Thedas Cookery

A blog of headcanons for the preperation and cooking of various dishes, desserts, and sides of foods in Thedas. A fine dwarven craft, not direct from Orzammar. Main Blog @exhausted-archivist

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Blog Directory Post

A directory post to help navigate the blog and be mobile friendly! Tag navigation is below the cut.

Main Posts

FAQ

AO3 Links

About the Bits - Text Only Food Journal of Anjou Baskar - Done for an event, a one-shot really Project Archives Thedas Cookery Cards - Text Only

Resources

Google Sheet of all Drinks, Food, and Ingredients

Tag Navigation

#tc-canon

#tc-headcanon

Ingredients

#tc-alcohol

#tc-dairy

#tc-fish

#tc-fruit

#tc-meat

#tc-peanuts

#tc-tree-nuts

#tc-vegetable

Dietary

#tc-dairy-free

#tc-vegan

#tc-vegetarian

Type of Dish

#tc-appetizer

#tc-baked-goods

#tc-beverages

#tc-bread

#tc-breakfast

#tc-dessert

#tc-dip

#tc-fundamental

#tc-gravy

#tc-main-course

#tc-pantry

#tc-salad

#tc-sauce

#tc-side-dish

#tc-soup

#tc-street-food

#tc-stew

[thedas-cookery]

I'm Commander Cullen and this is my favourite blog in Thedas

Thank you Commander 🫡

[thedas-cookery]

Thedas Cookery Food Cards

AO3 Link - Has all the text in one place (no graphics)

Anderfels

Anderfels Tavern Spread

Antiva

Zeppole

Dwarves

Deepstalker Steak with Roasted Deep Mushrooms and Honeyed Carrots

Rivain

Ox Cheek and Noodle Stew

Project Archives List

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About the Bits Index

AO3 Link

Bronto [ Post 1 ] [ Post 2 ]

Deepstalker

Druffalo

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About the Bits! Another Note on Brontos

My mother told me that I wasn't that clever with the "shaped by the shaperate". Audur thought it was though, but suggested "Lyrium Lickers" as an alternative. For obvious reasons I declined. Silas is puzzled over the Deep Crawler Stuffed Rock Licker recipe.

– A note penned in the margins by Anjou Baskar

The image above reads:

About the Bits

Another Note On Brontos

When it comes to the uses of brontos, there are a few things to consider: the structure of the meat - referring to how lean the meat can be, the cut being used, and the cooking method. As I have mentioned previously, the texture of bronto meat is similar to pork, whereas the taste is that of elk and beef. This leads to the meat easily becoming dry if one is not careful. To avoid this on thinner cuts of meat, or to simply avoid having dry and mealy burgers or sausages, it is common to mix in fat from another animal or even tallow from the bronto.

For things such as filets, shanks, steaks, and tenderloin. As mentioned, one could use fat, or if aiming for more neutral tastes, a cooking oil. I am of the personal opinion that neutral oils are best, as I have found, instead pairing the meat with sauces composed of berries, deep mushrooms, pomegranate, or plums is a more satisfying arrangement. The flavours of the fruits provide a bright bit of contrast to the gamey taste, while the mushrooms can highlight the meat’s natural sweetness with their savory and earthy profile.

For other cuts, preparations such as pies, roasts, or stews the primary uses. Such slow cooking methods are quite common in dwarven homes that they have at least one; either passed down from their ancestors or the favoured dish they had growing up in Orzammar or the Ambassadoria. In these dishes, additions such as root vegetables, lentils, leeks, mushrooms, corn, ale, cream (usually from goat or nug), aromatic herbs, garlic, lemon, and/or tomatoes are favoured.

There is one recipe that combines both bronto and giant spiders, making what the house has aptly named “Deep Crawler Stuffed Rock Lickers”.  A rather inventive recipe that uses primarily ingredients sourced in the Deep Roads save for fruits such as lemons or oranges.

Shaped by the Shaperate

A bit of uncommon knowledge to those outside the more historically minded dwarven households: the brontos of today descend from stock that was painstakingly created by the Shaperate by exposing select breeding stock — that is unfortunately now lost to us — to raw lyrium over many centuries. Any record of what the original form of brontos was lost to anyone outside the deepest records of the Shaperate. 

It has led many to wonder what prompted such a project? Was it their hardy diet that we originally capitalized on or their bulking mass? What other stock have we lost from our lost empire prior to the blights or when we forging connections to the surface?

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About the Bits: A Note on Druffalo

From field to plate, druffalos are as tender in meat as they are fierce.

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About the Bits: A Note on Brontos

The dwarven staple, from beast of burden to steak on your plate. Brontos: how they taste, what is up with them, and what is their preferred food?

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About the bits on your plate! Deepstalkers, what are they, how do they taste, and how to prepare them!

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Thedas Cookery Update!

So small update! I will be posting again soon, I'm very excited about it. But there is going to be a slight change to the posts. I have been having some issues drawing lately, and I was hoping it would get better soon. Unfortunately, it hasn't so while I've been able to type things up just fine, I am very behind on any associated food art unfortunately.

However, I want to make progress with this project! So I have some place holder stuff that I will go back to and swap out the art later. But in the mean time I still get to share what I've been working on. Its been frustrating for me to make progress and not share, and part of that is definitely wanting to "do it 'right' or not do it at all" type of mentality. So, embracing the "fuck it we ball" mindset for now.

I thank everyone for their interest in this project and those who have been waiting for updates!

–– Archi

[thedas-cookery]

@winterhartarts said...

