Cookbooks Are Cool: Dining With The Doctor

So, I'm kind of obsessed with cookbooks. I love to collect them and if I had a bigger budget I would own a lot more. I like taking recipes and figuring out how to make them more healthy. Specifically, I like cookbooks with a theme. I have a vampire themed cookbook called Love at First Bite: The Complete Vampire Lover's Cookbook and the wonderful folks from Inn at the Crossroads sent me A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook, which I will be reviewing soon. I want to pick up Alan Kistler's Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook as well, among countless others.

Today, I stumbled upon a cookbook that is FREE on Kindle! Dining With the Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook features recipes that relate to every episode of the first six seasons of the new Doctor Who series. Yes, every. single. episode and even the specials. That's definitely some dedication. The cookbook's author, Chris-Rachael Osland, is dedicated to her craft, as she not only provides recipes for each episode, but includes interesting prose within the cookbook.

Hello, Doctor. It’s been awhile. You’re looking very modern in your black t-shirt and leather jacket - and if you don’t mind me saying so, kind of sexy with those high cheekbones and that sparkle in your eye. You’re trouble. I like it.
Oseland, Chris-Rachael (2012-12-01). Dining With The Doctor: The Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook (p. 9). Kindle Edition.

Because each recipe is centered around a specific episode, there will be spoilers included. The author notes that she doesn't think that anyone who would be reading the cookbook wouldn't already have watched all of the episodes. The cookbook stops with the Christmas episode from Season 6. I hope that she may do a follow up for Season 7 and beyond. I'm thinking sno-cones for The Snowmen or something related to a governess in a pond.

To be honest, some of the recipes really do not sound appealing at all. River Song (S4E10 - Forest of the Dead) incorporates a hard-boiled egg on a bed of angel hair pasta. Sure, it looks like River, but who wants to eat eggs and pasta? It looks like a lot of the recipes are all about the presentation. Sontaran Soldiers (S4E5 - The Sontaran Stratagem) instructs you affix small blueberries and almonds to a peeled potato. This is obviously for aesthetics rather than taste, but there's something offputting to me about blueberries and potatoes. I do however, like the idea of Weeping Angel Wings (S3E11 - Blink), which are essentially chicken wings.

It looks like this is a neat cookbook for any Doctor Who themed get-together. I hope to whip up some of these treats when Doctor Who returns in April!

Dining With the Doctor is free today for Amazon Kindle, but is also available in print.

Seven Days of Christmas - Day One - Oxhorn's Christmas Special

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. And yes, I'm one of those people who starts listening to Christmas music right around Halloween. I love snow, caroling, hot cocoa. Really, I love everything about the Winter, but thanks to Global Warming, we here in Kentucky have yet to experience any of the white stuff. With the Winter Solstice just around the corner, however, we're supposed to see a bit of snow, which makes me super happy.

For the next week, I'm going to be celebrating Christmas with my own "Seven Days of Christmas." Kicking off this week of merriment and yule is Oxhorn's Christmas Special. I've been following Oxhorn's machinima since my friends and I discovered ROFLMAO (Doo-doo-do-doo-doo!) a few years ago. His "Christmas for Geeks" has always been one of my favorite, as well. 

Be sure to check out Niki's recipe for Staghorn's Pecan Pie over at The Gamer's Fridge!

Enjoy! Leave a comment and let me know what you're looking forward to this holiday season!

See SpaceLock in Star Trek Into Darkness Teaser

It's here! It's here! Christmas has come early for Star Trek fans. Well, it's come early for me at least. I woke up this morning, admittedly late, to a tweet from a friend that the teaser trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness premiered this morning.

When J.J. Abrams decided to release this trailer in advance of the sneak preview fans will get during the The Hobbit in IMAX beginning next week, he decided to set phasers to stun. The trailer, with narration by none other than Benedict Cumberbatch, is an action-packed minute that will leave you gasping for breath and wanting more. 

"You think your world is safe. It is an illusion, a comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace. For I have returned to have my vengeance."

Chills, my friends, chills.

Before I go on, however, let me stop for two minutes, to say that trailers like this are getting very formulaic. I'm reminded of Inception (BRRWWAAHHHHHHHH), The Dark Knight Rises (When Space Francisco is Ashes, Mr. Spock, you have my permission to die), and the very recent Iron Man 3 trailer (Explosions at key moments in the trailer highlighted by crescendos). Does that detract from the stunning visuals and the sheer epicness of the trailer itself? For me, no way. I've been super excited for this all year, and I get this movie as an early birthday present!