Been trying out a mold for the bagels to make shaping and dipping them in the malt bath faster and easier. It's definitely easier and the holes make putting spreads on the bagel easier (mostly), but the uniformity of the holes makes em look weird and they seem to bake up rather than a more oval shape. I'm gonna play with it some more to see if I can get a more uniform shape.

The vulture in the top right corner of the picture didn't mind at all.

Ham, provolone, basil, salami, tomato, romaine lettuce, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, and pesto on ciabatta.

These are the games I saw that I was really excited for:

• Memoria Wake: The art direction was incredible. It was so good that I just stood there and watched people play for 10 minutes. Sometimes you see something and you just know that the creators are a special talent. The art team on this game have a huge future ahead of them.

• Never's End: All the ingredients are there for a really great turn based tactical. Love the art, love the battle. Didn't get much of a read on the writing and it played a bit slow, but if they can nail those things then this has indie classic all over it.

• Blocks for Babies: Tetris and Doom smashed together, but it somehow totally works. It's early in development but there's a really fun game in here. I love it when devs nervously watch over your shoulder and you can give them honest positive feedback (as opposed to hired slick PR person). These kids were watching me like I was their buddy at their apartment play testing for the first time. They've got a long way to go, but I'm a buyer on day 1 if they can get this out the door someday.

• Rollergirl: A vibes game, and I mean that in the best way. They're gonna have to nail the music and finding a balance between driving the story and just letting players chill out in the world is going to be a balancing act, but the music changing the environment felt great and I was sad when I realized I had to get off the game because I was that guy that was playing way too long.

• Borderlands 4: Every meeting about the direction of game started with the question "but what did the focus group say?". A mashup of every brainless shooter of the last 10 years and I mean that in the worst way possible.

• Swapmeat: The opposite of Borderlands 4. The entire game was FUN. The shooter action was FUN. Grabbing body parts and putting together a Frankenstein character and using it to fight was FUN. It felt like all the people in charge of a good time got shitcanned by Borderlands and rolled over to Swapmeat. Not my kind of game at all but I was smiling the whole time I played it.

• Letter Lost: I think there's a good game in here? I liked what I saw but this is the kinda game that you MUST stick the landing and I'm not sure if they're gonna. My wife and kid loved the premise and were excited for more.

• Tiny Bookshop: The publisher honestly seemed as shocked as anyone that this game is doing great. They were having that moment where they've just released and it randomly takes off and they're just holding on. I waited longer for this game than anything else at PAX. The people playing wouldn't get off of it.

• Fresh Tracks: Looked like either a really good VR or a really shitty regular game at first glance. Then I played it and I liked it. Then I went back and played again and really liked it. Now I've been playing for two days since PAX and this game is amazing. I don't even like rhythm games and I think roguelites have been beaten to death and I still love this game.

My takeaway from playing Borderlands 4 was that it could have been ANY big studio shooter release of the last 5 years. If I couldn't see what game it was and you asked me what it was, I would have guessed Destiny 2 in some shape or form. There was just nothing about it that was interesting or fun. It felt like it had been polished to absolute death.

But Swapmeat was great. All the parts were there for it to be a ton of fun. It felt like all the stupid fun parts of BL2 with a body mod mechanism to let you get really weird with it.

I'm not a game reviewer type, but after being so disappointed by BG4, I was really excited after playing Swapmeat. They were pretty close to each other on the show floor at PAX and the vibes were night and day.

Welp, I didn't get a final shot of all of the precooked meals (or nearly any of the baked goods) because we portioned it all out and gave a bunch of it away already. I was rushing through these cooks because I knew life would happen and I would have to stop and do other stuff and when my brother showed up from out of town 3 hours early, I couldn't get back to finish the other things I wanted to do.

But the plan is largely intact. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are done for at least 3 of the 4 days and we have tons of snacks. My brother's hotel room is a block from the con and has a fridge and a microwave. As soon as I'm done writing this, I'm loading a ton of beer and wine in a cooler and taking it up to his hotel.

Happy PAX West, everyone!

Recipe here.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

The polar opposite of the lemon blueberry scone cook. Because you can limit the amount of cream that goes in the dough, I end up with a super clean dough that cuts and shapes super easy. I rarely do more than the 3/4 cup of cream that the recipe calls for. You don't need a scone pan for this one at all.

Recipe here.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

One of the easiest scone recipes ever (but boy it makes a mess), you just sorta smash it all together and put it in a scone pan. This recipe is really wet, so I wouldn't make it without a scone pan since shaping dough this wet and sticky is a real bummer.

Recipe here.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

This is a standard layered pasta with cheese and sauce style casserole dish, but this one uses the typical "cheats" you see in many recipes to make it easier. It's a way to make a ton of pasta and can be easily portioned out.

Recipe here.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

I forgot to grab bananas to give them time to turn, so I went with pumpkin bread from puree instead. It's got a great spice flavor to it and like all of these types of breads, they are easy to make.

I did screw it up though. I doubled the recipe before I realized that the recipe made two loaves. After loading in the first couple of wet ingredients, I realized I had waaaaaay too much. I kept going and finished the recipe in batches before bringing it all together and doing a final mix by hand (it wouldn't fit in my stand mixer).

Recipe (link is being weird, here it is) : kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/american-style-vanilla-biscotti-recipe

The gianduja variation comes from their Cookie Companion book which substitutes hazelnut flavor for the vanilla and adds 1c (113g) of chopped toasted hazelnuts and 1c (170g) of semisweet chocolate chips. The nuts and chips are stirred in along with the flour. To toast the hazelnuts, just throw em on a sheet pan at 300F for about 20-25 mins. The smell will let you know when they're done and they're usually sweating.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

A forever favorite of everyone in my house, but I actually prefer the Italian style biscotti with a coffee. I used to work really hard on shaping them just right and measuring my width on the cuts to have everything perfect but then I watched my family eat them like they were throwing em in a wood chipper and decided that was too much work.

Recipe here.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

Easy to make, easy to reheat, easy to transport, and good enough for adults or children to eat. It's exactly what it looks like, straight up comfort food. Too calorie dense for a regular rotation in my cooking, but perfect for a max exercise day like a convention.

No idea where I got this recipe from. If I knew I'd never go back.

Ingredients:

• 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 heads fresh broccoli, boiled and cut into pieces
• 2 10.75 ounce cans condense cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place chicken and broccoli in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. In a medium saucepan combine cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry powder, and lemon juice. Bring all to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour soup mixture over chicken/broccoli mixture and top with shredded cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins or until cheese is completely melted.

Original thread and explanation of why I'm doing this here

Arguably the sloppiest garbage I've ever served to other people. I use "people" loosely here because it's a dish for 7 year olds that hate flavor and I've got a few of those coming in. The curry powder and lemon make it smell pretty good, but that's where the positives end. It's bland as hell, it's got the consistency of baby food, and god that cheese over the top is just.. rough. I can't believe I'm actually posting this one and I'll probably delete my account in shame after this.