Shenmue-Shu Pork - It Won't Be Left Unfinished!

Sorry for the delay, recipe coming a little later!

Our Top 3 Tasty Combos for The Sega Pasta System

Yesterday, we posted our recipe for The Sega Pasta System, in the first of our Sega-flavour Easter Eggspo recipes. As the recipe has over two hundred million different combinations, we thought we would give you a few pointers in this bonus post and tell you our top 3 delicious combinations that you can make and eat using the system.

3. The Healthy One

We love the fresh, light combination of roasted bell peppers, steamed broccoli, garlicky sauteed zucchini, baby spinach leaves and basil, stirred through cooked pasta, brought together with lemon juice & zest and good quality olive oil. Plenty of cracked black pepper and some grated Asiago cheese to finish the dish and you're good to go! This combination would be great for getting kids into the kitchen to teach them about cooking real food from scratch, a la Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.


2. The One That Tastes Like Pizza

Everyone loves pizza, right? So who wouldn't want to eat pizza-flavour pasta?!
For this one, mix your pasta with pepperoni, sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled cooked Italian sausage, mushrooms sauteed in garlic and fresh basil then mix in your marinara / spaghetti sauce, shred some mozzarella over the top and stir until the cheese starts to melt. Not quite as pious as the first dish, but healthier than take-out pizza and definitely delicious!

1. The Freaky Sicilian One

We eat this at least once a month at Mealtime Strategy Headquarters and it's the meal that led to the whole Sega Pasta System idea.
The traditional Sicilian flavour profile works so well and provides salty, sour, and sweet tastes in every mouthful. Take some toasted pine nuts, sultanas, capers and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and stir through your cooked pasta with a healthy dollop of pesto, then simply top with some shaved parmesan and toasted breadcrumbs. You'll thank us for this one later, so easy but so good!


Head back later for our Easter Saturday recipe in the Sega-Flavour Easter Eggspo here on MealtimeStrategy.com, the world's first video game recipe site!

Follow us on Twitter, @MealtimeStrateG or become a fan on Facebook for hints on upcoming recipes, news and more.

The SEGA Pasta System - Over 2 Hundred Million Recipes in One!

Welcome to the opening recipe in Mealtime Strategy's first annual Sega-Flavour Easter Eggspo, or to be more precise the opening 214,176,000 recipes! Inspired by Sega's streamlined 8-bit console, the Master System, our simple and ingenious "Pasta System" will ensure that you never end up with boring spaghetti and plain sauce ever again.

In Japan and the USA, the Sega Master System was hugely overshadowed by the Nintendo Famicom / NES. However in Italy, the home of pasta, and the rest of Europe the sleek black-and-red Sega machine was at least as popular as its grey, shoebox-like rival. Some of the best Master System exclusives were not even released in the USA, and we will highlight five of the best of these at the end of todays recipe.

Incidentally, the console in the header image was the first Sega Master System sold in the UK, bought on launch day! The launch was so low-key as to be pretty much non-existent, and coincided with my eleventh birthday. Seeing as the game was being distributed by Virgin Mastertronic, we thought the best place to buy one on launch day would be the flagship Virgin Megastore in London. Sadly the staff in the games department knew nothing of the launch and we had to wait until phone calls were made and a console was brought to the store. None had been delivered to any UK stores at all, such was the lack of fanfare over console launches back then, so I am the proud owner of the first UK retail Master System :)

This exclusive "Sega Pasta System" is incredibly simple but is adaptable enough to suit a simple student supper or a cosy romantic meal for two.

Recipe: The SEGA Pasta System - Over 2 Hundred Million Recipes in One!

Serves 2 but can be easily scaled for larger numbers

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (250g) freshly cooked pasta of your choice

A handful each of between 3 and 5 of the following tasty additions:

• Capers
• Toasted pine nuts
• Sultanas
• Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• Sauteed eggplant
• Coarsely chopped black olives
• Roasted bell peppers
• Crumbled bacon/pancetta (cooked)
• Mushrooms sauteed with garlic
• Strips of prosciutto
• Steamed broccoli florets
• Zucchini (courgette) sauteed in garlic
• Pepperoni
• Grated lemon zest
• Meatballs (cooked)
• Crumbled italian sausage (cooked)
• Cooked shrimp (prawns)
• Fresh basil, torn into pieces
• Sauteed onions
• Chopped walnuts
• Baby spinach leaves
• Fresh chopped parsley
• Lightly sauteed garlic
• Anchovies, melted in a pan in a tsp of oil
• Toasted breadcrumbs

One of the following sauces: (store-bought is fine, homemade is tastier!)

