Everyone knows it, many love it: Cooking in MMOs. We show you 7 cooking recipes from video games like WoW, Guild Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, or Monster Hunter World that you can easily recreate at home.
During Christmas time, a lot of feasting takes place. From this selection of recipes, you can easily create a 3-course menu. We have picked delicious appetizers, main courses, and desserts from various MMOs for you. Included are:
And at the end, there’s even a drink on top.
Appetizer
A truly good Christmas menu begins with a delicious appetizer. A light or hearty little dish to prepare for the main course. Here we have two options:
- Something spicy with vegetables
- A hearty and juicy bread that you can combine with many things
Spicy Vegetable Chips (WoW)
The original recipe from World of Warcraft includes pink turnip, jade gourd, and carrot. We will also aim to adhere to this choice of ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 100g pumpkin (best Hokkaido)
- 2 bulbs of red beet
- 2 carrots
- 1 clove of garlic
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- paprika powder
- chili flakes
Preparation:
First, you need to prepare the vegetables. Wash and peel the pumpkin. A Hokkaido pumpkin does not need to be peeled. Then, cut it in quarters, remove the seeds, and slice as thinly as you like into “chip-like” slices. This is easiest done with a vegetable slicer.
Next, take care of the red beet and the carrots. Process them into thin slices as well. Peel the garlic and chop it finely, preferably with a cheese grater.
Next, in a large bowl, mix the plant oil with salt, pepper, paprika powder, chili flakes, and garlic. Combine the vegetable slices with your marinade.
Now it’s time to bake. Spread your chips on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. The slices should not overlap. The pumpkin should be placed on a separate tray as it takes less time.
Set your oven to 140 degrees Celsius (280 degrees Fahrenheit) in convection mode. The pumpkin takes about 45 minutes, while the other vegetables take 50-60 minutes. During this process, you need to open the oven door several times to let the moisture escape. To save multiple trips to the oven, you can also prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
Keep an eye on your chips; the line between crispy and burnt is very thin. The thinner you slice your pieces, the crispier they will be in the end.
Loaf of Zucchini Bread (GW2)
The original from Guild Wars 2 uses dry baking ingredients, zucchini, egg, and vegetable oil. We will also try to include all of them.
Ingredients:
- 500g wheat flour or spelt flour (type 1050)
- 1 cube of yeast
- 250g zucchini
- 75g walnuts
- 1/4 liter lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 egg
- 3ml milk
- some vegetable oil or butter for the pan
Preparation:
First, you need to fill the flour into a bowl. Create a small hollow in the flour and crumble the yeast into it. Then mix it with some of the lukewarm water and the spoonful of sugar. Once you’ve done this, cover it with some flour and let it rise for 10 minutes in a warm place.
While the dough is rising, you can take care of the zucchini and walnuts. Wash the zucchini and grate it, and chop the walnut halves finely. Then retrieve the dough and add salt, egg, and the remaining water. Knead everything thoroughly and add the zucchini and walnuts. Then knead well again and let the dough rise covered in a warm place for another 45 minutes.
After this resting period, you need to knead it on your work surface once more. Put some flour on your hands and shape it into a roll. Grease your desired pan and place the dough inside. Then it needs to rise again for 45 minutes in a warm place.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit). Then brush the bread with milk and put it in the oven. It needs to bake on the bottom rack for 40 minutes. Once it is beautifully golden brown, you can remove it from the pan and turn it over. It must cool down completely outside the pan.
Tip: You can serve various dips with it. Guacamole, hummus, and feta spreads go perfectly. Or why not try a small plate of sausages or cheese.
Main Course
Let’s get to the heart of a 3-course menu, the main dish. During Christmas, hearty dishes are in high demand. However, small dishes like potato salad with sausages are also very popular on Christmas Eve. We have prepared two dishes for the main course:
- Juicy marinated chicken drumsticks
- A hearty meat stew
Honey-Glazed Drumsticks (WoW)
The original from World of Warcraft uses meaty drumsticks and chor honey. Similar ingredients will also be used in our recipe.
Ingredients:
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- 60 butter
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons mild mustard
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- salt
- pepper
Preparation:
First, preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) and lay the drumsticks skin-side down on a baking sheet.
Melt your butter, which is quite easy in the microwave on low power. Mix the butter with the remaining ingredients and brush the chicken drumsticks with it. You can use a silicone brush for this.
Then place your dish on the middle rack of your oven and let them bake for 15 minutes. After that, you need to gently turn the meat and brush the other side. Let them bake for another 15 minutes in the oven.
Tip: Roasted potatoes or various salads pair well with it, especially with tomatoes or other sour vegetables.
Stew ala Seliana (MHW: Iceborne)
In Monster Hunter World, your dishes are cooked by charming cats. Our stew comes without cat hair, promised, and is inspired by the dish that the cat chef in Seliana, the capital of Iceborne, serves you.
