just until it boils. Reduce to low.

Add flour and stir vigorously until dough forms a ball. Turn off heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time thoroughly combining before adding the next egg.

Nice and creamy. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a 1 inch scoop, create mounds of dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Shut off the oven and open the door. This is the secret to getting those air pockets. Let the oven cool and remove the puffs from the oven.

Ta-da!

To make the cream filling, combine the Mascarpone cheese, amaretto, heavy cream, vanilla & powdered sugar in a bowl.

With a mixer on high, beat until stiff peaks form :). Done! Keep in the refrigerator until ready to fill.

To make the glaze, add heavy cream and amaretto to a small sauce pan. Heat until warm and dissolve instant espresso. Whisk in powdered sugar, heat until sugar is dissolved.