“[Oberyn Martell] forked a stallion black as sin with a mane and tail the color of fire. He sat his saddle as if he’d been born there, tall, slim, graceful. A cloak of pale red silk fluttered from his shoulders, and his shirt was armored with overlapping rows of copper disks that glittered like a thousand bright new pennies as he rode. His high gilded helm displayed a copper sun on its brow, and the round shield slung behind him bore the sun-and-spear of House Martell on its polished metal surface.” -A Storm of Swords

 Here’s your runner up from our last poll, having lost to The Hound by just 1% of the votes.

Oberyn Martell is mad, bad, and dangerous to know. He’s got a fiery temper, illegitimate Sand Snake daughters scattered throughout Dorne, and a winning smile. He’s a lover, but he’s also a fighter, so don’t get any ideas.

Because he’s Dornish, there probably has to be snake in there somewhere, and certainly a lot of fiery peppers.

What other dishes do you think go with The Red Viper? Extra points for making us laugh, creativity, and justifying your answers…

“‘This will give you dreamless sleep,’ Maester Luwin said as he pulled the stopper from the jar. ‘Sweet, dreamless sleep.’” -A Clash of Kings

Sweetsleep Infusion Mixture

This post will benefit from a small bit of back story.

Several months ago, after suffering from bouts of fitful sleeping, I sought a remedy in the form of the huge bulk herb bins at a local co-op. I played around with a few combinations, finally settling on the one below. Then, being one of the biggest geeks I know, I started referring to it as “Sweetsleep”.

This version of Sweetsleep is true to its name, if not strictly like the concoction described in the books. The biggest difference: ours won’t result in death. I’d say that’s a pretty good improvement. It does, however, result in a nice knockout sleep (although not strictly dreamless), and is absolutely delicious with honey.

Sweetsleep Recipe

Cook’s Notes: I usually just wing the amounts on this one, with a pinch here and there, going by intuition. However, that makes for a lousy recipe, so the measurements below should be just about right.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs. dried chamomile
• 3-5 small dried rosebuds
• 2 tsp. willow bark
• 2 tsp. lemonbalm
• 1 tsp. valerian
• 1 tsp. saigon cinnamon, or a cinnamon stick to stir with
• honey to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium teapot, then add 3-4 cups of boiling water. Allow to steep for several minutes, then pour through a strainer into serving mugs. Adjust sweetness to taste with honey, and enjoy!

Makes enough for ~ 3 small mugs.