And the Winners are…

 We have our first two winners!

1) PGSmith

2) Steven Lefebvre

[Winners, check your email for instructions.]

If fortune didn’t favor you, don’t despair! The Goodreads drawing goes for another two days!

Even if you didn’t win, many of you get an honorable mention for great comments. You had us laughing, blushing, and so thoroughly flattered that we decided we simply had to include the best of them here. Enjoy.

 

I have already informed my family that we will be having a Westerosi-themed Christmas dinner this year. :D

Sue Thornburg

Please give this comment a look,
For I’d like to win a cookbook.
It would be so cool to cook,
the awesome recipes from your book!

Melissa

Winter is coming and the dark night is full of terrors…. I think it’s time for some comfort food, don’t you? I know of a great cookbook that would help with it. If only I had one…. :D

Mike

” a Man needs to eat…” <—- My best Jaqen H’Ghar impression. On a more serious note, I love just about everything about this site. I have made multiple dinners, lunch and breakfast using Inn at the Crossroads. In fact, today i graduated from college and for my grad dinner i asked for some Honeyed Chicken instead of going to some fancy restaurant. Lets hope the parents don’t screw it up. Anyway, congrats on the fabulous cook book, winning one would be awesome! Keep up the good work ladies!

jamie

the night is young and full of terriers,they must be fed!

Lars Hagman

By the Seven Gods of the Andals! I’d love to get one of these!

LAPettersson

It would be an honor to win such a book of food goodness. So glad your dream is being realized, win or not I for see a copy in my possession in the near future, the flames tell all.

Josef Ferguson

The things I do for love…of cookbooks.

Edgar

I will pray the Old gods and the new for this cookbook. Hope this gets to Lima, Peru.
Winter is coming to the Southern Hemisphere

Andrew Laine

Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until dinner is complete. I shall feed my wife, garden my lands, distract the cats from jumping on the counter. I shall wear no aprons and win no cooking contests. I shall prep and serve at my post. I am the knife in the darkness. I am the blender on the counter. I am the fire that lightly renders the fat, the broiler that chars the trout, the dinner bell that wakes the hungry, the sauté pan that satisfies the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Kitchen, for this night and all the nights to come.

Bry

I want this cookbook, for my belly is empty and full of rumbles (for Westerosi cooking!)

drippingmercury

*Sansa pout* Please? It’s the only thing I ever wanted!

If I get a cookbook I will probably lose my job because I’ll just cook everything in it instead of going to work. That said… bring it on.

Anne

I can’t wait for the cookbook! I’ve been cooking along with the blog. Thanks for making Game of Thrones come alive for me!

Noemie

By the old gods and the new, this is FAN.TASTYc !
… worked on that one for a while (:

Isaac

My heart booms like galloping Dothraki horsemen. My stomach growls like the wolves of Winterfell. I hunger for the cookbook and its bounty of dishes and drinks from Westeros to Essos! May my flagon be ever full of joy if I am selected for the cookbook giveaway!

- Isaac, Lord of Donuts

If anybody gets between those books and I, and iassakka daughter of iassakka, will cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zalteck

If I get a book here at Spain, I’ll be grateful to you, your sons, and the sons of your sons. I swear it by the old Gods and the new.

JD

It’s my turn to host Thankgiving and my brother is a chef. This book may be my only hope.
I’m buying it regardless. If I win one, then I’d still buy one to keep with my GoT books.
That way I’ll have a copy without gravy stains. :)

COOK ALL THE THINGS!

I always burn my bacon until it turns black.

Rebecca Davis

I’m continually amazed at the lengths the two of you go to come up with recipes and procure some of the less common ingredients to replicate the dishes mentioned in the books; and the attention to detailing you do to stage the photos for the website. Good luck with the book. It’s really nice to see hard work and passion rewarded.

wetike

In the name of the Old Cooks and the New

We do not sow
Hear me boar,
The seed is wrong
Only feast for a crow.

Chop the boar
Slaugther the fowl,
The chicken wings are rising
Brace your selves, dinner is coming.

The kitchen is dark and full of meat
But a Lannister always pays his meal!
This book should be in my home
Don’t hesitate – it is known!

 

Sarah

 

I can’t wait! I need some recipes for all those pigeons in my freezer ;]

Regina H.

I hereby swear by the Maiden, Mother, & Crone that I shall use your sacred book to prepare the finest feast ever seen in or out of the Seven Kingdoms, one that would make that gourmand Tyrion Lannister my lifelong love slave. . .

Failing that, I can only promise to cook my ass off if I get a copy, & invite you two to chow down. :-)

Christopher Buser

Honor to you and your Houses for this! I planned on getting multiple copies, so this will make a good start!

Laura Tomsheck

I can’t wait for this to come out! It is going to be my default gift for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and Christmas!

Max

If it earned me that free signed cookbook, I’d cook for all 40,000 of Drogo’s men, and their horses too!

