"Here's a house favorite that brings th' old boys comin' back fer seconds, even when they're a flagon away from being plastered! Can't tell ya what's in th' sauce though–or I'd be put outta business!" – Black-eye Bill, Vilpamolan tavern owner.



Sam O'Malley's Beer-Battered Catfish:

• Finely ground flour
• Cornmeal
• Egg
• A frothy flagon of beer (ale works as well)
• Catfish fillets
• Minced garlic
• A pinch of Abedi spice
• Crushed black pepper
• Salt
• A pot of hot oil
• Lemon slices (optional but suggested)

"Start heating up the oil over a fire. Put in some quick burning pieces of wood first, then add in come coals or firewood. Make sure the fire doesn't get too hot or the oil will splatter. While the oil's heating mix your cornmeal, flour, egg, and beer in a large bowl until there are no lumps. Add a pinch of salt for taste to the batter and a bit of pepper if you like. Set the batter aside and rub some cleaned catfish fillets with the rest of your salt, pepper, minced garlic, and Abedi spice. Dip each seasoned fillet into the batter, then into the oil once it's hot enough. Depending on the size of your pot of oil, put in 1-2 fillets at a time. After a few minutes, take them out when they're golden brown. Remember to wait for the oil to heat up again after you do each batch or the outside won't be crisp. Nobody likes it when fried food tastes like a soggy mess drowned in oil. Once all the fillets are fried and done, they're ready to serve. You can serve 'em with a pat of tartar sauce or some minced pickles. Or if you're feelin' more adventurous, try them with some hot pepper sauce and a slice of lemon." – Black-eye Bill


Note to self:

Remember that tip about how to check when the frying oil is the right temperature. It was something about seeing bubbles when you stick in a wooden spoon? Also keeping the batter cold when dipping the fillets helps the fish get nice and crispy. Still not sure what that tavern owner puts in his special sauce. Other than salt, black pepper, and chili flakes I can't guess what else is in there. It's a bit sour and sweet, and I smell something aromatic? No point in asking him again, it's called a 'secret sauce' for a reason. It's reddish though, but I can't tell where the color is coming from.

"Ever tried wild game before? If you're not into roasting, there's nothing better than a well-cooked rabbit stew.  You can add other animals too, but you might get too many different flavors. Best to stick with one or two animals or the taste'll be off." – Unshaven sailor with an eye-patch, Frequent visitor at the Vilpamolan taverns.



Hodgepodge Rabbit Stew:

• 1 rabbit
• Carrots
• Onions
• Potatoes
• Dried mushrooms (if you have them)
• 2 bulbs of garlic
• Wine 
• Stock (optional)
• Cooking oil (beef fat or butter works too)
• Rosemary (preferably fresh)
• Thyme (either fresh or dried)
• Crushed black pepper
• Salt

"Clean and skin the rabbit, and chop it into chunks. Rub salt and pepper on the meat and soak the dried mushrooms in water. Let the meat sit and absorb the flavor while you heat up the pot. Toss in the peeled garlic with some oil and let it cook with the onions until you can smell them roasting; that's how you know they're ready. When the mushrooms are done soaking, clean out any dirt and grit they still have and throw 'em in. If the water they'd been soaking in looks fairly clean, throw that in too. Put in the rabbit meat and let it brown on the sides. Don't cook it all the way or you'll make the meat stringy. Now here's the best part—pour in some wine and let it soak into the food. Any brownings at the bottom of the pot'll come right off when the wine hits. Throw in some diced carrots, your herbs, any extra salt or pepper, and potatoes; then fill the pot halfway with water. Let it all simmer over the fire for a couple of hours, and you'll have yourself some of the best stew you've ever had on this side of the Ancense Mountains."


Additional Notes:

After following these instructions, the result was a decent meat stew. I added a pheasant I caught along with the rabbit, and there wasn't much of a difference in taste between the two. The meat was a bit tough when I tried it, so I must've seared the rabbit and pheasant for too long before stewing. The roasted garlic and onions gave the stew a nice caramelized flavor while the carrots and potatoes made it thicken nicely. It ended up being a tad bit on the sweet side, so I'll have to remember to add less carrot next time. I ended up making too much stew so I had the same thing later for supper.

