A classic piece that's highly appropriate for us wargamers.
I haven't quite decided what will be on the PC for this weekend's gaming, but, it appears that some sort of combination of Magic the Gathering: Duels, Age of Wonders III and/or Civilization IV will prevail.
Great toon
Well - I'm on a roll with my modelling - but I have been playing F1 2015 over the last couple or 3 days. I completed practice on Wednesday night, I followed that up with Qualifying last night (qualified 2nd in the Williams) and it'll be the race tonight. Full race length...so at least an hour and a half at the PC with the wheel.
Apart from that, I may well stick my toes back into The Witcher III
But overall, most time will be going to my modelling.
Finished The Witcher 3 yesterday after 75 hours and got a good ending (only checked out all the possible endings after i finished in order to avoid spoilers - it seems small decisions can have big consequences in the end).
Now back to wargaming with War In The East smaller scenarios.
Continuing my Vandal campaign in Attila TW - The Last Roman and also continuing to slice my way through Ryse: Son of Rome.
Most likely going to play:
- Waterloo: the last battle of Napoleon....around 1 p.m....fighting mostly around Hougoumont and Papelotte at this time.
- Horizon. The campaign started well but now i am struggling to survive...the Tantik are too strong (again).
Not sure what else i'll play. Maybe continue my Imperium Galactica II campaign on my tablet (maybe win that one).
Quote from: Gusington on August 07, 2015, 07:20:44 AM
Continuing my Vandal campaign in Attila TW - The Last Roman and also continuing to slice my way through Ryse: Son of Rome.
I might possibly play some Attila. I will be moving boardgaming out of the manloft into the manbasement. There are some BIG TABLES down there and I'm getting tired of playing on the floor.
In other news: playing RUS Gold. I'm the Bolsheviks and life is hard. I'm trying to build some industry while everybody attacks me from every possible direction. I played RUS long ago and sort of forgot what a great game it is. RUS Gold seems the same except that radios seem to help command capacity significantly. Maybe I should rebuild the Red Air force and see if it works. You just never know.
I'm trying manfully to complete DC: Case Blue's 1st Pz. Army campaign with 4 turns left and still 2 cities to take. But I'm close. If the weather holds.... which it never does, and I can get some supply, then I will probably end up just shy of victory as usual. Also the Italian Navy awaits my presence in Rule The Waves where we've defeated the Austrians but now that peace has hit, the damned politicians want their money back and I can't afford to build a log raft with two paddles. While the defeated Austrians are back and stronger than ever. Good for me, they haven't got past 9in. guns yet. It's only Friday and I already need a drink.
New computer coming today! Arma3 ftw!
Empyrion Galactic Survival, Act of Aggression, Call to Arms and maybe some Subnautica with the new habitat update. I'd also like to squeeze in some ARMA3.
Hoping to put in some serious time with the first Witcher. I need to get myself into the series. I've owned the first two games for awhile now.
WitP AE -- continuing my "Quiet China" grand campaign (...although China sure ain't quiet yet, IJA is pushing in on all sides, and I haven't bothered to manage a single unit in that quagmire of a theatre...). I've been putting a lot of hours in to this, **and it's still only mid-Feb. '42**. I suspect this will end up the way it always does, with me burning out by April or May '42, and then putting the game off for another 2-3 years...
BTW, folks who don't own should pick this up while Matrix has it on sale for the bargain-baement price of $40 -- so you too can enjoy its unique mix of incredibly gratifying and incredibly infuriating micromanagement bliss/hell that will swallow up the next 4 years of your gaming life if you let it... :D
Euro Truck Simulator 2 - I'm back into this in a big way. Got my first garage upgrade and have a driver working for me who turns in a few grand profit per day. Meanwhile I've levelled up long distance driving and taking the big jobs specifically to "discover" as many towns as possible to have the pick of contracts. I have room for a third truck so as soon as I can afford it I'll buy one and hire another driver. O0
Race the Sun - the fantastic Sunrise DLC just came out, essentially a (beautiful) new world and no-time-limit mode! I definitely intend to put some time into it this weekend.
