#eorzeaneats

[eorzeaneats]

Catsfoot Chews

Hi everyone!! Nicki here, back again with another FFXIV recipe. This one was a user request that I just couldn’t say no to. The way Catsfoot Chews are described in the Vanu quests - “A soft, sticky confection made with ground catsfoot leaves to give it a bright emerald-green color” - reminded me of kusa mochi, a mochi flavored with yomogi/mugwort leaves. Mugwort is kind of difficult to find in the US, so I had to order yomogi powder off Amazon to make this tasty candy! Yomogi has a wonderful aroma and an herbal, almost licorice-like flavor that tastes amazing in mochi. Sweet rice flour (mochiko) can be found at most upscale grocery stores (Central Market, Whole Foods, etc.) 

I’ve made mochi a couple of times and it’s super easy, fast, and produces a deliciously chewy candy. All you need is a microwave-safe bowl or two and a whisk. It also helps to have a pastry or dough cutter on hand, as mochi is QUITE sticky, even sprinkled with rice flour powder! By the way, if you have a traditional steamer, you can use that instead of the microwave. 

A word to the wise: a little food coloring can go a long way in making attractive mochi. I remember making strawberry mochi without it.... and it turned out a pale pink, looking like raw chicken. :S The in-game icon isn’t the “bright emerald-green” it’s described to be, but you can achieve a very lovely deep green color with just a drop of green food coloring. 

Catsfoot Chews!

2 cups water

1.5 tbsp yomogi or mugwort powder (can use fresh leaves instead, if you have them!)

2 cups mochiko (sweet rice flour), plus more for sprinkling

1 cup sugar 

Oil or cooking spray to grease the bowl

1 drop green food coloring (optional) 

Mix the yomogi powder into two cups of warm water and stir to dissolve. The powder I ordered was very fine, so it dissolved just above room temperature, but you can microwave the mixture if the water isn’t warm enough to dissolve. Sift the mochiko and sugar together, then add the yomogi mixture and one drop of green food coloring. With a whisk, beat the mixture until it’s uniform and there are no lumps. Transfer mixture to a greased microwave-safe bowl and put it in the microwave. Mine took about 9-10 minutes on HIGH in my microwave to become smooth, thick, and gummy; depending on your microwave, it might be a little shorter or longer. If you taste a tiny bit (taste with great caution - it’s HOT) and it’s thick and chewy and no longer tastes grainy, it’s ready.

Remove it from the microwave. Dust a cutting board or a clean countertop with more sweet rice flour and turn the dough out onto it. DO NOT TOUCH IT YET! Fresh mochi is hot lava! When the dough is cool enough to handle, sprinkle it all over with rice flour and gently shape it and flatten it. (By the way, slapping the slab of pre-cut mochi produces like, the most satisfying sound ever. It’s basically a big toy.) Cut the warm dough into individual squares and dust with a little more flour so they don’t stick together. Roll the pieces between your hands to form balls. You can also roll the pieces in sesame seeds if you want a traditional crunchy topping. Mochi is best eaten fresh - or traded for firewood! 

[eorzeaneats]

Scrambled Eggs

I realized, looking over my Recipes list, that I’ve made a lot of egg dishes. What can I say, I’m all about that Qiqirn life. 

But like, can you blame me? Eggs are so versatile and delicious, from custards to meringues to quiches to omelettes to good old scrambled eggs. 

The Culinarian Guild’s version of Scrambled Eggs is classed up a bit with cottage cheese and white truffles. (The truffles are here in the form of white truffle oil, because I definitely do not have the gil for whole white truffles!) I’d never used either of these ingredients in scrambled eggs before, but I really liked these additions and would definitely make this again. The cottage cheese adds protein and richness to the eggs. I think I’ll start eating this before workouts to get some extra protein in! (I would totally recommend adding spinach, tomatoes, and parmesan, too. I loooove loaded scrambled eggs.)

Scrambled Eggs! 

