May The Fourth Be With You

Well, today's the day.  No...THE Day.  Of course I'm talking about May the 4th, also known as Star Wars Day!

Why is May the 4th called Star Wars Day?  Because it's punny.  Get it?  If you want to know more about this sacred pun day in Star Wars history, get it right from the source at StarWars.com.

For me, celebrating Star Wars Day is really a weekend-long extravaganza.  It consists primarily of wearing Star Wars shirts/accessories, watching all of the movies (in original order most of the time, but sometimes I change it up to chronological order), and of course, making Star Wars themed foods.

Even though most of the goodies I make for this celebration are finger foods, I'm still going to break them up into categories of Appetizers, Main Courses, and Desserts.

The Apps:

This first one is simple.  I call it - Sarlacc Dip.

Open up a container of your favorite hummus (here I used Cedar's brand Roasted Red Pepper).  Then stick some Hot Veggie Stix haphazardly around the edge of the dip, to represent the Sarlacc's many threatening tentacles and some tortilla bits inside to show what big teeth it has.  Done.  See, that was easy.

The next thing on the appetizer menu was originally called Yoda Bites, however, they didn't turn out to look anything like the Jedi Master, so I changed it to just Random Alien Bites.  Here's a pic after prep, before being baked, and the other one is after baked.  See what I mean?

These are buttery crescents wrapped around a delicious filling made from spinach, cream cheese, and some savory flavors.  You can also do a variation of non-spinach ones with different kinds of cheeses (including parmesan) and some garlic.  As you can tell, the ears just weren't long enough to warrant a title dedicated to Yoda, and honestly, they look kind of creepy, so Random Alien Bites it it!  Even though these may not be pretty, they are super tasty and gone before the middle of the first movie.  So, if you would like to give them a go, I recommend this recipe by Di Jinx for a quick and easy, yet delectable dish, found here.  Then shape them however you want or can.

Okay, on to the main courses...

The Main Attraction:

The theme of the main course items is all about Han Solo, but mostly, it's about his ship.  One of the most iconic ships in the Star Wars universe is the Millennium Falcon.  See here, I made some pizzas.

I used some packaged crust to make the dough.  Then I was going to use one of the awesome Star Wars sandwich cutters sold exclusively by Williams-Sonoma, many lightyears ago.  They are no longer carried by the company, however, you can still find some floating around the internet if you get the hankering to get your own.  However, I didn't feel like the personal pizzas would be quite big enough.  Luckily I had another option in my geek collection at my disposal.  Williams-Sonoma also (still) makes the Star Wars pancake molds that I decided to use for shaping my pizza dough and they worked very well.  

Just roll out the dough as thick or thin as you like, throw on your favorite pizza toppings, and bake according to package instructions - or until it looks done.  Ta-da, Millennium Falcon Personal Pizzas!

Next up, we've got our Mexican-style hot pocket, the Corellian Quesadilla.  What does this have to do with the Millennium Falcon?  Well, Han's famous ship was made by the Corellian Engineering Corporation, one of the 3 largest starship manufacturers in the galaxy.  But that's enough for the history lesson, let's see what kind of tasty treat this entity helped to inspire. 

I actually should call them Imperial Star Destroyer-dillas, because they look like those warships, but it just doesn't sound as catchy...or does it? Some of these pics are a bit dark, so here's a different shot - not near as fun though.

You can find the recipe for these on a previous blog post here.  Just scroll down the page until you get to the entry for Chicken Quesadillas and you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to make these babies, just minus the cool Star Wars name.

The Final Chapter:

For dessert, why not make some Thermal Detonators?  Now I made these for Star Wars Day before, but it was the Oreo truffle kind.  You can see that blog post here.  But here's a different kind of truffle you can do to mix it up.  It's a brownie-based center with salted caramel goodness drizzled on top and melted throughout. 

Salted Caramel

Oreo

Just get a box (or 2 bags) of brownie mix, whichever brand takes your fancy, and whip them up according to the instructions given.  Before putting them into the oven, unwrap about 16 caramels.  I used Milk Maid, but any kind will do.  Place caramels into batter in the pan evenly spaced and bake according to package instructions.  When they are about half way done, run a butter knife up and down the rows to marble the melty caramel throughout the batter.  When done, remove from oven and let cool completely or until you can handle them safely.  You can use an ice cream scoop for the next part or clean hands, or both.  Scoop out brownies and form into balls then place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Refrigerate for about an hour.  In the meantime, melt about 2-1/2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave.  If the chocolate is really thick after melting, add a tiny bit of vegetable oil to thin it out.  DO NOT add milk or cream or you will have a big mess - trust me!  Ok, next, pull the brownie balls out of the fridge and dip them in the chocolate until covered and return to wax paper.  Heat up a couple of tbls. of caramel sauce, put it into a plastic baggy, snip the tip, and drizzle the caramel back and forth over the truffle balls.  Then set your course salt grinder to the biggest setting and grind it over the caramel-drizzled-chocolate-covered-brownies.  Refrigerate for another 30 minutes and viola!

So there you have it folks, another Star Wars themed entry in homage to May The Fourth.  Oh, that reminds me, I bought this game last year, because I like tabletop gaming, however, after reading through the instructions and watching the numerous YouTube video instructions provided by the company that made it, I'm still at a loss for how to play.  It just seems too confusing compared to other card games I've played.  So, if you have any tips, I'm all ears.

