Snack Attack: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Chocolates

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Chocolates

Around the time The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie came out in theaters (I know, this was awhile ago! >.<), I stumbled across a display of chocolates inspired by the 12 districts of Panem at my campus bookstore.

Chocolate Display

It was a little strange that The Hunger Games collaborated with a luxury chocolatier brand because most of the characters live in starvation, but it wasn't the first time the franchise created a promo around food. (*cough* Subway *cough*) These chocolates were made by Wild Ophelia, a company known for making some unconventional chocolate flavors. The display only had chocolates from 6 of the districts, while the other 6 flavors were released around the time Catching Fire came out on DVD and Blu-ray. After looking over all the flavors, I decided to try the chocolates from District 7 and District 10.

Nutrition Information and Description

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Chocolate Bar

 DISTRICT 7 LUMBER: Smoked Chipotle Chili and Milk Chocolate

Flavor Profile (from the back of the package): "Ripe jalapenos become a chipotle chili through the process of smoking in an enclosed oven, infusing the peppers with the hearty, earthy flavor of the lumber. The wood-fired taste radiates from the chili pepper and each bite of this deep milk chocolate bar leaves a warm, zinging sensation on the tip of your tongue." 

District 7 Lumber: Smoked Chipotle Chili and Milk Chocolate

I really enjoyed this chocolate bar, but I'm partial to chili in my chocolate. When you first bite into it, you taste the sweet, creamy 41% Cacao Milk Chocolate, then get tiny bursts of saltiness accompanied with a very slight crunch (due to the alder smoked salt). I don't know about getting a "zinging sensation on the tip of your tongue" but I definitely felt the heat at the back of my throat. It slowly builds to a powerful kick. Out of the two bars, this one was my favorite by far.

DISTRICT 10 LIVESTOCK: Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite and Milk Chocolate

Flavor Profile (from the back of the package): "Our beef jerky comes from cattle treated humanely and raised in lush, green pastures. Natural, smoked fruit woods and peppered spices linger in each bite. The salty, smoky mesquite flavor of our jerky matches our rich milk chocolate perfectly - an idyllic combination."

District 10 Livestock: Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite and Milk Chocolate

Now I mainly bought this one out of curiosity. I mean - how many chocolate bars have you ever seen with beef jerky?? It sounded like such a weird combination and I can say for a fact that it is very weird. When you first open the package, you immediately smell something off - kind of like smoke. When you take a bite, you're hit with that smokiness along with a smell of - what else but - beef jerky. This chocolate bar was made with the same 41% Cacao Milk Chocolate as the District 7 bar so you get the same sweet, creamy flavor. There's also crunchy little bits of salt in this bar too, but this time, it's from sea salt. When the chocolate has fully melted away in your mouth, you're left with teeny tiny bits of jerky to chew on. Really odd! If you look really closely at the lower left corner of the picture above, you can see a tiny piece of the beef jerky. I can't say I enjoyed this bar and I definitely would not buy this again, but it was certainly an adventure for the taste buds - albeit an unpleasant one!

Did any of you, Adventurers, come across these chocolate bars? Let me know about your experience in the comments below.

Cooking Adventure: The Hunger Games - Basil-Wrapped Goat Cheese

In honor of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie opening this weekend, I wanted to make something Hunger Games-related. Today, I present the basil-wrapped goat cheese that Prim made for Katniss on Reaping Day in the first Hunger Games book.

The Hunger Games - Basil-wrapped Goat Cheese

THE HUNGER GAMES: BASIL-WRAPPED GOAT CHEESE
Adapted from "Prim's Basil-Wrapped Goat Cheese Balls" in The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook

Ingredients
5 oz goat cheese, room temperature
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt (to taste)
Ground pepper (to taste)
Basil leaves
Crackers or bread for serving

Directions

1. Combine goat cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl
2. Scoop out small spoonfuls of goat cheese mixture and form into balls
3. Wrap with basil leaves
4. Serve with crackers or bread 

The original recipe called for freshly ground black pepper, which is what I used, but I didn't like how it created little black specks in my goat cheese. I would recommend using white pepper next time.

If you're interested in more Hunger Games recipes, check out the links below:
Katniss's Favorite Lamb Stew with Dried Plums
Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread
District 4 Bread - Fish-shaped Seaweed Bread
District 11 Bread - Crescent-shaped Grain Bread

Baking Adventure: The Hunger Games - Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread

With the release of The Hunger Games movie on DVD and Blu-Ray, I couldn't resist posting about Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread. This was the bread Peeta purposely burnt so he could toss it to Katniss when she was starving and desperate. It was such an iconic scene! The bread served as her lifeline. An eternal debt she could never fully repay.

The Hunger Games - Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread

I used the Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker. (If you haven't heard about the Brown Eyed Baker, you definitely need to check her out! She makes some of the most decadent treats I've ever seen.) The recipe makes 2 loaves so I created one rustic loaf and another loaf baked in a bread pan with a cinnamon sugar swirl.

Trader Joe's Jumbo Raisin Medley

For the raisins, I used Trader Joe's Jumbo Raisin Medley, which had seedless golden light raisins, flame raisins, and jumbo raisins. It added more color and variety.