3 eggs 

2 tbsp butter 

3 tbsp cottage cheese 

A teaspoon or two of chopped fresh dill or chives (optional) 

White truffle oil for drizzling 

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk or fork until well blended. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat, then add the eggs. When curds begin to form in the pan, add several big scoops of cottage cheese and stir gently with a spatula to combine. Cook, gently stirring to form whatever size curds you prefer, until the eggs are just about set. They should still be glistening a bit and wobble a little when you shake the pan. Remember: if eggs look done in the pan, they will be overdone when you eat them, since they continue cooking after you remove them from the heat!

Plate the eggs and add salt and pepper. Add fresh herbs if you’d like - I really love chives or dill with eggs. Then, with your finger over the opening of the bottle, tilt and drizzle a few drops of white truffle oil over the eggs. Some people (like me) go nuts for truffle and like quite a lot; others find the earthy aroma a bit overwhelming. If you don’t know how much truffle flavor you like, start with a few drops and see if you like it, then go from there. 

[popola-sil-pola]

Renaud told me before that their favourite food was Trapper’s Quiche, so I wanted to try my hand at making one! We took the recipe from @eorzeaneats ( with a few minor alterations to the recipe ) assembled the mats, then co-chefed it! The result was amazing! Nutmeg complimented the eft tail wonderfully, it had a very delicate and rich flavour to it. Thank you Chef Nicki for transcribing the recipe! 

[eorzeaneats]

Spiced Cider

As if on cue, as soon as 3.2 came out, the weather here in Austin got cold again (well, for a couple of days, at least.) I figured it was a sign that I should make some Spiced Cider. This recipe couldn’t be easier, and it’s very warm and comforting. I like that FFXIV put in vanilla and ginger, which taste delicious with apple cider!

If you drink alcohol, adding a half stick of butter to the pot and topping your cider cup with spiced rum to taste can turn this into an extra-warming cold weather drink. 

Spiced Cider!

4 cups apple juice or apple cider

1 inch section of fresh peeled ginger, cut into 5-6 slices

1 vanilla bean OR 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp nutmeg 

1 cinnamon stick (mine was about 3 inches long)

6 whole cloves 

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine all of the ingredients. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes. Strain out the spices and serve hot. 

[eorzeaneats]

Chanterelle Saute

The recipe icon for this dish shows mushrooms swimming in melted butter, the star of the dish, and that seems about right for chanterelles. Chanterelles are pale gold, flower-like mushrooms that taste both earthy and a little fruity, a bit like a peach. Sautéed properly, they are sweet and delicate. 

I rarely get to eat chanterelles due to their price, but Central Texas, where I live, has a surprisingly diverse and long mushroom season. I’m occasionally able to find locally harvested mushrooms at farmer’s markets for decent prices, even “luxury” ingredients like morels and chanterelles. (Which is a good thing, because both of these are in many FFXIV recipes.) 

Lots of natural or upper-scale grocery stores will have chanterelles, whether fresh or dried. You can use dried mushrooms in mushroom sautés, too. Just rehydrate the mushrooms in room temperature water to cover for half an hour and gently rub off any grit or dirt under running water, then cook as normal. (Save the soaking liquid, by the way - it’s great in risotto or other broth dishes!) 

Chanterelle Saute! 

A quarter pound of golden chanterelle mushrooms 

About 1/4 cup white wine

2-3 tbsp butter 

1 clove of garlic

Salt and pepper 

Rinse the mushrooms and rub off any dirt or grit. Slice the clove of garlic thinly and set aside. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add your mushrooms and white wine as well as a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of black pepper. Let the mixture cook for 3 minutes, then add the garlic slices. Cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and tender. Serve with the melted garlic/wine/butter from the pan. (Note: If you aren’t fond of mushrooms by themselves, you can stir this Chanterelle Sauté into pasta or risotto as-is!) 

