‘Tis the season of holiday parties, and there’s no better time to let your geek flag fly. Get a group of friends together for some Magic or a LAN game, and throw together some of these tasty, formerly-fictional goodies.
Food
Fish Fingers and Custard
When the eleventh Doctor finds himself famished and in the company of a young Amelia Pond, the only thing that will satisfy his palate is a stack of fish fingers dipped in custard. While such a combination would appall anyone with taste buds, the new rules of Eleven’s new mouth approved. But Matt Smith admits that the “fish fingers” used in filming were really just breaded cakes, and that makes it a bit easier. Here’s a great easy-to-make version from a die-hard Whovian.
Lembas or Waybread
We can’t promise that a human-made lembas will fill the stomach of a grown man with just one bite or stay fresh for months just wrapped in a leaf. But tasty approximations of the elven staple featured in Lord of the Rings do exist, and while they may not be the super-nutritious powerhouse Legolas enjoys, your party guests will undoubtedly appreciate the nod to an enduring symbol of Tolkien’s work.
(If you’re going with a solid LotR theme, this recipe database is hands-down the best available.
ChickieNobs
It might be difficult to get your hands on the nightmare-fuel creature that gave Oryx and Crake their beloved ChickieNobs, or transgenic meat as we know it outside of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future. Short of a trip to McDonald’s, you probably won’t find “chicken” with the proper spongy texture, but a good chicken nugget isn’t difficult to make and the people you’re feeding them to will appreciate that you’re concerned about things like that. Try this Buffalo version, and get a little back story on ChickieNobs if you’re unfamiliar. (Warning: You will never feel the same about chicken nuggets. Apologies in advance.)
Spoo
If you’re a fan of Babylon 5 then you already know that herd-traveling spoo worms are the most universally loved and reviled species in the universe. But man, they taste great… according to aliens. Over at Tor, Jason Henninger has devised a pair of recipes for Earthbound spoo. They’re far more appetizing than “meat Jello,” which is how spoo has been described, and that must mean that they taste better than actual spoo. Win!
Soylent Green
If you thought you were getting out of here without reading “Soylent Green is people!”, you were wrong. But we’ll let you go easy on this one: Soylent Green Crackers exist, they’re for sale, and we’re reasonably certain they do not contain people. If you’re into the DIY route, try these easy spinach crackers. Set them out with some hummus and veggies and you’ve got yourself a no-fail sci-fi setup.
Drink
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
When Zaphod Beeblebrox invented his famous drink, he (and Douglas Adams) probably never intended for us to mimic it. But they should have known that no towel-carrying hoopy frood can have a party without very carefully sipping one evenly sized Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. An easy Earth approximation follows, but there are many variations. Choose whichever makes you feel most like you’ve had your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick.
To a chilled glass with two or three ice cubes, add one part each (of your favorite brand): Vodka, Rum, Whiskey, Gin, Orange juice, Lemon juice, Coca-Cola. Drop in an olive and drink… very carefully.
Butterbeer
If you’re going to be home from Hogwarts for the holidays, you should probably get some butterbeer a-brewing. (Unless you’re going to Universal Orlando soon, where you can just buy a cup). While Universal isn’t giving away any recipes and J.K. Rowling insists there’s no real-world predicate, a few enterprising Potterheads have put together these ten variations on the theme. (#2 is the one I would go with, methinks.) The easiest recommendation is just to mix some butterscotch syrup into a glass of cold cream soda, but for best results you should try one that incorporates a bit of butterscotch schnapps.
Slurm
I saw you cringe. Listen, Slurm is highly addictive, it’s true. And it comes from the business end of a giant, fabulous worm, I know. But it’s all natural and apparently quite tasty, and those are features we can work with. So goes the thinking behind this interpretation from YouTube duo, feastoffiction, which is super-simple and bound to create a couple of new addicts. (Bonus Bachelor Chow recipe, too, no dog food included.)
What’s one food from pop culture that you always wanted to try? Any recipe recommendations?