Trader Joe's Jumbo Raisin Medley

Katniss described the bread as "good hearty bread, filled with raisins and nuts," which is exactly what the recipe gave me.

The Hunger Games - Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread

For the rustic loaf, I omitted the cinnamon sugar to make it more true to the book since cinnamon sugar was never mentioned. It came out soft and chewy and very lightly sweetened by the raisins.

The Hunger Games - Peeta's Nut and Raisin Bread (Cinnamon Swirl Version)

For the cinnamon swirl version, I followed Pinch My Salt's directions for forming the loaf. (Pinch My Salt is another amazing blog you should check out!) I really liked the sweetness the cinnamon sugar added so I'd use it again the next time I make this bread.

I couldn't bring myself to burn my loaves so instead of being renditions of the bread Katniss received, they're more like the Nut and Raisin Bread sold inside the Mellark Bakery. :P Essentially, they're hearty, delicious, and food for the soul.

If you're interested in more breads from Panem, you can check out my versions of District 4 Bread and District 11 Bread. I also have a recipe for the Lamb Stew with Dried Plums that Katniss loved from the Capitol. All these recipes would make great viewing party foods! Let me know if you get a taste of Panem as you watch The Hunger Games on DVD or Blu-ray at home! Until the next adventure!

Baking Adventure: How to Make Fish-shaped Rolls

I recently made District 4 Bread, which is fish-shaped bread from The Hunger Games. Here is how I formed my fish-shaped rolls.

Fish-shaped Rolls from The Hunger Games (District 4 Bread)

How to Make Fish-shaped Rolls

1. Prepare bread dough according to recipe.
2. Divide dough into equal pieces.
   
3. Form dough piece into an oval.
4. Visually divide the oval into thirds.
   
5. Using your thumb and index finger, pinch the dough so that the oval is divided into a 1/3 section and a 2/3 section. 
6. Use kitchen shears to cut the 1/3 section in half to create the tail.
7. Place onto parchment-lined baking sheet and adjust dough to desired shape.
8. Bake according to recipe directions.

It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Good luck!

Baking Adventure: The Hunger Games - District 4 Bread

With The Hunger Games movie coming out next month, I just couldn't resist getting my Hunger Games fix by baking another district bread from the world of Panem! (You can also check out my rendition of District 11 Bread!) District 4's bread is described as salty, tinged green with seaweed, and fish-shaped.

The Hunger Games - District 4 Bread

For this bread, I debated over which type of seaweed to use. Nori... aonori... wakame... kombu... I didn't even realize how many different types of seaweed there were until I made this bread! If only Finnick were here to help me... But anyway! I ultimately settled on wakame, bought from my local Asian supermarket.

Cut Wakame Seaweed

I measured out about 1/3 cup of dried wakame and re-hydrated it for 20 minutes.

Dried Wakame Seaweed

Look how it expanded!

Re-hydrated Wakame Seaweed

I squeezed out some of the excess water and diced it into more manageable pieces.

Diced Wakame Seaweed

In the end, 1/3 cup of dried wakame was waaay too much for my recipe. I only used about 3/4 cup of the re-hydrated, diced wakame and still had about 1/2 a cup left over! (In case you were wondering, I used the leftover for soup.)

But enough about the seaweed! On to the bread!

The Hunger Games - District 4 Bread

THE HUNGER GAMES: DISTRICT 4 BREAD
Yield: approx. 8 fish-shaped rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup water (heated to 110 degrees F)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for kneading)
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup diced, re-hydrated wakame seaweed
• 1 egg (beaten for egg wash)
• sea salt (for garnish)

 Directions

1. Proof the yeast by mixing 1/4 cup of warmed water, white sugar, and yeast. If it foams and doubles in volume in 10 minutes, you know your yeast is active.
2. Mix flour, salt, remaining water, and proofed yeast.
3. Knead the dough until soft and elastic, adding oil one Tablespoon at a time. Add additional flour as needed.
4. Knead in the wakame until evenly incorporated in the dough.
5. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in volume (about 1 hour).
6. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Punch down the dough.
8. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
9. Shape each dough piece into a fish shape. (See How to Make Fish-shaped Rolls for detailed instructions.)
10. Cover the fish rolls with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
11. Coat each fish with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt.
12. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown, rotating baking trays half way through.

The Hunger Games - District 4 Bread (inside)

The sea salt on the outside, chewy inside, and the crunchy crust reminded me of a pretzel, which was what I was going for! The wakame added a hint of "ocean-y-ness" to it, but wasn't overpowering. Also, my yeast was old (but still active!) so there was a hint of sourness to the dough. I considered using the water from reconstituting the wakame (since it was green and would have added a more noticeable green tinge), but decided against it because I was scared it would cause the bread taste too fishy. If you try it though, let me know how it tastes! I imagine that Finnick and the rest of District 4 would eat bread that's more fishy, but for people not accustomed to the taste of seaweed, my rendition would be a good introduction to seaweed. I also considered using some wheat flour in the bread, but since District 4 has Career tributes, I figured they could afford to use all white flour in their district bread. Overall, I am quite happy with my District 4 Bread! I can't wait for the Games to begin!