Stew at the Silly Snake

Hello there, friends!

Since March is National Nutrition Month, and we here at Role For Attention love to eat (and have a Chef for a DM), we decided that it would be fun to tag in some of our favorite Characters from the “Tales of Umbra Victus” to share their signature recipes with you all! (For legal reasons, these recipes actually come from the Hero’s Feast Dungeons & Dragons Cookbook, which we own & couldn’t love more! Thank you to the creators and curators of this book, Kyle Newman & Jon Peterson, as well as all of the celebrities & people who contributed, so that we food-loving Nerds can enjoy fun and delicious immersive recipes!) Now, without further ado, here’s a word from our favorite Tavern Owner, Expert Barmaid, and Adventurer’s Guild Handler Extrordinaire to share her famous Stew recipe! Zela? Take it away!

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Hey there! I hear you’re interested in my Stew; some of my regulars tell me that it’s the best they’ve ever had. I appreciate them, but the praise is really not necessary. It’s just a solid, hearty meal that I’ve always got a pot of goin’, because you never know when some motley crew of adventurers will beat down your door, or someone you care about but haven’t seen in two and a half weeks comes over and acts like no time at all has passed and you’ve been wondering whether they were alive still or not…*voice trails off*..oh sorry. On to why you’re here!

To make my Traveler’s Stew, you’re going to need:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (really any hearty creature’s red meat would do - an adventurer brought me back some boar meat and that was delightful!)

• 1 tablespoon oil (any edible oil is fine; yes I really have to specify edible….don’t ask)

• 1 cup dark beer, the darker the better in my experience. Richer flavor!

• 4 cups beef broth (you can make your own or purchase some from your local market)

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into finger-width rounds

• 3 gold-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into two-finger wide pieces

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional, if you don’t like green things in your teeth, skip this step. A certain airship’s cook leaves this out because the men won’t eat it if there’s ‘green shit’ in it. Go figure…their loss) Now, to get down to business:
  

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1 healthy pinch of salt -you can add powdered garlic clove here as well; adds great flavor and some say it keeps unwanted Karnathi Undead away? I say better safe than sorry… -, and several grinds of pepper. Add the meat and toss to coat well.

• Warm your oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add your coated meat and cook for about 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides evenly. You can do it in small batches to avoid overcrowding, but if you stick close and keep turning to avoid turning it into charcoal, it turns out just fine.

• Once it’s as brown as well-loved leather armor, take all the meat out of the pot and set it aside, covered to protect it from any prying goblin fingers.

• I’m no wizard, but I have multiple friends who are and Simon has assured me that this step is where the Magic happens - and he would know; always has his nose in a book learning some new spell or other. Pour your beer into the empty pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. These dissolving into the beer create that deep, rich flavor we were talking about earlier.

• Once the brown bits are all up & mostly dissolved into the beer, return the browned beef, pouring in the broth and paprika.

• Adjust your heat to low, cover, and cook at a simmer until the meat is very tender. Should take about 1.5-2 hours; if you have any mugs to wash, or young goblins to entertain, now would be the time to do that.

• After the meat has become tender, dump in your onions, carrots, and potatoes and continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Test by stabbing a potato with your favorite dagger (or fork…) to make sure they are the desired tenderness.

• Stir in the parsley if you’re using it, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now you’re ready to eat!! Serve hot, and with some crusty bread - spoons optional, if you’re anything like Talia. ENJOY!! If you’ll excuse me, it’s time to open the Silly Snake - I can kear a gaggle of adventurers pawing at the Job Board, and I’ve got to go check on my most recent batch of Traveler’s Stew; it should be just about done!

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Thank you, Zela! Now, if you try this recipe, let us know! We plan to try this at one of our gatherings, and can’t wait to try it! Remember, we love you, be respectful to each other, and we’ll catch you next time! Byeeeeee <3