Happy 2019, friends in food and fandom! Remember last year’s Top 5 Geeky Recipes post when I referenced the dumpster fire of 2016, smoldering garbage ashes of 2017, and the beautiful trash-stained phoenix I wished to see 2018 become? Yeah. Though a little trash-stained at first, this past year has been a cleansing one.
In 2018…
- I was diagnosed with and treated for Anxiety Disorder. Turns out I was born this way. It’s strange to think that I’ve gone 31 years of my life with broken emotional cruise control. But it’s freeing to know I now have control over who I choose to be.
- I left my full-time job of six years to pursue a career path that would be productive to my work as a blogger. I’m working part-time as a school secretary, now, but I enjoy the people I work with and the mission we have. It also doesn’t hurt that my commute’s gone from 45 to 15 minutes.
- I have made so many valuable friends and connections this past year such as Brian and Sean at Adult Swim Games, Sarah from Geeks Who Eat, Daniel from Medieval Cookery, and the fine folks from North by North Quest, Loot & Dagger, Hello from the Magic Tavern, and Zombie Orpheus Productions. Roadtripping to Gen Con was one of the best decisions I’ve made in 2018. You can bet you’re pretty floral bonnet that I’m coming back this year!
- Best of all, so many people joined me on my journey through food and fandom this past year. Whether you’re new to the blog or have been kicking around with me since 2015, you guys really are who make all this work worth it.
And how else should I thank my friends both old and new by feeding them? You know what that means, a re-cap of my most popular posts from the year 2018 with bonus, printable PDF recipe cards for you to download and quick reference!
So without further ado, the fifth most popular post published in 2018 was:
JourneyQuest | Wren Birdsong’s Pineapple Tarts
When I decided to go to Gen Con this year, I wanted to put up some kind of tabletop-inspired post in the spirit of visiting what is essentially Gamer Mecca. I then discovered that Zombie Orpheus, the production company behind some of my favorite web series of all time was not only attending, but they were performing. It only made sense then to develop recipes based off JourneyQuest‘s encounters with the Oracle.
I think I loved the scene this recipe is inspired by in particular because the character’s favorite dish is so reflective of her personality — wacky, simple on the surface, but possessing a sweet complexity that relates to everyone. What I didn’t expect was the outpouring of love and appreciation from not only Zombie Orpheus crew, but also from their adoring fans.
My recipe found its way retweeting around social media. Zombie Orpheus’s head writer Matt Vancil started following and snarking along with me. Next thing I know, I’m bar-hopping with Christian and Maggie Doyle and Nathan Rice at Oh-Gods-Why-Are-We-Awake-At-This-Hour early Sunday morning in downtown Indianapolis.
What started as a recipe-quest became a journey of new friendship. I regret absolutely nothing.
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Wren Birdsong’s Pineapple Tarts 8″ x 11″.
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Wren Birdsong’s Pineapple Tarts
Speaking of regretting nothing, the next most popular post from 2018 on The Gluttonous Geek was:
Fallout | Yum Yum Deviled Eggs
I’ve had my eye on making this recipe since I found out it’s a craft item in Fallout 4. The idea of Mirelurk eggs with plastic seemed like a culinary challenge — one I wanted to make somehow palatable. I ended up using lump crabmeat, yum yum sauce, and American cheese. Once again, I regret nothing.
It’s almost criminal how easy this recipe was.
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From dystopia to the Delta Quadrant, the third most popular recipe this past year was:
Star Trek: Voyager | Fudge Ripple Cherry Cheese-Pie
What started as a joke to make fun of my roommate turned into one of my most shared posts on Facebook. So my roommate, Briana Lamb (of The Lady Nerd) is Emma Dumont‘s stand-in on The Gifted. What she didn’t realize was her boss, Executive Producer Robert Duncan McNeill, played Lieutenant Tom Paris on Star Trek: Voyager. At least she didn’t until he greeted her in the Walk of Fame at Dragon Con.
With the punishment assignment of watching all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager to absolve her crimes against nerdery, I thought I’d take the joke and run with it. Because what are friends for if they don’t turn our embarrassments into entertainment?
I still regret nothing. You’re starting to see a pattern here, right?
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Tom and Harry’s Fudge Ripple Cherry Cheese-Pie 8″ x 11″.
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Tom and Harry’s Fudge Ripple Cherry Cheese-Pie
From regretting nothing to a recipe inspired by a character who regrets everything, the second most popular recipe from 2018 was:
The Adventure Zone | Ned Chicane’s Gruel Hot Pockets
So this placement took me entirely by surprise. Not because of its popularity, but because usually, my winter-time posts don’t make it to this list due to timing. This one especially so because I posted it FOUR DAYS BEFORE 2019.
I knew I was taking a risk because, on the surface, the idea of Gruel Hot Pockets sounds revolting. I’m the weirdo who sees something like this as a challenge.
Also, this happened:
That’s right, Ned Danger Discretion Superstar Chicane followed me on Twitter in response! You better believe there was some awkward fangirl screaming in my household that evening.
Me = 1. Regrets = 0.
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Ned Chicane’s Gruel Hot Pockets 8″ x 11″.
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Ned Chicane’s Gruel Hot Pockets
But I probably should’ve seen the previous one coming, because the top recipe post on The Gluttonous Geek in 2018 was nothing other than:
The Adventure Zone | Duck Newton’s French Onion Soup
This post. Gods, this post! I had over 42,000 views in 2018. This post had roughly six percent of those views. I had people telling me they were cooking at that moment, within a half an hour of me posting it. Let me tell you something, Mr. McEl-boys, your fans are AMAZING.
It figures that Justin McElroy, the player behind Taako the Culinary Wizard from the first season of The Adventure Zone, would turn something like a bowl of French Onion Soup into something to give up saving the world over. ESPECIALLY when he’s only just talking about it. You do not taste it, but you don’t have to, you already know.
That said, I feel honored that your fans enjoyed my attempt to bridge your fantasy with their reality.
So that’s the top recipe of 2018, and with new years come new traditions. That’s why I’ve decided to start a new tradition. From this year out, I will be curating a Spotify playlist to cook along with for the year’s top recipe and offer access to you folks. I hope you enjoy this one!
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Duck Newton’s French Onion Soup 8″ x 11″.
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Duck Newton’s French Onion Soup
Listen to the Playlist
Duck Newton’s French Onion Soup Playlist
What’s coming up in 2019…
So speaking of new traditions, I’m expanding certain parts of the brand and blog. Next month I’ll be launching my Twitch channel and Patreon, but until then and beyond you can support the blog on Ko-Fi.
Of course, access to all my blog posts and recipes will still be free for all of you. However starting this year, every recipe post will have a PDF recipe card and accompanying playlist — access to them will be available through Ko-Fi donation, and eventually through Patreon. More details will be up later this month, as well as my upcoming Twitch show.
In the meantime, I thank you all for your continued love and support. Last year was a fantastic year in every sense of the word, and 2019 only looks brighter. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
Has Nathan Rice stopped aging? He’s looked roughly the same for the last 10+ years.