Lhinelle

Oh. Ever since I found this website, I knew I had to get a copy of your book! Someday I’m going to find the flimsiest of silk gowns, grab a crown, and lay around munching Dany’s dinner while watching a Game of Thrones marathon. I mean, why not be queen for a day? :D

Jaime Starr

I would defenstrate a thousand small children to get my hands on a copy of this book.
Your blog is brilliant, and I hope your book is very very successful! If I don’t win, I’ll be putting the book on my wedding list. :D

Jonathan Hounsell

As a chef who has worked in Antarctica and the Arctic Circle I’m ready for the cookbook even if I have to go to the wall to get it.

 

OllieFace

 

I’ve spent all my money on wine and whores. Take pity on me, and throw a book my way! *grins*

Cookbook Giveaway!

GUYS!

These magical boxes appeared on our porch today:

They were full of cookbooks!

And because we wouldn’t be here without all of you, we want to share.

We are giving away Four SIGNED copies of the cookbook before the release date

Enter by posting a comment below. Everyone is only allowed one entry, but you are allowed to comment more than once. The more banter, the better, as far as we’re concerned!

The entry deadline is Noon on Wednesday, May 16th, at which point two winners will be selected randomly.

UPDATE!

We have selected two winners for the blog drawing! However, you can still enter the giveaway for another two books on Goodreads. No harm in hedging your bets. ;) Open to all fans, everywhere.

Good Luck!

Strawberries & Sweetgrass

 ”Tables and benches had been raised outside the pavilions, piled high with sweetgrass & strawberries and fresh-baked bread.” -A Game of Thrones

 Strawberries & Sweetgrass

Thoughts:

The first taste of summer, for me, has always been strawberries. If there were a way to further improve upon their juicy goodness, this incredibly simple recipe is it. Each flavor enhances that of the strawberries without treading too heavily. Both lemongrass and ginger are distinct, but work together to compliment the basic goodness of fresh fruit.

Served alongside a glass of iced mead or cider, this is an instant favorite for warm summer evenings on the porch, or for a winning contribution to a picnic.

Strawberries & Sweetgrass Recipe

Total Prep Time: 10 minutes            Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup mead or hard cider
  • 1 tsp. grated ginger
  • 1 Tbs. minced lemongrass
  • 1 lb. strawberries

Combine all ingredients except the strawberries in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for just long enough for the honey and mead to meld together, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Prepare the strawberries by removing the leafy tops, and slice into a large bowl in an assortment of shapes and sizes. Pour the sauce over the sliced fruit and toss to coat. Serve either at room temperature, or chilled. It is especially good with a glass of the same mead or cider with which you made the sauce.

Nettle Tea

“‘Found some nettles and brewed a tea,’ Shadd announced. ‘Will m’lady take a cup?’

‘Yes, with thanks.’ She cradled the tea in her scarred hands and blew on it to cool it.” -A Clash of Kings

Nettle Tea

Our Thoughts:

Somewhat lacking in fresh wild greens in Boston, we sadly had to default to dried nettle leaves. However, if you are lucky enough to have fresh leaves at your disposal, we recommend using those.  We’ve planted our own nettles, partly as a defensive wall around our garden, and will update this post once we’ve tried them fresh.

It’s high in iron and vitamins, making it a wonderful surprise infusion by the side of the road while travelling. We actually didn’t care for the addition of lemon to ours, although a good dollop of honey was more than welcome.

The tea tastes very green, without the sometimes unpleasant herbal quality present in many other infusions.

Nettle Tea Recipe

We have taken a few liberties with additional ingredients; it’s unlikely that Catelyn and her party would have had all of these items on hand, but it makes for a much better tea, so we hope you will indulge us. :)

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbs. dried nettle leaves, or slightly less fresh
  • honey to taste
  • other additions: mint leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, lemon, etc.
Steep leaves for a few minutes, then season to taste with honey and any additional ingredients you like. The color should be a dark green, and the flavor strong
*Fun Fact: Nettle Brew is also a good plant fertilizer, rinse for soft and sleek hair, and can be used to make beer. Stay tuned for that one… ;)

 

Onion Broth w/bits of Goat and Carrot

“The stewards began to bring out the first dish, an onion broth flavored with bits of goat and carrot. Not precisely royal fare, but nourishing; it tasted good enough and warmed the belly. Owen the Oaf took up his fiddle, and several of the free folk joined in with pipes and drums. The same pipes and drums they played to sound Mance Rayder’s attack upon the Wall. Jon thought they sounded sweeter now. With the broth came loaves of coarse brown bread, warm from the oven. Salt and butter sat upon the tables.” -A Dance with Dragons

Onion Broth with Goat and Carrot

Our Thoughts:

Zounds!

This is the most flavorful, delicious, unique broth we’ve ever encountered. Rich and full, heavily tinged with the salt from the pork, with the underlying flavors of the herbs and onions. We wouldn’t have expected the combined mint and sage to be pleasing, but as usual, we were wonderfully rewarded by following the original recipe. On the whole, it’s a nice, nuanced combination of flavors for relatively little effort.

Consider pairing this broth with a loaf of our Black Beer Bread, but go light on the butter; you only have a bit left, and winter is coming…

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