New Beijing Dragon Dog for Time Snatchers

          In 2060 Beijing the US and China sign the Great Friendship treaty, which onlooker, 13-year-old Caleb, the protagonist in Richard Ungar's novel Time Snatchers, couldn’t care less about–except for the fact that a wealthy client from 2061 wants the Great Friendship flag and Caleb is tasked to steal it.
          Because of the treaty, New York–or rather, New Beijing–has gone Asia-crazy. Taxis have made way for retro rickshaws, calm-restoring "Chi Break" booths have popped up all over the place, and the fad of Asian cuisine has worked its way into the dining hall of Timeless Treasures, the under-the-table, Fagin-esque artifact procuring agency where Caleb works.

Note: Though not mentioned in the book (it's probably sold by a street vendor just around the corner) the "New Beijing Dragon Dog" is the name given by Time Snatcher author Richard Ungar to this Asian fusion hot dog that embodies the merging of Asian and American cultures.

New Beijing Dragon Dog
(Inspired by Doggy-Style Hot Dogs' "Dogzilla")

---

Ingredients:
Hot Dog Buns (I used kaiser rolls)
Hot Dogs or Bratwursts, cooked (I used brats)
Asian Coleslaw (recipe below)
Roasted Seaweed, crumbled
Wasabi Mayonnaise (recipe below)
Teriyaki Glaze/Marinade

Directions:
1. Cut off the ends of the hot dog buns & cut a wedge from the center of each. Spread the bread apart & place a hotdog into each bun.
2. Layer Asian slaw on top of each hot dog & then sprinkle on a good amount of crumbled seaweed. Put your wasabi mayo in a little condiment bottle or a plastic baggie with a cut off corner or frosting tip & then squeeze the wasabi mayo on top of the seaweed in a zig-zag pattern. Do the same thing with the teriyaki glaze (condiment bottle or plastic baggie) & add a zig-zag of teriyaki glaze to top it all off.

Asian Coleslaw

---

Ingredients:
1 bag Coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage & carrots)
1/4 head small Red Cabbage (if not included in coleslaw bag), thinly chopped
1 Carrot, grated
3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
Sauce
3 Tbsp. Apple Cider or Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
3 heaping Tbsp. Peanut Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Ground Ginger

Directions:
1. Put the coleslaw mix, red cabbage, shredded carrot, green onions, cilantro, & red bell pepper into a large bowl & toss. In a smaller bowl combine the vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, & ginger. Whisk together until smooth.
2. Right before serving, pour the peanut sauce onto the cabbage mixture & toss until fully coated. If you'll only be eating a portion of the slaw, separate & mix up only what you will be eating at that time because once you add the sauce to the cabbage mixture it won't keep long. It's best if mixed just before serving.

Wasabi Mayonnaise

---

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp. Wasabi Powder
1 tsp. Water
3 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Mix the wasabi powder & water until smooth. Add the mayonnaise & stir until fully combined.

* For my review of Time Snatchers please click here. *

Vi's Birthday Meal from Possession

          Half starved and escaping across an arid desert, Vi, the main character in Elana Johnson's young adult dystopian novel Possession, discovers two metal cubes that generate glorious food. It happens to be Vi's birthday so the first food that pops into her mind is the cake that her departed sister made for her when Vi was turning ten--a pink cake with purple frosting (Vi is short for Violet after all). The cake appears when summoned and she downs it quickly, followed by a steaming plate of scalloped potatoes with onions and cheese sauce. After blissfully burning her tongue, she ends her impromptu birthday meal with a large glass of whole milk.

Note: To make this meal in the absence of food-generating cubes, I used boxes instead. Specifically boxed cake mix and boxed au gratin potatoes. To clear up any confusion about au gratin vs. scalloped, au gratin translated from French simply means "with cheese", so it's something baked plus cheese. The term "scalloped" (in North America anyway) is a way to describe anything baked as a casserole with some type of sauce (cheese or otherwise). So scalloped potatoes with cheese sauce becomes au gratin. Voila!

Vi's Birthday Meal

---

Ingredients:
Cake
1 box of white cake mix
1 container of white Duncan Hines Frosting Creations frosting
1 pkt. of Duncan Hines cherry vanilla Frosting Creations flavor mix
1 pkt. of Duncan Hines white chocolate raspberry Frosting Creations flavor mix
Potatoes
1 box of Au Gratin potatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 pkt. of cheese sauce powder (can't go wrong with more cheese, right?)
1 large glass of milk

Directions:
Cake
❋ Mix the cake as directed on the box, adding in 1/2 of the cherry vanilla powder packet and mixing til combined (the more you put in, the darker it gets until it's more red than pink, and I don't see Vi as a powerful pink girl, so 1/2 packet works well).
❋ Bake as directed and cool on a wire rack. To speed up the cooling time place the rack with the cake on it in your freezer.
❋ While your cake is cooling, mix the frosting with the white chocolate raspberry powder. Again, the more powder you use, the darker the coloring will be. You be the judge of how dark you want it.
❋ Build the cake to your own taste. I cut a sheet cake in half & made an almost cube. I decorated it using a frosting bag and tip in honor of Vi's prickly personality & spiky hair (below).

Potatoes
❋ Mix the potatoes as directed, stirring in the diced onion before placing in the oven.
❋ Just before the potatoes are done baking, mix up the cheese sauce.
❋ Remove the potatoes from the oven, scoop them onto a plate, & drench them in cheese sauce.
❋ Pour yourself a big ol' glass of milk (whole or whatever you'd like) and chow down!

Vi started with dessert, but you can go either way, just try not to burn your tongue.

And don't forget to drink your milk!

Scream Cheese | Hotel Transylvania

          Hotel Transylvania by Sony Pictures Animation is a fun movie of monsters and first love. The setting of a full-service hotel for monsters lends itself to many delectably dangerous treats, the most memorable of which is the scream cheese, a favorite of main character Mavis.

Creamy Flan | Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Creamy Flan (Recipe 018) Familiar Defense Flan x 1 Dumpty Eggs x 2 Bumbler Honey x 1

          "Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch" is a beautiful new video game born of collaboration between video game company Level 5, animation studio Studio Ghibli, and composer Joe Hisaishi. Along with the rich fantasy storyline, endearing characters, sweeping music, and intuitive and engaging game play, the addition of an amazing array of foods for characters and familiars alike completes the recipe for a truly sumptuous gaming experience.

          Today I'm featuring "creamy flan", one of the many foods available for your familiars, specifically to increase their defense, that you can obtain throughout the game via gifts, foraging, or defeating creatures. You can also create it on your own using your handy alchemy pot and genie. But now you can make it for realz in your kitchen!