Though food blogger and author Cassandra Reeder established her website The Geeky Chef seven years ago, she's been combining her "intense nerd passion" and affection for food since she was 6 years old, when the idea to make Land Before Time-themed cookies came along. And now, through Reeder's Geeky Chef Cookbook, you can get your geek on while cooking at home, too.
Drawing inspiration from movies, video games and television shows, more than 60 recipes full of fantasy and science fiction are featured throughout the new cookbook. Lemon cakes — and bowls of brown if you're, um, into that — allow you to eat your feelings after that Game of Thrones season five finale, while other fictional food formulas, including 1UP mushroom cupcakes (Super Mario Cart), Romulan Ale (Star Trek), bacon pancakes (Adventure Time) Moloko Plus (A Clockwork Orange) and lembas (The Lord of the Rings), transport your taste buds into another world.
Here are two nerdly recipes from Reeder to get your epic kitchen voyage started.
Fish Fingers and Custard
Inspired by Doctor Who; serves 4-6
For the fish fingers:
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup coconut flakes
1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into 1-inch strips (cod or haddock will also work)
Oil, for frying
For the "custard":
1/2 mayonnaise
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk in another shallow bowl. Mix the breadcrumbs with coconut in a third shallow bowl. Coat each fish strip in the seasoned flour, dip them into the egg mixture and then roll in the panko and coconut mixture. Set aside until ready to cook.
Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In small batches, fry the fish sticks until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. To make the custard sauce, simply combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Liberally dip the fish fingers in the custard sauce and enjoy!
Pumpkin Pasties
Inspired by Harry Potter; makes 12
For the crust:
3 1/2 cups flour
Pinch of salt
5 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter, cubed
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup ice water, divided
For the filling:
2 eggs, whisked
1 cup sugar
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pastry crusts
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus extra for the pastry crusts
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon allspice
12-ounce can evaporated milk
First, make the crust. Combine the flour, salt and sugar until well blended. Add the butter cubes and toss until coated. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour until dough is in bean-size pieces. Add the shortening to the dough and toss, then rub the shortening into the flour using the same method as well the butter, until you have pea-size pieces.
Sprinkle in about half of the ice water and use your hands to squeeze the dough together, being careful not to overwork it. Keep adding a little bit of ice water at a time until the dough comes together but is not wet — you may not need all of the water.
Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling. Add the eggs and sugar to a mixing bowl and combine until well blended. Stir in the pumpkin, butter, salt and spices. Pour in the evaporated milk and stir well.
In a large greased casserole dish, bake the filling at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes, or until your fork comes out clean when inserted into the filling. Let it cool completely.
Roll out the pastry until thin and cut into circles about 4 inches in diameter. Put a heaping spoonful of the pumpkin mixture toward one side of the center of the circle. Fold over the crust into a half-circle and firmly press the edges closed. Cut three small slits in the top for venting and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake until crust is a light golden brown, around 10 minutes. If desired, mix some cinnamon and melted butter together and brush the pasties after they come out of the ovn.
