The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" - More than 150 Recipes Inspired by The Hunger Games Trilogy (Unofficial Cookbook Gift Series)

I made the spicy vegetarian chili and cheese buns. Recipes are easy to follow. The food looks very Hunger Games-ey and it makes me happy. I can't wait to make more!

I actually found this cook book quite lovely. The food in the Hunger Games books was really important, and each one was explained with such detail in the book and I really wanted to try it, so as to have better understanding of the flavors and possibly of the feeling the characters had while eating them. I found all of the recipes to be quite involved, which I suppose is only natural, considering how these character's lives revolved around food and survival. Often society now treats food as a simple thing, to be heated and eaten with as much convenience and efficiency as possible, but when your whole life revolves around it and it is viewed as being important, I have seen that often the act of preparing and making food becomes longer and more intricate.If anyone is still looking for substitutions, I think I can help. Squirrel, racoons and beaver are very similar in the fact that they are "oily" dark meats. They are more similar to the thigh and leg of a turkey, really then any red meat (like beef) that you can find. Like turkey, even the dark meat, it tends to be lean with the fats of the animals very finely interspersed with the meat it self. Goat or lamb, both fairly lean meat, can also be substituted for anything calling for raccoon or beaver. Buffalo can be found in some groceries and can replace venison, as it has a similar lean red meat chemistry as venison does. If you can't find venison or buffalo, try for flank steak or extremely lean cuts of beef, which will act similar to venison in any of the recipes.You may decide to forage for your own greens and flowers, I would recommend finding a plant identification handbook for your area. I live in the Pacific North West and have found that there are groups in my area (like PNW Bushcraft) that also have helpful online data bases that list identification and properties of both edible and none edible plant live, so trying a Google search for something like that in your area might be helpful as well.

I was hooked after reading the lamb stew recipe, and I downloaded this book at once. After reading over the descriptions for some of the more vivid meals (and in a fit of madness I admit) I decided to schedule our first annual District 12 appreciation day.We started with Mrs. Everdeen's mush combined with Trash Taters. Lunch was Hope Salad and Wild Mushroom Soup. For dinner we feasted on rabbit stew. All in all we probably cooked enough calories in one day to feed the typical District 12 family of four for a month! And every single dish was incredible. The stew fell apart on the fork, it was so tender, and mush combined with vanilla and cream isn't entirely indeible (in fact it's entirely tasty!). Our only failure of the day was Peeta's raisin bread which, unfortunately, fell at altitude (come on, I'm trying to bake bread in District 2!). But all in all it was a marvelous day, and quite a treat to get to know some of the supporting cast (namely, the meals!)I have a few suggestions if you want to try this.1. watch the portions. The yield for each recipe is enormous. If you're cooking for two cut everything in half.2. remember that you need to reduce liquids if you're cooking at altitude. Peeta's famous raisin walnut bread will need some severe tweaking if you want it to work in District 2!3. A cool addition to Katniss' Dandelion (Hope) salad - go to your local Whole Foods and snag some edible flowers. They sell them in little plastic cartions in the refridgerated herb section. I'm telling you, when I brought it out decorated with things like pansys and roses *in* the salad it brought the house down. Ha!We've already scheduled a "Capitol Feast Day" for when the movie is released. Until then, may the food be ever in your favor!

The Hunger Games trilogy of books are good reading but also are a subtle political satire. Panem? Make that Pan-America. In that vein, the Cookbook is also political satire. Virtually all the recipes are high in fat, salt, and sugar: enough to cause heart attacks, strokes, and diabetic coma.This a fantasy book and not really intended for cooking. The giveaway is the "Hints from your Sponsor" and the sappy blurb at the top of each recipe really stretching to connect the characters of the book with this food.Oh come now, nobody in District 12 really starts a recipe with 2 pounds of butter and shortening. In the Seam, every thing is in short supply so these recipes are really DREAMS by hungry people and not realistic. And if the people in the Capital really ate this way, they'd all be obese and near death. There were no fat people in the film.Recipes calling for "small meats (like rat, mice, squirrel)" and "raccoon" or "wild dog meat" cannot be real. You might try substituting chicken.Finally, the appendix of edible wild plants is a death waiting to happen, which is probably why there are no pictures of these wonder plants. If you go out searching for weeds to eat, how do you know that they haven't been soaked with herbicides, pesticides, or Agent Orange, not to mention wild dog potty OR that they really are poisonous? I do know people who tried cooking and eating wild Skunk Cabbage. They had the longest night vomiting from it and have sworn not to risk it again!This Cookbook is literature, not directions for cooking. It would take considerable reworking to make these recipes heart-healthy and really edible. The author has quite an imagination. I cannot imagine having a dead suckling pig in my refrigerator marinating for two days!

I collect all things Hunger Games related and this cookbook was a wonderful addition.

Good book full of awesome recipes, though some may be a tad difficult outside of the US (I'm English and have no clue where to acquire grits or beaver meat) and the author seems to not understand what a biscuit is to the English. Over here that which is called a biscuit is considered a cookie in the states. I'm wondering if she's trying to think our scones are the "unsweetened flour-based product" to which she refers on page 27 but scones are usually sweetened somehow as well so I honestly have no idea.

This is a great cookbook. I live in the UK so I sometimes use alternative ingredients. Also I would just like to say in England a biscuit is anything that is sweet just like in the US. We call crackers ... crackers. There is no difference here. I'm unsure where she heard that from. There are a few other mix ups too. For those that are genuinely wanting to learn about food and other countries. Just make sure you double check.

This book has many bad reviews and I'm glad i ignored them and bought the book anyway.I bought this for £2.81 and it was well worth it but the recipes tie in with the book and I love it.Alot of the recipes are a bit overwhelming like the wild goat recipe which uses mountain goat.I would defo buy again.I am a big fan and I love the Hunger Games.It has alot of recipes in the nine chapters and I haven't made any of the recipes yet but i just love reading the recipes to pass time.Definately buy it if you like the Hunger Games or like cooking or both.The recipes are beautiful and Prim's goat cheese surprises are wonderfully crafted and are really thoughtful.It has a deep compassion and it ties in to what happens to Prim at the end of the books.What happened was a suprise and if you buy this book then you'll be suprised too!FIVE STARS ***** Well done Emily! Also ignore the bad comments,because if you trust my review you will love the book as much as I do.

There is a few recipes that I probably wouldn't use. For me it was more about the novelty of the product because I love the books and DVDS

Absolute success with young girls.