The Gaming Den

It's my turn to provide food for my group's next session, and I'm wondering if the Den has any recipes they wouldn't mind sharing.

At the least, read the titles of the topics on the first fucking page of the forum.

i dont see how recipes for game night means broke-ass.

when in doubt finger foods are best. jar of BBQ sauce with cut up hot dogs and tooth picks, some fries....

if you are going all out for a meal you want to make sure that digestion doesnt bother gaming if eating before, or if eating during or after, you dont want something that you have to be too far away from the game while fixing.

quick fix, or already fixed is a good idea.

so recipe or menu would depend on if you are having like a dinner party, or just making snacks.

I have to admit it's been quite a while since I was providing real food for a gaming session and I'm drawing a blank. For me, what game was being played and the campaign setting was important. I remember trying a lot of things back when I was playing a dwarf in Birthright, but it didn't really work well. (Ground beef cooked with oyster sauce served quickly between slices of whole wheat matzo and ... yea, it didn't work well.)

Therefore I suggest something that I never tried in a game. Bourbon mini hot dogs. You will need a crockpot. Here is a reciepie.

Are you looking for a full meal, or just table-top munchies? If you just need a snack at the table, chocolate chip cookies are easy and most bags of chocolate chips come with a recipe. Otherwise, I'm going to agree with Shadzar and second his fries and hot dogs motion.

I also found a crazy bread recipe I've been meaning to try out. If it works out, it's finger food that can easily be split into even portions. You can slice it into strips as normal, or cut it into bite-sized pieces as a side or snack.

Do not do balclava. We did that last night and it was messy. Delicious, but messy.

Stuff pitted dates with par-cooked meat (options include chorizo, shredded chicken cooked with tequila and lime, beef simmered in tamarind, what have you so long as it's strongly flavored) and wrap with bacon, before baking. Serve with a raspberry habanero yoghurt, as an example.

Crudites are also super easy. Try tossing some of the vegetables in a spice mixture, or quick pickling an hour or two before expected gaming time. I like sumac with things like carrots or cauliflower, and the latter surprisingly does well roasted with a sprinkling of cocoa and smoked paprika.

Toss mixed nuts with curry powder. If they're unroasted you could candy them with curry, which is just ridiculously good.

I've always found the traditional meat/cheese tray, veggie/dip tray, and fruit skewers to be popular. I don't eat a lot of junk food, so when Ess and I visited his high school friends, we brought food with us. I figured no one else would touch it, but all three trays were decimated while the pizza was leftover.

I also like mini-quiche. They're not hard to make (though a little time consuming, and you need a muffin pan and a large round cookie cutter), and they're easy to find pre-made at grocery stores.

I've made a tuna salad canape with cucumbers as the base, a slice of cheese, and tuna salad on top. Requires good tuna salad, though.

And bruschetta (caprese style is my favorite) is delicious. Just put Italian stuff on thin slices of baguette and toast it.

If you're looking for more of a meal, and you have lots of different kinds of eaters at the table, something like a baked potato bar is awesome because everyone can make their own thing. Chili, cheese, bacon, peppers, tomatoes, onions, olives, marinara sauce, broccoli, sour cream, whatever... It feeds low carbers (no potato), gluten free, vegan, blahbity blah, and leftovers are easy to turn into something useful.