Not much else as I have a friend coming to stay from tomorrow evening for the week.
Either Arma 3 KOTH, Rise of Flight, or just reading a book if my daughter doesn't surrender the new computer...
Quote from: Jack Nastyface on August 07, 2015, 05:46:41 PM
or just reading a book if my daughter doesn't surrender the new computer...
I feel your pain. I made the mistake of downloading some kind of mega-mod-pack installer for Minecraft. Goodbye sweet PC, it was nice knowing you...
Played some SWTOR and killed the Emperor, again! I'm thinking about starting up another CK2 campaign later on tonight.
Heh. I just bagged installing ARMA 3 and started installing CK2 instead. Coincidence, or The Force? Hmmmmm...... ???
Looking to get back your Man Machines from the womenfolk? Inconceivable.
Sorcerer King mostly, with some wargaming thrown in here and there.
WITE and maybe finish off Quake2.
Will continue with the intense DoW ArmA 3 sessions.
Middle of my two week staycation but not much gaming this weekend. Our annual pool party is tomorrow so spent most of today cleaning and prepping.
Much more playing of Wing Leader will happen this week for sure. Fantastic game. Hope to have a review for you all... except LB cause his copy is better than mine. :P
I rage uninstalled World of Warships, again, tonight but this time I dismissed all my commanders and sold all my ships so there is no temptation to go back. Going to spend the rest of the night updating and reinstalling Skyrim mods. Tomorrow is my weekly CMANO stream, after that the rest of the weekend will be a mix of CMANO scenario work, Crusader Kings 2 and starting a new Skyrim character.
So far...
Finished my Horizon game (defeated by the Tantik who conquered my last systems).
Continued my (first) campaign in Stardrive 2 (though i am not as thrilled as i hoped i would be).
Finally started the campaign in Starpoint Gemini 2.
I hope i manage some Victor Vran as well tonight....
With the arrival of so many great and unexpected games in the next months (Oriental Empires, Grand Ages Medieval, Master of Orion, Endless Space 2, Stellaris), i have to progress in the games i have in my library.... :knuppel2:
What has you so bent out of shape about World of Warships, Kushan?
The other players I think..
So far I'm addicted, but keep tearing myself away after too many Battles.. want to earn that AC! So will be playing more of it this weekend.
Also continuing PBEM Antietam and WITP with Panzerde and SDR.
Well I just completed my 56 lap race at Malaysia. I have to say, I'm very impressed with this edition of F1 from Codemasters (F1 2015).
It's got a couple of flaws, but the racing experience is superb. Overall, it's the package for me. I know it's had bits taken out, but for me, that's not what the game was about. The game was about, for me, racing a season and giving the best experience of that was top of my list - and I think they've managed it (overall).
Superb. Now onto my Me262 and P-51 models ;D
Quote from: Toonces on August 08, 2015, 07:42:57 AM
What has you so bent out of shape about World of Warships, Kushan?
I'm not as disgusted with other teammates' bad play in World of Warships as I am in some others, like War Thunder's air force matches.
I mean.. in WoWS, people generally go left, right, or center and get in the mix-up any way they go. The occasional T3 or T4 noob may launch a torpedo spread right next to you, but I've only been on the receiving end of such a thing rarely. All the random teammates just don't need to act as cohesively as in other games of this type to be effective.
Compared flying realistic battles in War Thunder. There, if all your team's fighters don't climb like mad at the beginning of the match or decide to load up on bombs and go move mud, then you're gonna be screwed. Or if they all split up. Either way, each gets outnumbered or out-positioned in turn and the team is almost guaranteed to lose. Hell, even if one team has more bombers, it is much more likely to lose. Very unforgiving for pick-up games.
That said, I've still been alternating between WoWS and War Thunder air forces. I do much better on average in WoWS due to the ability to succeed when joining matches solo, as mentioned above. But flying RB is still addictive, when your random teammates aren't constantly being ignorant about the tactics.