[doc-ravenbe]

Cooking TIME

Dhalmel Fricasse is a cooking. But since I couldn’t find any dhalmels I’m using chicken :I

thank you for the rescipe @eorzeaneats

[eorzeaneats]

Landtrap Salad

Let’s knock out a quick and simple recipe today. “A salad made with the still-twitching leaves of a landtrap and garnished with a drizzle of fragrant olive oil...” I hate to disappoint you all, but this salad, unlike proper Landtrap Salad, does not twitch. It is a perfectly still lunch, dinner, or side that is nevertheless pretty fresh and tasty. I used to think I didn’t like salads at all, but I’ve discovered that I actually just don’t like iceberg lettuce. Turns out I like spinach, kale, dark red lettuce, arugula, brussels sprouts, mustard greens, and other flavorful greens. (I even like salad made of avocados.) Learning how to make homemade dressings also helped a lot, since I’m kind of picky about dressing flavors. I’m really fond of red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and black pepper - very piquant, bright flavors.

Which is why I was a little dismayed that the FFXIV Landtrap Salad is so basic! Onions, tomatoes, and lettuce drizzled with olive oil, and that’s it. Not too much flavor there. Trying to stay faithful to my ingredient list and picture cues, I made a salad based on the FFXIV picture... but then as soon as the camera was put away, I immediately chopped the leaves up into bite-size pieces and added red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, dijon mustard, and crumbled goat cheese, because hey, that’s how I like my salad. I recommend adding a more exciting dressing or array of salad toppings, and I’ve provided my preferred dressing below. 

Landtrap Salad!

6-8 large leaves of red leaf lettuce 

1/4 of a small white or red onion

1 tomato 

Drizzling of olive oil 

Slice the onion into long slivers and chop the tomato into wedges or bite sized bites. Arrange ingredients in a bowl and then drizzle olive oil over the top. This makes the basic Landtrap Salad template. I then added a handful of washed raw button mushrooms and crumbled a handful of goat cheese over the salad. I also prepared a quick simple dressing. In a small bowl, I mixed about 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar, a little salt and pepper, and maybe a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard and stirred it together, then drizzled it over the salad until I had enough flavor for my liking. Salad is such a basic template and can be modified in many ways. Try your favorite raw vegetables, nuts, croutons, or different bottled dressings to liven up your landtraps! 

[eorzeaneats]

Grilled Dodo

As I’ve mentioned in other recipes, I live in a small apartment (on the top floor no less) -- I wish I owned a lovely charcoal grill, or a big outdoor meat smoker, but I don’t (yet.) I decided to invest in a heavy cast iron grill pan, which produces a similar sear to a grill, though it’s harder to get those gorgeous grill lines on a stovetop pan.

Any grill pan or frying pan will do for searing chicken, so long as it’s made out of a substance that can get good and ripping hot and keep its heat. Cast iron is the best. If you would prefer to make this on a real charcoal or gas grill, by all means go ahead! 

This is one of the simpler recipes in the cookbook, being mainly “cook the chicken until it’s done.” But hey, it’s tasty, quick, and it looks good! I poured the schmaltz from the grill pan into a frying pan and cooked some zucchini squash in it, then whipped up a quick honey mustard sauce to go with it (Dijon mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and a squeeze of lemon juice, stirred together, makes an amazing last-minute sauce for chicken.) Grilled Dodo turned out to be a great low-effort dinner. 

Grilled Dodo!

1 or more chicken breasts (size up as desired!)

Vegetable or canola oil

Garlic powder, salt, and pepper 

Half a lemon 

Pat each chicken breast dry with a paper towel and season each breast with salt, pepper, and a liberal dose of garlic powder. Pour oil into your grill pan (a couple of teaspoons for a 10-inch pan is good.) Let the oil heat up over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then place a chicken breast or two in the pan (depending on how big the pan and breasts are.) It will hiss and sizzle at you -- that’s good! Don’t disturb it for 3ish minutes, then try to lift it from the pan with a spatula. If it sticks, give it more time; otherwise, rotate the chicken breast 90 degrees and cook for 3ish more minutes. (The 90 degree turn is what creates that beautiful cross-hatch pattern, if your pan allows for it.) Flip the chicken breast and do the same process on the other side. Your chicken breast, depending on thickness, might be done now or it might need a little more time. When the internal temperature reaches 160-165 degrees, remove the breast from the pan and set it aside to rest for several minutes. Repeat until you’ve cooked all of your chicken, then drizzle the breasts with fresh lemon juice and serve!