• Pesto (Jamie Oliver's recipe is great)
• Marinara / spaghetti sauce (again, Jamie Oliver has a decent simple recipe )
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon and a hefty glug of good olive oil
• White wine cream sauce (this recipe would be perfect)

And finally a sprinkling of one of the following cheeses:

• Parmesan Reggiano
• Asiago
• Pecorino
• Grana Padano
• Cheddar
• Mozzarella
• Aged Provolone
• Crumbled feta

Method:

Now, if you've read through the ingredients, you've probably guessed that there isn't really much of a method to write, but for the purposes of completion, here you go!

• Make sure your sauce is heated through (not necessary for pesto or lemon and oil) and your 3-5 ingredients are prepared.
• Drain your pasta when it is cooked, return to pan and add a handful each of your chosen ingredients. Mingle it well to make sure each forkful contains a bit of everything!.
• Add your chosen sauce and mingle the pasta again.
• Serve with a sprinkling of any of the cheeses and eat while hot and yummy.

See?! Easy, streamlined, near-endless replayability... that's Mealtime Strategy.com's unique Sega Pasta System. You can play about with the add-ins too, if we haven't mentioned one of your favourite ingredients.
And as a bonus, tomorrow we will give you a few of our favourite combinations, as well as providing you with yet another brand new recipe inspired by one of Sega's greatest franchises...


Now, as promised here are the Mealtime Strategy Top Five Sega Games Never Released in the USA:

5. Asterix

The French hero and his chum, Obelix, have attended Mickey Mouse's platforming 101, but with bright, clear graphics and well designed levels, Asterix stands as one of the best platform games on the system.

4. Master of Darkness

Master of Darkness makes no attempt to hide the fact that it's a Castlevania clone. However, with the Belmont clan restricted to the NES at the time, there's no blaming Sega for wanting a piece of the horror-action pie, and a very fine example of the genre it is too!

3. Land of Illusion

There were quite a few Disney games on the Master System that never saw store shelves in the USA. We were torn between this and Donald Duck's Lucky Dime Caper for our top 5, but in the end the puzzles and slightly better controls saw Mickey win out.

2. Powerstrike 2

This classy Compile-developed shmup may flicker when there's lots onscreen, but it's by far the best scrolling shooter on the 8-bit Sega. Good sound too, considering the capabilities of the Master System sound chip.

1. Ninja Gaiden

Now, all you Nintendo fans are probably wondering why Ninja Gaiden is topping a list of Master System exclusives, but this version is developed by Sega themselves, not Tecmo. This makes for a very different game, reminding me of the Game Gear versions of Shinobi more than Ninja Gaiden.

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See you tomorrow for the second recipe in our Easter Eggstravaganza!

The 1st Annual SEGA-Flavour Easter Eggspo!

Having had a great response to our Sweets of Rage and After Burger recipes (check the review on SegaShiro.com!) we have decided that Easter 2010 is to be the inaugural Sega-themed Easter Weekend here on MealtimeStrategy.com!
Hopefully the first of many, we will be providing new recipes based on classic Sega games every day of the holiday weekend, served with a generous side of our signature house-made retro trivia.

Our hope is that if enough people eat Sega-flavour food over the weekend, there's a chance that Shenmue III will rise again on Easter Sunday, in accordance with the scriptures!
For all the Nintendo fans feeling forgotten, don't worry, we love the Big N too and will be featuring recipes inspired by many great franchises over the coming weeks and months.

You can follow us on our Twitter, @MealtimeStrateG or Facebook to be alerted when new recipes are posted and get exclusive clues and hints on what delicious treats we're prepping in the virtual test kitchen!


Big thanks to SegaShiro, Sega Addicts Podcast and of course SEGA themselves for their support for our new, slightly ridiculous site :D


Also, we have collected together some of the best SEGA games available on all systems in our Classic Sega Store, to save you sorting the wheat from the chaff! For readers who don't yet own a Sega Dreamcast, we can highly recommend picking one up from the USA store while there are still some available; if the Dreamcast's "geek-cool" status doesn't grab you, the sheer weight of triple-A games will!


Classic Sega Store USA

Classic Sega Store UK

If you are thinking of picking up a Dreamcast or some SEGA games for current or retro systems and have enjoyed our recipes, please consider using our stores, as this helps us keep the site up and running. Thanks!!

Sweets of Rage - A Classic Easter Eat 'Em Up

This recipe is for our friends over on The Sega Addicts Podcast who have just posted episode 4 of their show featuring a discussion on beat 'em up games. The Sega Addicts crew includes heroically controversial Destructoid editor Jim Sterling and for those who are missing the late, great RetroforceGO! podcast, former host Topher Cantler is on board too.

