AGCExtra 14 October 30 2007 (RPG Buffet - Vampire The Requiem) (24:29)

Mags, John, and Layne discuss the RPG Buffet session of Vampire: The Requiem.

Every October the RPG Buffet celebrates the return of cooler weather with a chili supper. In honor of Layne running Vampire: the Requiem for us, Mags made a chili recipe she found on the blog of Justin Achilli. Mr. Achilli, as many White Wolf fans know, was a writer for White Wolf for many years, and was the lead developer for Vampire: the Requiem. Here's his recipe as he presented on his blog:

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This recipe will serve eight to 10 people, or six burly dudes who gobble a lot. It's really dense, though, so those four burly dudes will probably lie around a lot afterward.

One to one and one-quarter pounds flank steak
One to one and one-quarter pounds shoulder pork chops
Cooking spray
One and one-half tablespoons olive oil
Two cloves garlic, minced
One large white onion, coarsely chopped
One large green bell pepper, chopped
One Anaheim pepper, chopped
Two Serrano peppers, sliced
One jalapeno pepper, chopped
Four medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
One cup cheap-ass Cabernet Sauvignon
Four cans (5.5 oz.) low-salt V8 or other vegetable juice
One tbsp. black pepper
One tbsp. cumin
One tbsp. chili powder
Salt to taste (but you'll definitely need some)
The juice of one-half to one lime

Okay, fruity, here's what you do:

Cut the steak into quarter-inch cubes. Yes, you have to do this. I usually put the steak in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so to firm it up in preparation for cutting. Put that aside for a minute, and go to work on your pork chops, cutting that into three-eighths-inch cubes. Yes, you have to do this, too (and you can firm it in the freezer the same way). Now coat a frying pan with the cooking spray and brown the beef. Set that aside, clean and then coat the pan with cooking spray again, and whiten up the pork over medium-high heat. Set that aside, too. I'm an utter carnivore, so I tend toward using the three pounds total of meat, but two will tide you over, believe me.

In a big ol' stock pot, dump in your olive oil and make sure it coats the bottom. Don't use your good, extra-virgin olive oil; just use regular olive oil, because you won't be able to taste it under all the other ingredients. Heat the olive oil to medium-high and toss in the garlic, onion, and all the peppers. Stir it every three minutes, three to five times, until your onions are translucent. Put the top on the stock pot, turn the heat down to medium, and let that mess stew in its own goodness for another five to seven minutes. You will note that your kitchen smells maximum awesome -- this is a good thing. If you're cooking for someone you live with or who will be in the house for a long time while you're preparing this, that person will make some sexy eyes at you because it smells so good. Don't let that person know, but you're just getting started. Once it gets all hissy, toss in your tomatoes, put the top back on, and let the tomatoes soften for about six minutes.

Add the meat, beef first. Let the beef have a minute or two of in-the-pot anger, then add the pork for another two minutes. Stir with a broken-off two-by-four that has a nail in it, a broom handle used to kill a man, or a rowboat oar with which you usually menace people from the side of the road.

Dump in the cheap-ass Cab. Don't get good wine, for the same reason you're not using your good olive oil. I used a five-dollar bottle of wine last time I made this and I had enough left over for beef stew afterward. Also, don't tell anyone you use wine in this recipe. Chili fans think they're all tough shit because they pour beer in their concoctions. While beer certainly has a place in chili, this time the red wine is going to help your steak and pork by bringing out their robust flavors, even underneath all the other crap we're simmering here. Let the pot hiss at you some more, and when the wine's all a-boilin', pour in the vegetable juice. Turn up the heat and bring the
mess to a livid boil.

In go the black pepper, cumin and chili powder, and you'd better stir, fool. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and go screw around for an hour and a half. Return at random times to stir, making sure to break up any tomato remains during those first 45 minutes.

Leave the house and come back. Smell how rad that is? Good work, soldier!

Toward the end of the hour and a half -- say, with 10 minutes or so left, add the salt a little bit at a time until it hits the flavor you want. Don't just dump in a bunch of salt all at once because if you use too much, you can't take it out and all your efforts will have
been for naught. Way to go, dummy.