Ingredients:
- 700g goulash
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 2 carrots
- 350g potatoes
- 200g onions
- 0.5L broth
- 1 tablespoon clarified butter
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 0.5 bunch thyme
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- salt
- pepper
Preparation:
First, you need to sear your meat with the clarified butter in a pot vigorously on all sides. After that, peel and chop the onions, deseed the peppers and chop them as well. Additionally, peel your carrot and cut it into slices. Add all the vegetables to the meat and briefly sauté them.
Next, pour the broth into the pot and season with pepper and paprika. Be cautious with salt and taste, as the broth is often already very salty. Let everything simmer for 1 hour.
Then, turn your attention to the potatoes. Peel them and cut them into bite-sized cubes. Add them together with the thyme to your goulash and let them simmer for 10 minutes. In the end, stir in a little crème fraîche and taste one last time with salt and pepper.
Tip: White bread goes excellently with it, just like you get in Seliana. Otherwise, various salads are great as well.
Dessert
To round off a perfect Christmas menu, you need a delicious dessert. For those of you who love spice, there is also a sweet alternative here. Fitting for the spicy vegetable chips in the appetizer. Additionally, there is an exotic treat for the finale.
Spicy Chocolate Cookie (GW2)
The spicy chocolate cookie consists in Guild Wars 2 of a dough ball, a chocolate bar, and a ghost chili. In real life, we can also find these ingredients – at least approximately.
Ingredients:
- 125g flour
- 100g soft butter
- 1 egg
- 50g sugar
- 1 pinch baking powder
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons chili flakes
Preparation:
You can already turn on your oven at the beginning. Preheat it to 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit).
Next, add the butter with the sugar and the egg to a large bowl and beat it until frothy. Sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa over it and mix until you get a soft dough. This is best done by hand. Then you can add the chocolate chips and knead them in as well.
Moisten your hands and shape about walnut-sized balls. Then place them with plenty of space in between on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Next, take a moistened fork and flatten the balls slightly.
You can also use another tool if you want a special pattern on your cookies. Christmas trees or stars would be ideal. Whatever you use, you must keep moistening it again.
Next, bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes in the oven. Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes. After that, transfer them from the tray to a cooling rack or similar and let them cool completely.
Honey Pudding (ESO)
What warms better in the cold season than a nice homemade pudding? However, just chocolate or vanilla would naturally be too simple for a nerdy MMO recipe. That’s why we brought you the honey pudding from The Elder Scrolls Online.
In the original, it is made from a honeycomb and “Imperial broth.” We have to adjust this somewhat for our recipe. The Elder Scrolls Online has an official cookbook. In it, you will also find the honey pudding, but with a somewhat more complicated recipe.
Ingredients:
- 500ml milk
- 50g fine cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
First, bring part of the milk to a boil in a pot. Set your stove to low temperature to avoid burning. Leave a large splash of milk in your measuring cup.
There, stir in the cornstarch, vanilla, and honey. The best way to do this is with a whisk. Make sure that you do not leave any lumps of cornstarch.
You should not take your eyes off the pot with the milk, as it burns very quickly or boils over. Once the milk begins to boil, you can add your mixture from the measuring cup. It is important that you stir well with the whisk immediately, or it will clump. You should still break down any last bits of cornstarch.
Next, you need to wait a bit for your honey pudding to come to a boil.
Tip: It’s best served nice and warm. Berries and fruits like apricots or cherries go well with it. Of course, also cookies or pastries.
So you don’t get thirsty…
With a good meal, you should naturally also have something to drink. Since many people’s mulled wine is getting a bit too much after 4 weeks of Christmas markets, we have a fresh recipe for you.
Colovian Ginger Ale (ESO)
A homemade ginger ale is a nice alternative that fits well into the cold season with plenty of vitamin C. Its bitter taste and sharp freshness are also great for Christmas. The original recipe in The Elder Scrolls Online includes yeast and ginger.
Ingredients:
- 60g ginger
- 120g sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice
Preparation:
Take a large PET bottle that holds 1.5 L and can be easily pressed. Fill in the sugar and yeast. You can use a funnel to help with this.
Peel and finely grate the ginger. Then add it to the bottle and fill it with cold tap water until 4cm below the bottle rim. Seal the bottle tightly and shake it a few times to mix everything.
Now you have to wait. Depending on the temperature, the fermentation will start between 10 and 24 hours. You can recognize it when your bottle no longer gives way under finger pressure. If this happens, place your ginger ale in the fridge.
It will last for a week, and you should definitely release the pressure occasionally by carefully opening the bottle. This prevents your PET container from exploding.
Tip: Some people also like the ginger ale with a splash of juice.
And now, enjoy your meal, cheers, and Merry Christmas to everyone!