This game remind me why I hate multiplayer games. Other player is a part of it. Hard to keep cool when your always on the team that gets steam rolled with only 2-3 kills total is one. The bull**** RNG on gun rolls is another sore point for me. I've had BBs fire at me from their max range and its like they're firing guided missiles at me. These are ships that should have 150+ meters of dispersal at that range. But I fire at anything doesn't matter the range, and RNG will guarantee that 90% of my shots will bracket my target to either side.
CMANO for me. I'll be trying to find time to finish up my AAR about the lucky Norwegian defenders of Jan Mayen. I hope to then go back in time and play the previous scenario, Northern Fury 3: A Dagger to the Heart, which Gunner98 (the scenario designer) released this week.
Anguille you got Victor Vran? I am shocked!
JD post pics of that Me262!
Any idea on when Oriental Empires and Grand Ages Medieval are hitting?
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2015, 11:55:51 AM
Anguille you got Victor Vran? I am shocked!
JD post pics of that Me262!
Any idea on when Oriental Empires and Grand Ages Medieval are hitting?
They're over here
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=13504.0
I'm also working on a P-51 1/72 scale. 1/72 isn't really my thing - but I bought them to test the airbrush. I'm getting there.
This is the P-51 thread
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=14477.msg376420#msg376420
It's going slow - but I don't have a dedicated space.
^Cool, don't get high from the fumes.
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2015, 11:55:51 AM
Anguille you got Victor Vran? I am shocked!
JD post pics of that Me262!
Any idea on when Oriental Empires and Grand Ages Medieval are hitting?
Lol! Why?
Victor Vran is a pet project by Haemimont which i've been following for the last 15 years (since Celtic Kings). I admit it's not the type of games i usually play.
Grand Ages Medieval is expected in september and
Oriental Empires will come as EA in the coming months as well..
Cheers
^You're a classicist. Victor Vran just comes out of left field! Grand Ages Medieval and Oriental Empires fits right in with the rest of the productions listed in your sig!
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2015, 02:27:55 PM
^Cool, don't get high from the fumes.
I thought that was part of the fun/challenge. :crazy2:
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2015, 02:57:16 PM
^You're a classicist. Victor Vran just comes out of left field! Grand Ages Medieval and Oriental Empires fits right in with the rest of the productions listed in your sig!
You're right! Still, sometimes i am up for something unusual... ;)
Van Helsing II
Planetary Annihilation
Warmachine Tactics
Warhammer 40K Liberation
I need to break in my new Logitech G502 mouse, so it's likely to be a Battlefield 4 weekend. Also, the rest of my Super Dungeon Explore : Forgotten King stuff showed up yesterday, and now I need to figure out how the Hell I'm going to store everything. :uglystupid2:
I've jumped back into the beta testing waters for my third game, a new one from Western Civilization Software, the makers of Forge of Freedom and Brother Against Brother.
I can't say what kind of game it is, but I think I can say that it's something "completely different".
I'll also be playing some World of Tanks and World of Warships, too.
Ive been playing opening night of new business, there has been some stress DLC, meeting a whole pile of employees i now have DLC and my favourite taking home the cash at night DLC
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:19:14 PM
Ive been playing opening night of new business, there has been some stress DLC, meeting a whole pile of employees i now have DLC and my favourite taking home the cash at night DLC
Oi - where's my CM:BS turn? If you've thrown in the towel, I would just expect a polite mention >:D
What did you open up, UCG? I'm way too scared to open my own business but it must be just about the most liberating feeling in the world...something like not wearing underwear and having a beer with breakfast.
As for gaming, I lost all of my ARMA 3 profile with the hard drive crash I just had, and Skyrim isn't grabbing me. I'm installing The Witcher 1 right now. How long until Witcher 3 hits the bargain bin do you guys think? I want to jump in, but I don't want to buy it a month before it goes on sale 50% off or more.