Right before you serve the chili, add the lime juice, stirring it into the pot of goo.

Optionally, you may wish to top servings with some sharp cheddar cheese, some chopped red onion, and/or some oyster crackers. On the other hand, you can serve it plain with just a sprig of curly parsley for garnish.

If you want hotter chili, leave the jalapeno and Anaheim pepper unseeded -- just pop the seeds in there with the whole mess. Another option is to double the amount of peppers involved (other than the green bell pepper). You can also use a spicy version of the V8, but beware because it's loaded with sodium. You might also want to use a little more black pepper or another clove of garlic. I don't recommend adding more cumin or chili powder because all it takes is one mote too much and they overwhelm the whole affair.

If you want to make this stuff on the cheap -- you can eat on it for a week if you're by yourself -- I recommend substituting ground beef and ground turkey breast instead of the flank steak and pork chops. You're only going to save two or three dollars, though, so you're best off doing the better grade meat. If you're the kind of person who likes beans in his chili**, definitely go with the ground beef and turkey, though. When you turn the heat down after adding the spices, add one 14.5-oz. can of dark kidney beans and one 14.5-oz. can of black beans. The beans will stretch out the life of your chili even longer.

And there you have it. Chili always improves the second day, so if you have a chance to make this in advance and serve it a day after, by all means do it.

This chili is particularly good with Negra Modelo or Shiner Bock. It's also fine with Budweiser (not Bud Light) or my personal favorite, Pabst Blue Ribbon.

* No Superbowl should ever be fouled by the presence of the Carolina Panthers, but since Philly couldn't get its act together, we're cursed to see it happen this year. BOO TO THAT.

** Strictly speaking, chili doesn't have beans. Poor people use beans instead of more good stuff as filler in chili, which actually becomes soup with the beans' addition.


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Show links
Vampire: The Requiem (White Wolf)


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Con On The Cob


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AGC 66 October 27 2007 (Changeling Nightmares) (1:03:59)

With Mark Kinney, Chris Heim, Carol, Steve, and Ben Balestra. Steve's unexpected continuation on the show. Vampires versus Ninja. Help the Brobdignagian Bards recover from a foul, evil scam. We're not really in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Third Reich rules available free from Avalanche Press. Talisman on your computers this winter? Avalanche: from pinup covers to old school wargames. Games You May Never Have Heard Of: Nightbane! Changeling: The Lost coverage continues. Carol interviews Ethan Skemp and Aileen Miles of White Wolf. Autumn Nightmares. Mark is moving soon, so some scheduling concerns are addressed. UKon. We have a winner!


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Show links
Help The Brobdignagian Bards
Third Reich (Avalanche Press)
Palladium Books (Nightbane)
White Wolf Game Studio (Changeling: The Lost)



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Wandering Geek Podcast
International Detective Dragons From Outer Space
Lovecraftiana



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AGC 65 October 20 2007 (Changeling: The Lost Part 1) (57:34)

With Mark Kinney, Chris Heim, Carol, and Steve. There's a bit of a background hum in this we couldn't quite eliminate, sorry. News: Carol talks about Mad Scientist University. Chris mentions Dungeons & Dragons Insider and The Legend of the Five Rings' Dawn of the Ogres Tournament. Mark announces Green Ronin's Iron Age, The Ghost of Soul Dragon Academy, and The D20 Freeport Companion. Gaming clubs in prison? Sign up for alpha testing the Dresden Files RPG. Gaming For Cheap Bastards: The Dvorak Card Game. Carol gives us the first part of one of her infamously thorough reviews for Changeling: The Lost. Carol interviews Kelly Barnes Herman from White Wolf. Listener feedback about Deleria. Mark has numbered and retitled old episodes.