Rufus Blackwater's Quick 'n Easy Deviled Eggs:

• A dozen eggs
• Mayonnaise (or tartar sauce)
• Ground mustard paste
• Black pepper
• Diced pickles
• Chili pepper flakes
• Salt
• Paprika (for sweetness)

"Boil the eggs in a pot of water, just like yer regular boiled eggs. Scoop 'em out with a ladle and let 'em cool until ye can handle 'em, and peel off the shells. Cut the eggs in half down the middle–the long side if ye will, so they'll lie flat. Dig out the yolks and mix 'em in a bowl with the spices and mayonnaise, toss in the pickles, and spoon 'em back in the whites. And bam! Ye got yourself devil'd eggs! There's no way ye can mess this up; even a pirate three sheets to the wind can do it on the first try." – Capt. Rufus Blackwater


Something to remember:

I got this recipe from Rufus when we bumped elbows at the Winking Mermaid in Adeluna. He gave it to me just as he was preparing to leave, and I'm surprised that I didn't discover this earlier. Now if only poaching eggs could be this easy…

Rainforest Sunrise Cocktail (Minus the Durian):

• 1 scoop of passion fruit sorbet
• 1/4 cup of sweetened milk
• Six tablespoons of spiced rum
• 1/4 cup of pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup or orange juice
• 2 tablespoons of guava puree
• Three spoons of pulverized mango
• 2 tablespoons of coconut milk
• 4 tablespoons of grenadine
• Sprig of mint or citrus slice (optional)
• 3-4 pieces of ice as needed
• Coarse sugar and honey (to line the glass rim)

"Add the passion fruit sorbet, sweetened milk, coconut milk, half of the spiced rum, and ice into a chilled metal container and pulverize into the ice becomes a slush. Set this mixture aside while you pour the rest of the rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, guava puree, and pulverized mango together. Take two glasses and dip the rim into honey. Turn it upside down and tap it into a layer of coarse sugar crystals. Pour half of the grenadine into the bottom of the glasses, then pour the fruit juice and puree mixture over it. Carefully pour so that the layers don't mix as much as possible. Once that is done, pour the sorbet mixture on top of the fruit juice layer. The three layers should form a gradient from lightest to darkest. Add a sprig of mint or a slice of citrus fruit and enjoy."

Footnote:

A revised version of the fruit cocktail I had in a Mamlak tavern a while back when I was still working for my old man. The original drink had durian, but by the Reaper's scythe I'm not making that mistake ever again. You can make a perfectly good drink with the flavors of the tropics in one single glass without having to endure that horrid stinking fruit's awful taste. It's perfect to share with friends on hot afternoons during the heat of Ignius.

Here's an old family favorite, back when I was a wee little bunting as tall as my ma's knee. If ye haven't had rarebit, you've gone done yourself a disservice! Nothing like an early morning or a late afternoon with a nice slice of bread, all slathered in the stuff. Some days we even add a whole egg, sunny-side up! 


Traditional Yovaeshi Rarebit:

• 2 pats of butter 
• A quarter cup of flour
• Dash of salt
• Black Pepper
• Half a pound of cheese
• 1 cup of whole milk (or fresh cream)
• Mustard
• A dab or two of special sauce

Rarebit's simple, see. Melt the butter in a pan with the pepper, then add the flour. Toast it up 'til it's nice and creamy, then add the milk to heat. Then ye add in the cheese, and then the mustard with that special sauce to simmer for a half hour or less. Make sure to keep stirring it, don't go running off thinking it'll cook on its own now. You'll burn the stuff, and end up with charred cheese. Once it's thickened proper, let it cool off a spell to just warm. Cut a slice of bread, doesn't matter what kind–and give yourself a big helping of that rarebit, all over the slice. Then, it's done! Rarebit, easiest thing in the world! You can always add a few things here and there, like dry spice and onion, but that's the long and short of making rarebit.