I waited out Alien Isolation and got the whole smack for $15 including DLC...I'm looking for that kind of deal.
Quote from: Toonces on August 08, 2015, 07:26:24 PM
...it must be just about the most liberating feeling in the world...something like not wearing underwear and having a beer with breakfast.
That is just like being a Jock in a kilt!! >:D
Quote from: JudgeDredd on August 08, 2015, 07:21:09 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:19:14 PM
Ive been playing opening night of new business, there has been some stress DLC, meeting a whole pile of employees i now have DLC and my favourite taking home the cash at night DLC
Oi - where's my CM:BS turn? If you've thrown in the towel, I would just expect a polite mention >:D
pffft, itll be tomorrow JD - havent switched PC on in 3 days, its been emotional
Quote from: Toonces on August 08, 2015, 07:26:24 PM
What did you open up, UCG? I'm way too scared to open my own business but it must be just about the most liberating feeling in the world...something like not wearing underwear and having a beer with breakfast.
As for gaming, I lost all of my ARMA 3 profile with the hard drive crash I just had, and Skyrim isn't grabbing me. I'm installing The Witcher 1 right now. How long until Witcher 3 hits the bargain bin do you guys think? I want to jump in, but I don't want to buy it a month before it goes on sale 50% off or more.
I waited out Alien Isolation and got the whole smack for $15 including DLC...I'm looking for that kind of deal.
A restaurant Toonces, nothing fancy, traditional fayre, need to get an alcohol licence sorted out and we're good to go
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:36:54 PM
A restaurant Toonces, nothing fancy, traditional fayre, need to get an alcohol licence sorted out and we're good to go
Congratulations ucg. Hope all the paperwork goes smoothly.
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:36:54 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on August 08, 2015, 07:21:09 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:19:14 PM
Ive been playing opening night of new business, there has been some stress DLC, meeting a whole pile of employees i now have DLC and my favourite taking home the cash at night DLC
Oi - where's my CM:BS turn? If you've thrown in the towel, I would just expect a polite mention >:D
pffft, itll be tomorrow JD - havent switched PC on in 3 days, its been emotional
Quote from: Toonces on August 08, 2015, 07:26:24 PM
What did you open up, UCG? I'm way too scared to open my own business but it must be just about the most liberating feeling in the world...something like not wearing underwear and having a beer with breakfast.
As for gaming, I lost all of my ARMA 3 profile with the hard drive crash I just had, and Skyrim isn't grabbing me. I'm installing The Witcher 1 right now. How long until Witcher 3 hits the bargain bin do you guys think? I want to jump in, but I don't want to buy it a month before it goes on sale 50% off or more.
I waited out Alien Isolation and got the whole smack for $15 including DLC...I'm looking for that kind of deal.
A restaurant Toonces, nothing fancy, traditional fayre, need to get an alcohol licence sorted out and we're good to go
bugger - I had hoped you'd thrown in the towel!
It was a long shot, admittedly!
That's pretty cool, UCG.
Awesome ucg! I am afraid to ask what 'traditional fair' means to you, though.
Stinky Nigel's Oxtail and Kidney puddin'!
Ingredients
For the braised oxtail
groundnut oil
75 g sliced celery
175 g leeks, washed and sliced
175 g carrots, peeled and sliced
200 g mushrooms, sliced
300 g onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 star anise
2.5 kg oxtail, jointed
250 ml (1 cup) red wine
100 ml brandy
250 g tomatoes, halved
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
10 black peppercorns
750 ml (3 cups) chicken stock
750 ml (3 cups) beef stock
For the kidney
1 veal kidney, cleaned and chopped into approximately 1 cm pieces
For the suet pastry
500 g self-raising flour
250 g shredded suet
1 tsp salt
15 g baking powder
300 ml ice-cold water
egg wash
butter and plain flour to line 6 x 150 ml pudding basins
Instructions
Cooling time 1 hour
You will need a pressure cooker for this recipe.
