Gotta go fast! Cook an array of delightful dishes inspired by the colorful world of Sonic with Sonic the Hedgehog: The Official Cookbook, a fun and delicious compendium of recipes inspired by the blue blur.
Sonic has places to be, and you do too! For on-the-go heroes and Sonic fans alike, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Official Cookbook is full of the protein-packed, energy-giving, fun, and delicious recipes you need. Enjoy culinary sensations inspired by Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Knuckles, Amy, Dr. Eggman, and other familiar friends and foes from the best-selling video game franchise! From quick snacks to delicious dinners, each recipe inspired by the world of Sonic features straightforward step-by-step instructions, gorgeous full-color photos, and maybe even a few interesting challenges . . .
Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Publisher: Insight Editions
Game Publisher: SEGA
Co-Author: Ian Flynn
Number of Pages: 176
Number of Recipes: 73
Where to buy: Your Favorite Local Book Store, Online Book Retailers, Amazon
My Contributions: Recipe Selection, Development, and Photography
My Process
I was extremely excited when this project was brought to me as a possibility. When I was younger, I made it my goal to eat chili dogs because Sonic did. Any time we went to a restaurant that had them on the menu, I’d order them and I’m sure it drove my parents a little bonkers. Now, I’ve had the opportunity to come up with my own version of Sonic’s iconic dish in an official cookbook. I’ll be honest, writing that is still a bit surreal. When this project was pitched to me, I was told Ian Flynn would be involved in handling all the fluff text because of his vast knowledge with the franchise. Ian was wonderful to work with and was extremely helpful when we started work on the project.
We discussed the direction that we would be taking with the book and figured out which characters, locations, and recipes we would want to call out. After coming up with this I started to work on the style we would want for the photography. Sonic has always been an extremely colorful series and I wanted to make sure to capture that.
For the first two weeks, I spent some time painting my first handmade backdrops. I bought 3 medium density fiber boards, joint compound, and a bunch of different paints. I had a lot of fun messing around with these boards until I got them looking perfect. It was really refreshing to have a little painting project, very different from my typical creative outlet of photography. With the 3 boards, I got 6 new backgrounds! I love the extra pop of color these boards added to the backgrounds of the photos in this book.
Once everything was established and approved, I got to work. This was the second project that I worked on since getting my artificial lighting set up. That has been a huge game changer for me. It’s nice not having to worry if the weather was going to work against me. Lighting is the most important thing when it comes to getting amazing photos. This allowed my schedule to work very smoothly and without any hitches besides the usual: a recipe failing or me forgetting some ingredients. Besides that, this project was pretty easy to work on and get done. I do hope you all enjoy the recipes I selected for the final product.
Are there Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, etc recipes in the book?
Yes, each recipe lists any dietary notes that might apply to those items. There is also a note about adjusting the recipes in the book to adapt them to your dietary needs. As I always say, feel free to adapt recipes to make them work for you.
My Favorite Recipes
There are a lot of recipes that I’ve found myself adding to my weekly shopping list from this book. I’ve made the Tangled Leads of a Delicious Mystery (pg 108) many times since finishing this project up. Jeff is a huge fan of pasta dishes and this pesto is so easy to put together. It is also a great way to use a ton of basil if you ever find yourself with a mountain of it. This is easily the dish I’ve made the most since finishing this project. There is a decent amount of garlic in this recipe and I like the punch it adds. I typically add a little more than the recipe list because I love garlic.
I’m also a huge fan of Royal Roasted Pinwheels (pg 32), The Cold Gaze of The Invisible Ninja (pg 72), and The Perfect Eggdog (pg 90). I don’t make these too often, but they are some of the recipes I really enjoyed when I put them together. I know for Thanksgiving this year I will be making the Royal Roasted Pinwheels, they are a really nice appetizer. I’ve made just the egg salad part of the Perfect Eggdog because black garlic is such a wonderful ingredient and I love any excuse to add it into things.
I always have a harder time remaking desserts because I try to make sure I’m not over doing the sugar. The one I’ve been waiting to make again is the Post-Adventure Prize (pg 150). I love black sesame in desserts. I could be extra lazy about it and just make the black sesame ice cream and be a happy camper. Actually, I might go make a batch to celebrate the release of this book!
