Bossy Italian Book Review: The [Unofficial] Hunger Games Cookbook!

I loved The Hunger Games--it was a book that got me back into reading fiction books, so I feel like I owe it a lot. One of the best parts of the books, for me, was [SURPRISE!] the food. There was a ton of wonderfully imaginative foods in the book and it left me drooling. So when I stumbled upon the unofficial cookbook at my local bookstore, Browseabout Books, well, I had to have it.

Upon looking at the cookbook, I knew I wanted to cook everything from it! There are a variety of recipes in this cookbook from great game recipes that include meats like venison, rabbit, and even squirrel, to more tame and unexpected delights like the porridge which makes polenta a morning food.


To review the cookbook I made four recipes. Let's take this in pictures, shall we?

Boisterous Blueberry Muffins For Haymitch 

Easy enough recipe to follow, despite the fact that I had never before made muffins. 

Right off the bat, though, Houston we have a problem: this recipe said it was going to make 10 LARGE muffins and I only got 6 regular. Okay, it's not a catastrophe, so I moved on. 

One thing I should learn for the future: muffin foils! For gosh's sake, I always make a mess. The tops (for every last muffin) came clean off. BUT, they tasted really good, so I'm not complaining. 

I have to eat it with a fork, though. 

Moist Chicken In Basil Cream Sauce 

Eh, what can I say? I am a sucker for Italian anything, so when I saw this in there, it was practically a gimme. 

It went really well though and I good outer crisp on that chicken! 

I did sub a few ingredients in this one: onions for scallions, buttermilk for whole milk, chicken broth for white wine, and dark meat for white meat.... but that is one of the things I like about this cookbook--lots of room for adjustment! 

Basil, garlic 

Cream, herbs, cheese....

Yep, that's looking about right. 

There she blows! 

This recipe was a winner, winner, chicken dinner! 

Grilled Venison Chops With Bearnaise Butter

I followed this recipe very loosely. 

Again, though, I feel like the cookbook lends itself to that. Either that or I just have issues with following directions. On second though, it could be both. 

Whatever, let's just take a moment to appreciate that these chops are really very cute. Venison chops are small. And we all know how obsessed I am with little things! 

I did not make a bearnaise butter at all... just a flavored butter. Point is, I wouldn't have thought to put butter on my venison chops without this cookbook. 

And I am sure glad that I did! Because it was AWESOME! Like, out of this world amazing yum. 

Venison, Apple and Cheddar Puff Pastry 

I was over the top excited to make this recipe because I love putting stuff in puff pastry. Puff pastry stuffed with just about anything is a like eating a warm hug! 

This is sausage, venison, apple, cheddar, onion, wild rice, and egg.... 

I did this "rustically" like I always do, which I felt was good in the spirit of the Hunger Games, right?! 

It's a wonder it even made it into the oven to begin with! 

But when it came out---oh my god!--it was a thing of beauty. I felt like I was winning the Hunger Games! 

Just a closer shot, because she's soooo purdy! 

We totally devoured this and I will be making it again and again and again. 

As far as this cookbook is concerned, I give it a "buy." If you are into cooking game, and like a diverse cookbook that allowed you to easily substitute ingredients, then this is for you. Also, if you are just a fan of the book, then you might want to pick it up just for the novelty of the item. I will say it's totally possible that all the recipes in this cookbook were not tested. This is a common occurrence with cookbooks, and it can be a little annoying. However, if you are seasoned kitchen conquerer, then you can easily overlook that in this cookbook! 

Happy Hunger Games!