Place a pressure cooker over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Sweat the celery, leek and carrot for about 10 minutes or until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Return the pan to the heat and add a bit more oil, cook the mushroom for approximately 10 minutes until caramelized. Set aside.
Place the pan back on the heat, add more oil and cook the onion and star anise. Cook for 10–15 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Add all of the cooked vegetables back in the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes, remove from the pan.
Add a splash of water to de-glaze the base of the pan. Add the liquid to the cooked vegetables.
To braise the oxtail, place a deep pan over a medium-high heat. Once smoking hot, add enough oil to coat the base of the pan and brown the oxtail, in batches if necessary.
Once the oxtail pieces are well browned, tip any excess fat out of the pan, return to the heat and de-glaze by adding the red wine and brandy. Flame off the alcohol by setting fire to the fumes carefully with a match.
Once the flames have died, add the tomato, bay leaf, thyme, cooked vegetables as well as the browned oxtail, peppercorns and both chicken and beef stocks. Bring the pressure cooker to full pressure, reduce the heat and cook for 2 hours.
To make the pastry, mix the flour, suet, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Sprinkle the ice-cold water over the mixture and, with clean hands, work into a smooth dough. Knead lightly and place in the fridge to rest for 10–15 minutes.
Divide the pastry into 6 x 100 g portions and roll out circles that are approximately 3 mm in thickness. Grease 6 x 150 ml capacity pudding basins with a little butter and line with the pastry circles.
After 2 hours, place the pressure cooker in a sink of iced water to cool completely before removing the lid. Once cool, remove the oxtails from the liquid and pick the meat from the bones. Strain and discard the vegetables and return the liquid to the pan. Place over a high heat to reduce by two-thirds or until a thick glaze is formed, removing any scum that comes to the surface with a ladle.
Remove the pan from the heat and save some sauce aside to pour over the pudding or inject just before serving. Add the picked meat, kidney pieces and some of the sauce and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir together before spooning into each pudding basin until they are full of meat.
With the remaining pastry, roll out lids to cover the basins (approximately 6 mm in thickness). Brush the edges with egg wash and press down firmly to seal, trim off the excess dough.
Place a small square of parchment paper on top of each pudding and secure with an elastic band. Place the puddings in a wide saucepan with enough water to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the basins. Allow the water to come to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Carefully remove the puddings from the moulds.
Take some of the warm sauce and using a syringe inject into the pudding. Serve immediately.
^You win! HAHAHA
Way to go Geek. No shoes, no pants, no service. O0
Started up a pre-warp drive game of Distant Worlds. Human monarchy that has no tolerance for bugs. I forgot just how truly epic of a game this is.
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:19:14 PM
Ive been playing opening night of new business, there has been some stress DLC, meeting a whole pile of employees i now have DLC and my favourite taking home the cash at night DLC
I didn't even pick up on this. So this is your own business? I remember you had a run in some months ago with someone at your work.
So you went alone? Very cool. What's the deal?
Yay for Geek!
...wait, does this mean your AARs will start slipping behind? >:D
Mostly I've been plinking along on MTG:Duels, with a growing itch that I wish I was playing the old Shandalar map campaign. Also feeling horribly old at seeing all the new cards I don't recognize (though very much enjoying seeing all the new cards I don't recognize) along with a few rule tweaks that have come along I need to get used to -- and then I see "Fog" and I think "YAY IT'S FOG A CARD I RECOGNIZE FOG IS STILL AROUND YAAAAY!"
And then I feel old-er. :'( :2funny:
Oh, and despite being allergic to 2 or 2.5D platformers, I bought Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon. Where you play a spider doing spidery things, and just happening to solve a cultic mystery or something along the way in an old abandoned manor. But it's a spider simulator. As a 2D platformer.
It's pretty different, is what I'm saying. (Also it features a simple location ping that matches the environmental gfx to my local weather, which is a nice if slightly invasive touch.)