Most Difficult Recipe
The Eggs-quisite Lunch (pg 102) is, in my opinion, the most difficult recipe in the book. Not only are you making omurice but you have to prepare tempura at the same time. There is a lot of technique needed to put this whole dish together. I’d recommend being patient with this one. To practice, I’d recommend making each of the pieces separately. As you get more comfortable, you can make the whole dish in one go.
Beginners: Where To Start?
This book has a lot of wonderful easy options for a beginner in the kitchen. I think all of the beverages in the book are very approachable and a great way to start if you are completely new to cooking.
To start the day, the Eat ‘N’ Run Oats (pg 16) are perfect. You basically throw all the ingredients in an airtight container, shake it up, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. It takes seconds to put together and can be enjoyed on the run. The hardest part of this recipe is remembering to put it together before going to bed, I make that mistake all the time.
If you are looking for a light and simple salad to enjoy, either the Soleanna Princess Special (pg 46) or A Simple Deduction (pg 51) are perfect. They both will require a bit of knife work by cutting the ingredients but these recipes are perfect starting points for improving that skill.
For a heartier meal,The Perfect Chili Dog (pg 80) is a very approachable recipe. It does require you to make Sonic’s Signature Chili (pg 68) which is a bit higher on the scale of difficulty. But with proper planning, you can easily put this together. I’d recommend preparing all the vegetables and dried peppers before you even get the final pot all put together. That last stage of the chili really is just throw everything in and then let the thing simmer and do its own thing for 4 hours. It might be intimidating but this recipe will really improve your kitchen skills in a lot of ways.
A few easier meals include the Villain Sub (pg 88), Knuckles Wrap (pg 98), and The Garlic Collector (pg 107). These are all great recipes that can be put together quickly. They don’t require too much time or too many ingredients to put together. You can have fun with the Villain Sub and swap any of the lunchmeat to your favorites, just keep the boiled eggs to keep it Eggman friendly. The Garlic Collector is another one you can have fun with and put any of your favorite pizza toppings on top!
I know a lot of new cooks like to start off with desserts, which do tend to be the more difficult recipes to pursue. The Evil Cookies (pg 154) are the most beginner friendly desserts in this book. Jeff came up with such a clever idea for this recipe and I’m happy it made it into the book. Splitting this recipe into two batches you get half of them to be a chocolate chip and then the evil raisins in the other half. I love both of them but I know some people have strong opinions about raisins in cookies.
Thank You
Thank you to Insight Editions and SEGA for giving me the opportunity to work on this project and create these delicious recipes inspired by the iconic world of Sonic. Huge shout out to Justin for managing this project and making sure we created the best product we could.
Thank you to my co-author Ian Flynn for the amazing lore write ups for this project. Working on the recipe list and general theme of the book was made so much easier with your vast knowledge of the Sonic franchise.
Thank you to my husband, Jeff, for all the help you provide with these projects. You are always pushing me to improve my recipes and writing. I appreciate that he’ll listen to me workshop recipe ideas even when he has no idea what I’m talking about. He gets the benefit of tasting all the recipes and getting his thoughts on the recipes is super helpful. Kanji, as always during the whole process, is always keeping an eye on me in the kitchen as I work. He is rewarded occasionally with a piece of carrot or banana. Such a spoiled pooch.
Thank you to my agent, Kate McKean. You continue to make my life so much easier with each of these projects and I appreciate all the work you do! Without you, I would be getting confused reading all the contract legal speak. Also, huge congrats to her and her future book release that she is currently working on.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me as I’ve been working on all these projects. I’m grateful that my family is always so excited to see what I’m cooking up, my friends for grabbing extra leftovers I demand they take off my hands, and for everyone who cooks any of the recipes I have written. It really means a lot to me and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Here’s to many more delicious meals!
Review and Coverage
Coming Soon
Errata
Between the quick timelines and large amount of writing and content, errors in the cookbooks can sneak through to print. I’ve started compiling a list for those that have been pointed out to me so far. If you find any other errors in any book, please feel free to reach out to me so they can be added to these lists and adjusted in future prints.
Edge of Darkness (pg 138) – The ingredients list should call for 1 teaspoon (4 g) kosher salt, not 1 tablespoon.
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