Coyotes - North Carolina

Reblogged from DungeonBriefs:

Not too long ago, Mark Meredith of dicemonkey.net posted a picture of a crocheted dwarf dice bag on Twitter. From my first session of Dungeons and Dragons I’ve love playing dwarves, and so I knew immediately that I wanted one. At the time he was just testing the waters a bit, and showing off the skills of his wife Bridget, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get one. Luckily based on my response to his preview he offered me the chance to buy the bag and I jumped at it. Though Mark told me there would be a …

Pasta Carbonara

1 lb penne rigatoni noodles
12 oz bacon cut into 1/4″ pieces
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown bacon until crispy while you bring water to boil for pasta and cooking pasta. When pasta is done, drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of liquid. Return pasta to pot and add butter, stirring to coat. Crack eggs into bowl and mix with a fork. Slowly add 1/2 cup of water to eggs, stirring to temper eggs and keep them from scrambling. Add eggs and cheese to pasta and mix well.

I started cooking this a year or two back, and now it’s a regular part of the cooking rotation. We sprinkled a bit of garlic powder on it in our bowls, also seen versions with black pepper as well.

Seems like the Internet had been filled with rumors of a new edition ever since the Essentials line was announced.  I tried to ignore most of that.   Though when Monte Cook returned to WOTC a few months ago, I began to think they truly were beginning to work on something.   Even with my suspicions, I didn’t expect a public announcement to occur until closer to GenCon.

WOTC hasn’t announced a release date yet for the new edition, heck, they haven’t even announced a name.  I suspect it will wind up simply being “Dungeons and Dragons” in an attempt to unify the community, but fans and gamers will still most likely add a descriptor of some type, whether the call it 5th Edition, or continue using the currently popular D&D Next.

Of course, it will take more than a name to unify the community, it will take a good great game.  I’m not even sure a great game would do it, the differences from 1E up to 4E are fairly great, and there are people who still enjoy playing every edition of the game.  I’ve read they want people to create characters of varying degrees of difficulty and style and still play at the same table.  I find this idea intriguing and scary at the same time.   But….if they can pull it off, it could be magical.

As for the release date, I was initially thinking summer of 2014, but I’m not sure the buzz around a new edition can hold out that long, so I think 2013 a more likely time-frame. I might be wrong on this though, with their announced intention of having open play-testing perhaps the schedule will stretch out longer than I’m imagining.

When that release date does arrive, I’ll open those books, or electronic files, like a 10 year old tearing into his Christmas presents. Until then, I’ll be scouring the Internet, looking in the closets, basement, and attic trying to figure out if the new edition consists of some really cool new toys, or just a bunch of socks and underwear.

Ready to serve!

5 lbs Potatoes
1/2 pound bacon
6 eggs
2+ cups mayonnaise
1-2 teaspoons yellow mustard
Salt and Pepper

Cook bacon in skillet until crispy, place on paper towels and pat to remove most of grease.

Hard Boil the eggs, then chop coarsely.  I use an egg slicer and put it through the slicer twice.

Peel potatoes, and cut into 3/4″ cubes.  Rinse cut potatoes in cold water a couple of times to remove some of the starch, then boil potatoes in salted water until you can press a fork in with just some resistance.  See notes.

Mix all ingredients in large bowl sprinkling in salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate to cool before serving.

Notes:

The bacon is a recent addition to this recipe which I have been taking to various family gatherings for about 10 years.  You can easily leave the bacon out if you’d prefer.

I call this smashed potato salad because I tend to overcook the potatoes slightly creating something that ranges from a chunky mashed potato and a creamy potato salad.

I tend to cook the potatoes around 4-5 minutes after the water comes to a boil.  Then when I put a fork into a piece of the potato I like the outside to be a little soft, with a slightly tougher feel in the center.  If you cut your potatoes a little smaller you’ll wind up with very few chunks, while cutting the potatoes into larger cubes will create a chunkier taste.

I personally prefer this dish after giving it plenty of time to cool, and it is usually best if it has a full night to sit in the refrigerator.

Ready to serve!

1 1/2 quarts beef stock
1 lg can pasta sauce (approximately 1 quart)
2 lbs meatballs
1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables
8 oz elbow macaroni

Place all ingredients except macaroni in slow cooker on low for 4 to 6 hours.  When ready to serve, boil pasta following instructions on box and when cooked, place a spoonful in the bottom of serving bowl before spooning in the soup.

Notes: I add the pasta to the serving bowls like that because if you put the pasta into the slow cooker it just keeps absorbing more and more of the stock/broth.

The soup is just fine without the pasta.  I debated adding some cubed potatoes instead of the pasta, and may still do that next time I make this soup.

You may also want to sprinkle the soup with some shredded mozzarella or parmesan cheese.   Also, wondering about serving it in the style of French onion soup with a hunk of garlic bread and a slice of mozzarella or provolone cheese melted over the top of the bowl.

Peace, love, and bacon grease!

Paul