Arkhosian Tombs and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

We journey deeper into the ancient Arkhosian tomb, the air is still and dank. We've already fought the troubled spirits in the first chamber. I mutter under my breath about how no one ever listens to me. I had told everyone that I had a bad feeling about this, while we were entering this tomb. Now we were stuck here, in the cold and clinging darkness, feeling the presence of the disturbed spirits all around us.

We move into the next room, my armor clanking as we walk. We find a symbol on the floor, and four beds, each with a well preserved corpse in it. Each corpse was a concubine, entombed with the prince they served in life. We spend several minutes discussing what the symbol means, finally concluding that it's an Arkhosian symbol for fidelity. Finding no reason to disturb this room, we press onward, deeper in to the dungeon. At least, that was the plan. Before we got very far, the beds burst into flame, the well preserved flesh of the concubines melting and twisting in the fire. The four concubines, now skeletal in nature, stood up, and came rushing at us. Pieces of rotting flesh and fat dripped off their bones, leaving a fiery trail following them. I turned to face them, drawing my sword. The previous chamber had been a hard battle, and had taken a lot out of me. I was ready for more, however.

Liriope rushed into battle first, bringing her spiked chain down on the skeletons with all her might. Quandary moved back behind Liriope and myself, and started blundering and confounding the skeletons. He's doing his job to make ours easier. The invoker, Alth, rushes in next. I'm taking my time to come up with a strategy. I finally find my opening in the fight, and charge into battle. My goal: to keep them as occupied as possible while my friends pick them off. While this is good for my group, it does mean that I see the majority of the action. The flaming concubines tear into me, sometimes only scratching my armor, sometimes digging deeply into my flesh. The flames grew ever higher, filling the room with smoke and ash. Not only were we battling off flaming skeletons, we were battling off intense heat as well. I was, sadly, less prepared for the ensuing battle than I thought I was. Eventually, walls of flame surrounding me and surrounded by enemies, I succumbed. I clattered to the ground, my blade falling to my side.

I woke up a short while later, my friends hovering over me. The room was still on fire, and quickly getting worse. We could no longer press forward into the tomb at this time. We decided to retreat to the room prior and take a short rest. Well, they did. I was just happy that we had pulled through.

In the other room, we decided it was time for a short meal.
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I'll have to admit, I have a little secret. It's so little, in fact, that anyone who knows me could point it out should you ask. I like cheese. I like cheese alot. I like cheese so much that I have a poster of different varieties of cheese, each with a description of the flavour, texture, and use of the cheese. So, it should come as no surprise, now being informed as you are, that I've been itching to serve grilled cheese sandwiches at a session. But I wouldn't settle for just two slices of bread and a bit of cheese in the middle. I was going to go all in.

Now, depending on how many people are in your party, you're going to have to change how much you're going to have to buy.
For a party of 5, like mine, I bought the following:

1 pkg of Baby Bella mushrooms (sliced)
2 green peppers
1 onion
1/2 lb Muenster Cheese
24 slice pkg of American cheese
1 loaf of White wheat bread
1 stick butter (Tub butter has been recommended)

Now, a lot of these ingredients can be pretty pricey. Cheese, while tasty, can be pretty expensive. Same goes for the mushrooms. But depending on how much people eat, you could end up with lots of stuff left over ingredients to make more tasty meals. One also doesn't have to use two different varieties of cheese. Most of these ingredients, for the most part, are merely suggestions, though it is fairly essential to at least have cheese, bread, and butter.

So, to start off, start spreading butter on the bread. Set the cheese in a location where it will be easy to access. Heat up a frying pan. While the pan is heating, dice the onion and the green peppers. When the pan is ready, melt butter into it. Once the butter is ready, sauté the onions, mushrooms, and peppers. Make sure to keep plenty of butter melted in the pan. Once the vegetables are sautéed, place them in a bowl off to the side. Take a slice of your buttered bread, and apply a slice or two of cheese. Then add a spoonful or two of the vegetables on top of that. When that is done, add another slice or two of cheese on top of the vegetables. It is VERY IMPORTANT that the vegetables are enveloped in cheese. Otherwise it will be extraordinarily difficult to flip the sandwich. When the desired darkness on the pan facing side of the bread, flip it over. When the other side achieves the desired level of toastiness, remove the sandwich from pan. Lather, rinse, repeat until necessary amount of sandwiches have been created.

I recommend serving this with some very tasty tomato soup. It makes for a delicious combination.

Analysis of the meal
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The Good:
* Quick
* well received

The Bad:
* More sandwiches! They were very popular.

Closing thoughts:
* Be consistent with the proper technique, and it's hard to mess up
* The combination of the soup and sandwich is classic and delicious
* definitely needs to make a reappearance in the future

Angel Hair Pasta with Vodka sauce

This recipe was initially tried on 01/16/2010. It has not been attempted a second time yet, but I will post the changes I made and how it tasted once it is made again.

Ingredients:
canned Vodka sauce
1 pkg sliced mushroom
rubbed sage
garlic powder

Angel hair pasta
Olive oil
Table salt

Recipe:
Boil the noodles with a dash of table salt and a capful of olive oil. Make certain to be watchful of the noodles. It is very easy to get distracted and overcook the noodles.

In a separate sauce pan, pour the mushrooms and Vodka sauce in and heat. Add garlic powder and rubbed sage to taste.

When the noodles are done, strain the water from them. I, personally, use a colander to strain my noodles.

Once the noodles are done and the sauce is heated, allow each party member to grab a plate and add as much sauce as desired.

A good side for this dish would be garlic bread. The store bought garlic bread that only needs to go in the oven and be served is an acceptable way to do this. A more in-depth guide to making ones own will come at a later date.

Feeds a party of four, in addition to the DM. This recipe scales well, however.

Analysis of the meal
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The Good:
* Quick
* decently received

The Bad:
* Not enough sauce
* Somewhat bland

Closing thoughts:
* more sauce, less mushrooms (two jars of sauce, or larger jars.)
* make the whole package of noodles
* Sauté the mushrooms in butter with onions before adding to sauce, possibly even sautéing the mushrooms with shrimp and spicing it with the rubbed sage and garlic powder.
* A different variety of pasta may be nice. Possibly Bowtie pasta?

A Brief Introduction

I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a few months now, and I have to say, I am really enjoying it. It's always great to get your friends together, play games, and eat good food. It is truly one of the best things, and is the highlight of my week.

In general, most people think college students don't have the money or the resources to eat well, and that all people who play D&D eat Cheetos and guzzle Mountain Dew. Sometimes this is case. But it isn't always the truth. One can do surprising things on a small budget, and some people who enjoy D&D also enjoy good food. This is why I've created this blog, to share my experiences both playing Dungeons and Dragons, and in the kitchen with my friends.

So, what should one expect from this blog? I feel that it will include some of the following items:

* Recipes that are hopefully cost effective, easy to make, and delicious
* Reviews of snack foods and beverages of varying types
* Ideas to improve your games of Dungeons and Dragons, or other tabletop RPGs you may play

Hopefully this blog will give you some great ideas in both the kitchen and on the table.