Pssst hey, is this project still happening? :0 Just curious, because last post seems to be interest check results all the way back at the start of February, so!

Hey! Hope you don't mind me answering in a post. Thank you so much for checking in. But, yeah it still is!

Unfortunately I've had a few personal things going on (one of them being a blackout for 20+ hours that spoiled all my food the day after I went food shopping ;A;) so there was a slow down and I forgot to update here about it.

That said, I have things I'm almost done with and am gearing up to post here within the next few weeks!

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The results have been collected!

The responses I got from those in the community are a great insight, and those interested just for a themed cookbook gave some great tips! Thanks again to everyone who filled it out!

You'll notice I spotlighted a few suggestions that were submitted, they were ones that I found to be fun and/or mostly weren't addressed in my FAQ or the survey itself, with some exceptions. (Really loved who ever submitted the geico joke, that gave me a good chuckle!)

If you want to know about more plans for the project, please check out my FAQ, and if you still have questions feel free to send me an ask!

Interest Check Results Transcript:

About the Cooks of Thedas

Responses: 173

Skill level

Beginner: 15.6%

Average: 60.1%

Experienced: 24.3%

Measurement System

Metric: 38.2%

Imperial: 61.8%

How Adventurous Are you?

A Little Adventurous! 25.4%

Pretty Adventurous! 55.5%

Very Adventurous! 19.1%

Elements of the Cookbook

Do you want technical instructions?

Yes: 91.9%

No: 8.1%

Do you want helpful tips?

Yes: 100%

Recipe Pairings Suggestions?

Yes: 67.6%

No: 4.6%

Maybe: 27.7%

From Scratch Recipes?

From Scratch: 34.3%

Option for Store Bought: 65.7%

Ingredients Easily found in a Common Grocery Store

Not Important: 9.8%

Preferred: 76.9%

Extremely Important: 13.3%

Alternatives for Uncommon or Seasonal Ingredients?

Yes: 96.5%

No: 3.5%

Recipe Stats and Requests

Top 5 Recipes Types

Dinner: 89%

Dessert: 71.1%

Breads/Non-Sweets: 68.8%

Soups: 61.8%

Appetizers: 61.3%

Most Requested Canon Foods

Dalish Deep Forest Comfort

Cacio e Pepe

Hanged Man Stew

Orlesian Frilly Cakes

Antivan Apple Grenades

Butter Soup

Nug Nug

Lamb and Pea Stew

Poison Stings

Raider Queen's Bread

Recipe Complexity

Quick Meals: 34.7%

Simple/Accent or Themed Meals: 51.7%

Elaborate Dishes: 14.1%

Most Requested Thedas Cultural Foods

Antivan

Avvar

Dalish

Nevarran

Most Wanted to Make Foods

Braided breads

Candied Fruits

Candy

Cheese

Fermented Drinks (Apple Cider, Mead, and Wine)

Flatbread

Game Stews

Hand Pies

Hand-made Pasta

Macarons

Meringue

Mousse

Onion Soup

Scones

Tarts

A Few Suggestions & Requests from the Cooks

"Something maple inspired."

"Ease of recipe preparations is more important to me than obscure ingredients; IE I'm more likely to purchase black garlic than to laminate pastry dough."

"Something really cool that I've noticed in some cookbooks is a mentioning of where that specific food is found in the series whether it's in a game or comic. And who likes it. I feel like it adds a personal touch."

"A section for side dishes maybe? :3"

"A good index can be a huge helper. I've had terrible books whose layouts were based on ease to make, also convoluted chapter names that left you wondering what you were going to encounter in each chapter. It was impossible to find specific recipes."

"As a Romanian seeing some variant of sarmale (sour cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice) used anywhere would delight me personally, and I think could work for Nevarra or Orzammar ect."

"You already touched on this with one of the questions, but substitute suggestions for certain ingredients is huge for me with some food intolerances/preferences or simply a lack of availability for a specific ingredient. I love having options that will still work well for the dish!"

"In game codex entries where relevant would be cool but not needed by any means."

"Ferelden would logically have some kind of street kebab that you buy for your dog."

[thedas-cookery]

With that the interest check survey is closed! Thank you so much for all the responses and interest in this project. There was a lot of stuff going on right now and I appreciate every response.

I'll be compiling and posting the results soon, so please keep your eye out. I will also be putting together the newsletter list for those who want to keep up with future surveys about ingredient availability and such. There will be a post explaining what to expect with the news letter and if you want to sign up.

Thank you again for all the responses!

[thedas-cookery]

Thedas Cookery Interest Check

Pomegranates, also deemed Dragon's Bounty, a treasure trove of tart and delicious gems. Hidden behind thick skin and plucked at various stages for a delicious spread of dishes and snacks.

[thedas-cookery]

Thedas Cookery Interest Check

Anderfels Tavern Spread

Salted pickles, bread, fruit spread, and some lard. A hearty, nourishing meal that varies based on local exports - if the region has any. A little heavy, pairs well with Anders bitter cider.

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Thedas Cookery Interest Check

Rivaini ox cheek and noodle soup, a simple soup best served when you're hungry and fresh off of a long day of work or travel.

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Thedas Cookery Interest Check

Deepstalker shoulder; delicious in stews, soups, braised, fried, baked, or ground. A fatty, delicious cut that can become so tender you wonder why it its not a prime cut.

[thedas-cookery]

Thedas Cookery Interest Check

Deepstalker shoulder; delicious in stews, soups, braised, fried, baked, or ground. A fatty, delicious cut that can become so tender you wonder why it its not a prime cut.