The Streets of Rage series was one of the jewels in the 16-Bit Sega crown and Streets of Rage 2 is still regarded as one of the finest side-scrolling fighters ever released. While the gameplay and visuals of the series were undoubtedly first-rate for the era, special mention must go to the scorching techno soundtracks by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. Koshiro, composer of the vast majority of tracks, was heavily influenced by the Nineties rave scene and squeezed sounds out of that poor little Yamaha chip that no-one had thought possible, from deep bass growls to searing acid-tinged synth lines.
Here's the track Jungle Base from the second game.



When I was younger, I made a cassette tape of Yuzo Koshiro's music from Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage 1 and 2 for my walk to school. Nowadays, it's MP3s on my PSP but the music has held up a darn sight better than that of many commercial artists from the same period. Many gamers seem to dislike the music from Streets of Rage 3, as it is often discordant in nature and not as catchy as the earlier games, but listened to in the context of Aphex Twin/Warp Records electronica or even the Psy Trance/Acid Techno free-party scene, it is a remarkably prescient piece of work.

You can find all three Streets of Rage games (alongside 40 other classic Sega games) on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection which is now under $15 dollars at Amazon on Xbox 360 or PS3. For those of you in the UK, it's less than eleven quid on either system and is known as SEGA Mega Drive: Ultimate Collection


So, on to today's recipe...

Our truffles hit you with a chocolate, caramel and sea salt combo in a concerted effort to both freak out and delight your tastebuds. These three big hitters are ably assisted by some smoky chipotle chiles to provide some depth and heat, and most importantly giving me an excuse to call the recipe Sweets... Of... Raaaaaaage!

Sega fans who prefer savoury to sweet can try our spicy Sega sandwich, After Burger!

Recipe: Sweets of Rage

Makes 40-ish truffles

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (225g) dulce de leche caramel (available in cans or jars from most supermarkets)
• 3.5 oz (100g) extra-bittersweet / very dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), smashed up good and proper
• 10 oz (280g) bittersweet / dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa), beaten up into pieces
• 10 oz (280g) good quality milk chocolate, broken 'til it feels the pain
• 1/2 of a US pint of heavy cream (250ml double cream)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp chipotle chile powder (or crushed dried chipotles)
• 3 oz (85g) cocoa powder mixed with another teaspoon of chipotle powder for rolling 'em in
• A little vegetable oil to prevent caramel sticking

Method:

• Ok, these truffles have gooey centres, so first we must make some goo!
• Put your dulce de leche in a pan over a low-to-medium heat for a minute or so before mingling in the darkest of the three chocolates. Leave it to melt for another minute before removing from heat, adding the sea salt and giving it a good stir, making sure the mix is smooth.
• Take a baking sheet (or large plate) and cover it in plastic wrap / cling film, then smear enough oil on the plastic wrap so that it is all coated very thinly.
• Pour the caramel chocolate mix onto the covered sheet and spread evenly. Leave to cool, then place in the freezer for a couple of hours or until the caramel has firmed up.
• Next, heat the cream in a pan until it reaches boiling point, placing the other two types of chocolate in a bowl while you wait. Pour the just-boiling cream over the chocolate and leave to melt for 2 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and the first teaspoon of chipotle powder and stir until smooth. Leave this mix to cool, then place in the fridge to set.
• Take your caramel from the freezer and chop it into pieces about the size of your thumbnail. It's easiest to cut the mix up using wet kitchen scissors but a knife should be fine, just a little messier!
• Spread your chipotle-spiked cocoa powder across a large baking sheet and remove your chocolate truffle mixture from the fridge.
• Dust your hands in a little cocoa, take a heaped teaspoonful of the truffle mix and prod a piece of your caramel into the middle of it. Smear the truffle over the join, make it round-shaped and roll it around in the cocoa. Repeat this process until you run out of caramel or truffle. Any leftovers of either mix would make a great ice cream topping!
• The Sweets of Rage will last 3 days in the fridge, a month in the freezer or 5 minutes in my house! If you are freezing all or some of your truffles, just take them out of the fridge an hour or so before serving.

Happy Easter to food geeks and retrogamers the world over!

We have collected together some of the best SEGA games available on all systems in our Classic Sega Store, to save you sorting the wheat from the chaff! For readers who don't yet own a Sega Dreamcast, we can highly recommend picking one up from the USA store while there are still some available; if the Dreamcast's "geek-cool" status doesn't grab you, the sheer weight of triple-A games will!


Classic Sega Store USA

Classic Sega Store UK

If you are thinking of picking up a Dreamcast or some SEGA games for current or retro systems and have enjoyed our recipes, please consider using our stores, as this helps us keep the site up and running. Thanks!!