Thanks chaps
Turn today JD
Quote from: JudgeDredd on August 09, 2015, 07:22:08 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 08, 2015, 07:19:14 PM
Ive been playing opening night of new business, there has been some stress DLC, meeting a whole pile of employees i now have DLC and my favourite taking home the cash at night DLC
I didn't even pick up on this. So this is your own business? I remember you had a run in some months ago with someone at your work.
So you went alone? Very cool. What's the deal?
This year so far we're in the top 3 in the region, and last year the place came 24th out of 12000 entries for Best Fish and Chip restaurant in the UK
How cool. Good on ya.
Where's your chippy and what's it called? I do like a nice chip or two :)
When I go to visit Bawb again, how far will I have to ride in his clown car to eat at your chippy, UCG? ;)
Having your own business is (usually) a great thing. Restaurants can be tough, though - a lot of hours, a lot of capital. At least all I have to deal with are business customers and engineers. Congrats on your venture UCG!
Getting back into the swing of PBEM with Tuna and Jim, now that Jim has returned from the Continent. Also playing some Pillars of Eternity because it's easy on my overtaxed brain.
Quote from: MengJiao on August 07, 2015, 08:46:10 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 07, 2015, 07:20:44 AM
Continuing my Vandal campaign in Attila TW - The Last Roman and also continuing to slice my way through Ryse: Son of Rome.
I might possibly play some Attila. I will be moving boardgaming out of the manloft into the manbasement. There are some BIG TABLES down there and I'm getting tired of playing on the floor.
In other news: playing RUS Gold. I'm the Bolsheviks and life is hard. I'm trying to build some industry while everybody attacks me from every possible direction. I played RUS long ago and sort of forgot what a great game it is. RUS Gold seems the same except that radios seem to help command capacity significantly. Maybe I should rebuild the Red Air force and see if it works. You just never know.
So what really happened? All went as expected: Boardgames and Bolsheviks. It's Dec 1918 and the Bolsheviks are finally getting rolling after being beat up by the AI on all fronts for months.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 08, 2015, 10:18:37 PM
Stinky Nigel's Oxtail and Kidney puddin'!
Ingredients
For the braised oxtail
groundnut oil
75 g sliced celery
175 g leeks, washed and sliced
175 g carrots, peeled and sliced
200 g mushrooms, sliced
300 g onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 star anise
2.5 kg oxtail, jointed
250 ml (1 cup) red wine
100 ml brandy
250 g tomatoes, halved
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
10 black peppercorns
750 ml (3 cups) chicken stock
750 ml (3 cups) beef stock
For the kidney
1 veal kidney, cleaned and chopped into approximately 1 cm pieces
For the suet pastry
500 g self-raising flour
250 g shredded suet
1 tsp salt
15 g baking powder
300 ml ice-cold water
egg wash
butter and plain flour to line 6 x 150 ml pudding basins
Instructions
Cooling time 1 hour
You will need a pressure cooker for this recipe.
Place a pressure cooker over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Sweat the celery, leek and carrot for about 10 minutes or until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Return the pan to the heat and add a bit more oil, cook the mushroom for approximately 10 minutes until caramelized. Set aside.
Place the pan back on the heat, add more oil and cook the onion and star anise. Cook for 10–15 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Add all of the cooked vegetables back in the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes, remove from the pan.
Add a splash of water to de-glaze the base of the pan. Add the liquid to the cooked vegetables.
To braise the oxtail, place a deep pan over a medium-high heat. Once smoking hot, add enough oil to coat the base of the pan and brown the oxtail, in batches if necessary.
Once the oxtail pieces are well browned, tip any excess fat out of the pan, return to the heat and de-glaze by adding the red wine and brandy. Flame off the alcohol by setting fire to the fumes carefully with a match.
Once the flames have died, add the tomato, bay leaf, thyme, cooked vegetables as well as the browned oxtail, peppercorns and both chicken and beef stocks. Bring the pressure cooker to full pressure, reduce the heat and cook for 2 hours.