Happy Star Wars Day, Everyone!  And May The Fourth Be With You!

Geek-Themed Food & A Free Giveaway

Happy May, Everyone!  The first week of May is generally a happy time for geeks.  During that week there are at least 2 fantastic happenings to celebrate, and look forward to: Free Comic Book Day, and Star Wars Day.  This year, they just happened to fall on the same day...

I know, right?  For those of you not up on your geek history, it's ok, I can help.  Free Comic Book Day started in 2002 as a promotional event to introduce new readers to the wonderful world of comics.  It's main purpose today is the same, to get new readers into independent comic shops, to say thank you to repeated customers, and to bring back any wayward souls who lost interest in comics somewhere along the way.  And for those of us who have been in all 3 of those categories at one time or another, I can tell you that Free Comic Book Day is an event to look forward to!  You get up in the morning (yes, I said morning...on a Saturday, even though FCBD morning doesn't actually start until 9:30 or 10am for me), gear up with your best or cleanest geek gear, and get to your local comic book shops right when they open.  Some even line up a bit before opening, but I haven't done that yet.

I am fortunate enough to have 2 local comic book shops left in Norman that I go to, and even though some of the chain stores participate, I don't go to them for this day - it just doesn't feel right.  Some stores not only give away free comics, but also free swag of some sort: buttons, posters, back issues, key chains, and other promotional items.  Sometimes you will even find comic book authors and artists at these events to sign or draw something for you.  Talk to them, ask questions, say "Thanks for adding to the creative force," or whatever, they would love to visit with you.  I look forward to Free Comic Book Day every year!  Here's Hugh Jackman, encouraging you to go...and plugging his movie...

Now, you are probably asking yourself why is May 4th also known as Star Wars day? even though technically May 25th is actually Star Wars Day Well, maybe this will help:

Ha! Get it?  It's punny.  No?  Ok then, if you're still confused go here and read all about it.  There's also this for the day after...

"Ok, come on, Jen, what's this have to do with food?"

(See, I knew what you were thinking.  I used the fourth force.)

Alright, well, I LOVE Star Wars and all things geek, and I LOVE hosting parties for whatever reason.  So I thought that I might try and see what kinds of foods I could come up with for next year's May 4th celebration, if I should decide to host one.  Now, if you do an internet search for things like "Star Wars themed foods" or "Star Wars party ideas" you will find lots and lots of creative names and foods related to Star Wars.  I wrote many of them down as well as came up with a few of my own.

Yoda-dillas: Chicken quesadillas made with spinach tortillas cut into Yoda shapes using one of these nifty Yoda pancake molds.

Boba Fettuccine: Fettuccine Alfredo 

Coruscant Crescents: Ham and cheese sandwiches on crescent rolls

Padawan-tons: Cream cheese wantons

Padme Popcorn: Different flavors of popcorn

Snips' Chips: (an homage to the Clone Wars) Different types of chips tossed together in a bowl

Skywalker Scones: Homemade scones

Corellian Calzones: Homemade pizza pockets

Gaffi Taffy:  Different flavors of taffy

So, I made a few different dishes this weekend to get some tested ideas out...well, more into my belly.  Friday night I made Han Burgers, Vater Taters, Mon Mac N' Chesse, and Aurra Sing Green Beans.  Other people came up with Han Burgers and Vater Taters, but the rest of the names, I thought fit the bill.  Everything turned out wonderful except I tried to cut the Han Burgers in the shape of a Millenium Falcon with one of these sandwich cutters:

Yeah, mine did NOT look like that.  However, I'm pretty sure they were meant more for the PB&J type of thinness, as opposed to my 1/4 pound stacked and dressed burger patty on a dense bun.  I meant to get a pic of them, but was so hungry I forgot :/  Even though the Han Burgers were not picture-perfect, they were still good.  For the Mon Mac N' Cheese, I just took a box of Kraft Three Cheese something or other, and added some pepper jack, colby jack, and American cheese to it with some half-n-half.  I know, all of my recipes are super good for watching your weight! I obviously know nothing about dieting.  And the Aurra Sing Green Beans, are just seasoned French cut green beans.

Saturday, I tried the Corellian Calzones.  I got frustrated with trying to manipulate the pizza dough and smashed the first one up.  Then I realized that a floured surface makes all the difference in the world, and the rest were made with happy feelings of accomplishment.

Sunday, I spent the afternoon roasting a Bantha in the crock-pot   Ok, it wasn't really Bantha, I mean, they aren't even in season right now.  It was just a pork roast with some seasonings.  When it was cooked I pulled the pork apart then put it back in the crock-pot with BBQ sauce for another half and hour and called it BBQ Bantha.  By the way, this recipe can be found under the title of "Sooner Sliders" on page 27 of the University of Oklahoma Cookbook, if you would like the full details.  

And for dessert, I made Thermal Detonators, which were really just Oreo Truffles.

And now for the... 

***FREE GIVEAWAY!***

Here is the challenge: you have until May 25th (The Original Star Wars Day) to come up with an original recipe that has a geek-related theme.  REMEMBER - IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STAR WARS...It doesn't matter what genre it comes from, as long as it is geeky and fun.  If you need some ideas about what would fit into that category, just go to ThinkGeek and get your creativity flowing!  Post your entries below in the comments and a winner will be chosen next month to receive a free signed copy of my University of Oklahoma Cookbook!

Good luck!  And may the force be with you!