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Show links
Mad Scientist University (Atlas Games)
Dungeons and Dragons Insider (WotC)
Green Ronin Publishing
Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat)
Save The Dresden Files Campaign
The Dvorak Card Game
Changeling: The Lost (White Wolf)
Deleria (Laughing Pan)


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The Bear's Grove Podcast
Canon Puncture Podcast
On Board Games Podcast


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AGC 64 October 13 2007 (Damnation City and Monte Cook's WoD) (55:45)

With Mark Kinney, Chris Heim, Carol, and Steve. Mark riffs on the internet abbreviation for Monte Cook's World of Darkness. Topps (which owns WizKids) is sold to Michael Eisner's investment group. Interestingly enough, WizKids then announces a Pirates of the Carribean promotion. Mongoose renews the Paranoia license. New Serenity books coming! Metamorphosis Alpha first edition coming to PDF! Dice 'n' Diapers. Gaming Cruises. Chris adds Heroscape to the gateway games for kids. Mark goes over Monte Cook's World of Darkness. Steve talks about Damnation City (with an aside on gaming fiction). An interview with Oscar Garzo and Val Massey from White Wolf/CCP. Details for the signed Changeling: The Lost giveaway!


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Show links
WizKids Pirates of the Carribean Sweepstakes
Paranoia (Mongoose Publishing)
Serenity (Margaret Weis Productions)
Metamorphosis Alpha (James M. Ward)
Metamorphosis Alpha (DriveThruRPG)
Dice 'N' Diapers
Gaming Cruises
White Wolf Game Studio (Monte Cook's World of Darkness and Damnation City)


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7th Son



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AGC 63 October 6 2007 (NeonCon and Orcfest 2007) (1:06:56)

With Mark Kinney, Chris Heim, and Mags. Still no Carol. The Game of Life and it's variations. An aside on other variant games (Risk and Clue and so on). DC Heroclix Crisis. Palladium's new Robotech game. New Bella Sara set. Get spooked. Interview with Doug Daulton of NeonCon 2007. Gaming For Cheap Bastards: Little Orc Wars! Reminiscing about Crossbows and Catapults. HeroCard: Orc Wars! Mark things more game companies should use the punch-out cards for their components. Feedback. GenCon difficulties this year. Online mapping tools. Runebound. The Charisma debate. Kosmos' (which we wittily mispronounce) line of two player games. The Podcasts For Chris contest finally concludes! Changeling Contest details next episode! Sometime in November, we plan another live Louisville Game Shop show.

This month the RPG Buffet decided to have one last cookout before the fall weather kicks in. We grilled bratwursts and chicken breasts. Kae, who's learning to gamemaster, is also learning to cook, and she provided us a very tasty version of a classic picnic dish.

EASY POTATO SALAD, from EasySalad Recipes.com

Ingredients:

* Potatoes
* 6 hard boiled eggs
* Mayonnaise
* Orange bell peppers
* Celery

Peel and boil enough potatoes to fill your salad bowl. Rinse cooked potatoes under cold water and let cool. When cooled, put the potatoes back in the pot and chop them into roughly even sized pieces.
Peel and chop 4 of the hard boiled eggs and add them to the pot. Chop the vegatables and add a little at a time until you have an even mix. Add mayo a little at a time while mixing it into the salad.

When you have the right consistency, sample and add salt to taste. For this salad I added a touch of Louisiana hot sauce to give it a little zip.

When ready, transfer salad to your bowl, peel and slice the remaining 2 eggs and place on top of the salad. Garnish with a little paprika if desired and you are ready to eat.


Thanks again to NeonCon 2007, October 12-14 in Las Vegas, Nevada!


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Show links
The Game of Life Twists and Turns (Hasbro)
WizKids (Heroclix)
Bella Sara (Hidden City Games)
Palladium Books
Get Spooked
Skirmisher Publishing (Little Orc Wars)
Battleground: Crossbows and Catapults (Moose Enterprise)
HeroCard: Orc Wars (TableStar Games)
Judge Dredd d20 (Mongoose Publishing)
Kayuda Maps
Kayuda
Battlestar Galactica Pre-Order
Runebound (Fantasy Flight Games)
Kosmos Two-Player Games (Funagain)


Promos
Print and Play Games
Canon Puncture
Sons of Liberty Open Playtest



Contact Us!
Voice Mail: (206) 888-2007
Send us a voice message via Odeo
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