To make the pastry, mix the flour, suet, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Sprinkle the ice-cold water over the mixture and, with clean hands, work into a smooth dough. Knead lightly and place in the fridge to rest for 10–15 minutes.
Divide the pastry into 6 x 100 g portions and roll out circles that are approximately 3 mm in thickness. Grease 6 x 150 ml capacity pudding basins with a little butter and line with the pastry circles.
After 2 hours, place the pressure cooker in a sink of iced water to cool completely before removing the lid. Once cool, remove the oxtails from the liquid and pick the meat from the bones. Strain and discard the vegetables and return the liquid to the pan. Place over a high heat to reduce by two-thirds or until a thick glaze is formed, removing any scum that comes to the surface with a ladle.
Remove the pan from the heat and save some sauce aside to pour over the pudding or inject just before serving. Add the picked meat, kidney pieces and some of the sauce and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir together before spooning into each pudding basin until they are full of meat.
With the remaining pastry, roll out lids to cover the basins (approximately 6 mm in thickness). Brush the edges with egg wash and press down firmly to seal, trim off the excess dough.
Place a small square of parchment paper on top of each pudding and secure with an elastic band. Place the puddings in a wide saucepan with enough water to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the basins. Allow the water to come to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Carefully remove the puddings from the moulds.
Take some of the warm sauce and using a syringe inject into the pudding. Serve immediately.
My wife makes Oxtail Stew and it is awesome.
This recipe is fatty as hell. You take oxtails (pretty fatty cut) and add pure beef lard (suet). I'm sure it tastes good - but fat almost always does.
I'm playing Age of Wonders 3.
Being too lazy to get Shandalar running again (though I feel that itch will need scratching in the future), but wanting more structure in my MTG card duels, I spent all my gametime Sunday going back to last year and picking up where I left off on playing both campaigns of Etherlords 2. I had already played and beaten the Vital/Synthet campaign years ago, but it had been long enough that I didn't remember all the plot points or necessarily how best to build various decks, and this way I could eventually create a save system that would allow me to play both factions I wanted (Life and Air basically) in the 'same' campaign sometime years from now.
And that was fun, even though most of the day I was slogging through one of the factions I don't like (Chaots).
I honestly don't know why Etherlords didn't take off better. The first game's mixture of strategic map control with fights played out by card battles didn't work well in practice (after the first few boards anyway), but the basic idea is still probably good, and the card battles themselves are tight -- as the (wandering adventure) sequel showed, making small but crucial improvements and adding new units, decks, and a significantly different (and lethal) fifth faction. The opposing decks that come with the game are (almost) all well-designed, and the AI is brutally efficient at using them, especially when paired with AI characters that are equally designed to exploit their decks strengths and weaknesses. The graphics are inventive and still hold up today. The voice acting is... highly variable (from quite good to dreadful), at least in English, but that can be fixed or just turned off. The series is available at GoG for around $6 each, though I kind of recommend skipping the first game and maybe going back for a less refined version of the card system to see how it pairs experimentally with a HoMMish map campaign. (I can't recall if either Ether is available at Steam and/or GG.)
The Etherlords series was great. Especially Etherlords 2, although it had that damnable StarFarce DRM on the disks.
I beta tested for those & recall seeing some of the input for another of their great titles, Silent Storm, in the beta forums. Notably the request for which weapons & hardware players wanted to see included with it. That's where the 'Panzerklein' nuttery took off, after the long laundry list of actual historical weapons.
Nival had some good stuff, back in the day.
I spent a good ten hours over Saturday and Sunday playing CK2 as the King of Leon (sounds like I have next weeks band for the Friday thread already.)
They went on to do at least one of the HoMM games, too. (5?)
At one point they were working on Etherlords 3, but then buzz on that died away. :'(
Naturally, no Starforce on the GoG editions. :D Ether2 at least plays like a dream on my Win8.1 system. Which is no small claim, as the code was horribly optimized: the computer I owned at the time I bought either game couldn't run either one without slogging into a framerate slideshow so terrible I could barely quit the game.