Level difficulty: Food

Taylor Karpinski, Staff Writer

November 8, 2024

As the air gains a sharp chill and the trees start to bear their red leaves, autumn starts to set in. People start their bucket lists for the fall season with the usual: going to pumpkin patches and corn mazes, haunted houses and horror films, playing a newly released video game or an old classic, and, of course, cooking and baking.

What would happen if some of these fall classics were combined? What would happen if popular video games were made into real food? Before that can be answered, there’s one bigger question to ask: Why are video games so much more popular during autumn?

The nostalgia associated with fall and the release dates of new games are the two main reasons why video games are so popular during the fall season. According to Steamdb.info, there is a spike in video games released during September, October, and November. With the games released earlier, people can see the game in its full depth. This makes more people excited for the game, especially with the holidays right around the corner. This also allows the games to have enough time to go on sale just in time for the holidays.

Fall is known for many things, including Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). John Hopkins Medicine states that “SAD is a type of depression that happens during a certain season of the year, most often fall and winter.”

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This is where video games come in with their induction of dopamine and serotonin. The dopamine and serotonin from video games replace the dopamine lost during seasonal depression.

Going back to the pixelated cuisine, here are some recipes to try out for your upcoming holiday to lift your spirits:

Levels of Difficulty:

Peaceful – BlamCo Mac & Cheese from FallOut

Normal – Autumn Bounty from Stardew Valley

Hardmode – Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie from Undertale

Peaceful – BlamCo Mac & Cheese

From: https://nerdskitchen.pl/en/blamco-mac-cheese-fallout-series/

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Elbow Pasta (Durum Flour)
1 ¾ cups Whole Milk
3 tablespoons Butter
100 grams Cheese Mix (Any Cheese You Like)

A pinch of Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Mustard
3 tablespoons Dried Breadcrumbs
Pepper and salt to taste

Normal – Autumn Bounty

From: https://www.level1chef.com/stardew-valley-autumns-bounty/

Ingredients:
1 small Pumpkin
1 medium Sweet Potato (Yam)
1 small Red Onion
2 cloves Garlic
5 to 7 Brussel Sprouts
1 Red Skinned Apple (Gala)
3 strips of Bacon
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Honey
7 sprigs of Thyme
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
Pepper to taste

Directions for Autumn Bounty:

Preheat oven to 375°F
Peel the skin off the pumpkin with either a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife. Using the sharp knife, cut the top and bottom of the pumpkin off, then cut into quarters. Remove the seeds.
Cut the pumpkin into medium dice. Peel and chop the sweet potato as well. Toss the vegetables in a bowl with the oil, honey, salt, pepper and thyme sprigs. Spread the mixture on an ungreased baking sheet and place in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, checking every five minutes to avoid burning. Once the vegetables are soft, remove from the oven and remove the thyme sprigs.
Slice three strips of bacon into small strips and render them over medium heat in a pan. Chop and add red onion and garlic to the pan after about two minutes of cooking.
Cut the Brussels sprouts. Either cut off the bottoms and remove the outer leaves or slice the sprouts thinly. Once the onions have softened a bit, add in the sprouts and combine.
Cook the Brussels sprouts for another minute, then add the roasted pumpkin and sweet potato to the pan. Chop the red-skinned apple and add it to the pan. Cook everything for two more minutes over medium heat until everything is heated and combined.
Transfer to another dish or leave in the pan and enjoy!

Hardmode – Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie

From: https://pizzazzerie.com/recipes/desserts/butterscotch-cinnamon-pie/#

Ingredients:

1 Pie Crust
1 ¼ cups Dark Brown Sugar
2 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoon Cornstarch

½ teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
2 cups Whole Milk
3 large Egg yolks (room temperature)
¼ cup Unsalted butter (4 tbsp)

2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

Directions for Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie:

Thaw unbaked pie crust and roll onto a 9-inch pie pan. Bake the pie according to the directions, until golden brown. Set aside.
In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon with the milk. Whisk together and cook until thickened (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Temper eggs by adding a spoonful of the hot mixture to the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in the egg yolks to the pan and stir.
Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Cook, whisking regularly, for five minutes (until thick).
Pour pie filling into the prepared pie crust and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before refrigerating for at least two hours before serving.
Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon and enjoy!

Autumn Bounty

“Just like BlamCo Mac & Cheese, I doubled the measurements. The pumpkin was a bit difficult to cut, but it got easier as I continued. If you’ve never tried pumpkin before, it has a weird flavor, but the rest of the vegetables cover the taste. Although it tasted great, it was time-consuming. So, this is something that I’ll make again if I have the time!” – Taylor Karpinski

BlamCo Mac & Cheese

“With this recipe, I doubled the measurements. This recipe was fairly easy. It took a lot more than one and three-fourths cups of milk, and I only had to use half the amount of cheese than recommended, but the cheese measurements can be altered to everyone’s liking. I will be making this again!” – Taylor Karpinski

Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie

“This was a bit more difficult than the other two recipes but was manageable. For those who don’t have prior baking experience, the hardest parts are separating the egg whites from the yolks and tempering the egg yolks. The pie tastes great and has a kind of creamy texture. The batter can also be eaten ‘raw’ since the eggs have already been cooked with the filling. The pie was a hit among my whole family, so it’s a 10 out of 10 for me!” – Taylor Karpinski

The Playwickian

The Playwickian

The Playwickian

Level difficulty: Food

The Playwickian