Category Archives: Breakfasts

Gulls Eggs and Seaweed Soup

Traditional Cawl Bara Lawr

“Ah, cold salt mutton. I must be home. When I break my fast on gulls’ eggs and seaweed soup, I’ll be certain of it.” -A Storm of Swords

Modern Egg Drop Seaweed Soup

Our Thoughts

Cawl bara lawr is popular with the coastal folk of Wales for more reasons than just ingredient availability- it’s creamy, hearty texture bolsters one up on cold, blustery, winter days. Though perhaps not the prettiest soup to grace our tables, the complexity of flavor was certainly surprising. The saltiness of the laver is well-balanced by the sweetness of the parsnips (always sweeter after the first frost!). As for the “gull’s egg”, we settled for quail. May is gull egg season, and they are even harder to come by here in the US than they are in the UK. Nonetheless, the addition of a fried egg to our hearty breakfast added the protein the soup lacked.

Our modern seaweed egg drop soup is a bit of a stretch from what is described in the book. However, it is a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. The soup is surprisingly hearty, the mushrooms, seaweed and egg combining to make a dish substantial enough to be a meal in itself. Low in calories and effort and high in nutrients, this is a winter time must!

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Biscuits and Bacon

“Ysilla was turning the biscuits. She laid an iron pan atop the brazier and put the bacon in. Some days she cooked biscuits and bacon; some days bacon and biscuits. Once every fortnight there might be a fish, but not today… They were best when eaten hot, dripping with honey and butter.” (Dance with Dragons)

Modern Biscuits and Bacon (Gravy!)

Our Thoughts:

Omdanom.

We hate to admit it, but some dishes really are just better now than they ever were. We struggled and struggled to find a cool, interesting old recipe for biscuits and bacon, and failed to find anything the least bit appetizing. The closest historical equivalent would probably be hardtack and salt pork, both of which were available on ships.

However, our modern biscuit and bacon gravy is a simply decadent and delicious way to start the day. The recipe is straightforward, but results in a thick, salty gravy filled with bits of crunchy bacon. Served over biscuits, or in them, as Tyrion does, it’s delicious, and even vaguely feasible for a shipboard breakfast!

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Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd

Our Thoughts:

Lemon curd is so unbelievably good, so decadent, that you will not believe us when we tell you that it’s also easy to make yourself. But give this recipe a try, and you’ll not resort to buying the overpriced jar at the market ever again.

This makes a wonderful topping for any of our various lemoncake recipes, a classic accompaniment to scones and tea, or eaten directly off a spoon.

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Breakfast in King's Landing

“Cersei Lannister was breaking her fast when Sansa was ushered into her solar. ‘You may sit,’ the queen said graciously. ‘Are you hungry?’ She gestured at the table. There was porridge, honey, milk, boiled eggs, and crisp fried fish.” -A Clash of Kings

Breakfast in King’s Landing

Our Thoughts:

While Sansa might not have had the stomach for such a breakfast, we’re certain you will have no such qualms. The saltiness of the fingerfish is a flavorful counterpart to the sweetness of the honeyed porridge. The texturally aware eater will delight in the wide array provided by this spread: crunchy fish, delightful porridge mush, Oozy honey, firm egg. Wash it all down with good quality cold whole milk, and you’ll be set for whatever challenges your day might bring.

Just please, don’t set your bedroom on fire…this breakfast can be yours without the drama.

Get the recipes in The Cookbook!

Breakfast with Jon Snow

“Dolorous Edd made the trek to the kitchens and soon was back with a tankard of brown ale and a covered platter. Under the lid Jon discovered three duck’s eggs fried in drippings, a strip of bacon, two sausages, a blood pudding, and half a loaf of bread still warm from the oven.” (Dance with Dragons)

Jon Snow’s Breakfast

Our Thoughts:

Duck Eggs are delightful.

This is a fairly straightforward breakfast, but one that is unmistakably Northern. Each element of the meal, from the black pudding to the dark ale is heavy, packed with the calories necessary to keep warm and alive on The Wall. The duck eggs are gooey and rich, pairing especially well with the bacon and black pudding, such that despite not being brothers of the Night’s Watch, we cleaned our plates completely.

All in all, we vote this an  ideal breakfast if you have planned a day of snowshoeing, winter lumberjacking, or sword fighting in the snow for several hours on end.

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Melon and Hard Cooked Eggs

“But the only sound was the wind in the fruit trees, and the only creatures in the gardens were a few pale moths. Missandei returned with a melon and a bowl of hard-cooked eggs, but Dany found she had no appetite.” (Dance with Dragons)

Roman Melon and Boiled Tea Eggs

Our Thoughts:

We paired a Roman recipe for melons with a previously successful recipe for tea eggs. The result is a very quirky, flavorful light breakfast, full of unexpected tastes. The sweetness of the melon competes with the spicy, peppery sauce, finishing with just the slightest tang of vinegar and mint. The eggs are a subtle experience, dark and smoky with a great spiced flavor. If you can come by duck eggs, they up the ante on this dish, but it’s also wonderful made with chicken eggs.

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Cream of Wheat with Honey and Butter

Medieval Cream of Wheat

“Or even better, to wake in Castle Black behind the Wall and go to the common room for a bowl of Three-Finger Hobb’s thick cream of wheat, with a big spoon of butter melting in the middle and a dollop of honey besides. Just the thought of it made his empty stomach rumble.” (Storm of Swords)

Modern Cream of Wheat

Our Thoughts

The medieval cream of wheat is incredibly heavy and hearty. The hulled wheat never really loses its structural integrity without going through a sieve, so the texture is more like that of a very creamy pottage. The honey and butter sweeten it just enough for it not to be overwhelming. This recipe will definitely stick to your ribs! The way it comes out is more like a thick cream with the wheatberries, and the stock makes it taste quite nice. It would be best served with a breakfast meat and/or eggs

The modern cream of wheat is much more like what you would buy from the store. It has a smoother texture and the consistency of apple sauce. The reduced milk creates a very sweet flavor when paired with the honey butter, almost too sweet for a breakfast food. The honey butter is divine, and wonderful on an assortment of baked goods!

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Tyrion’s Breakfast at Winterfell

“A servant approached. “Bread,” Tyrion told him, “and two of those little fish, and a mug of that good dark beer to wash them down. Oh, and some bacon. Burn it until it turns black.” ” (Game of Thrones)

Tyrion’s Breakfast at Winterfell

Our thoughts:

Not a bad way to start a day.  This is the favorite breakfast of our sous chef, taster cat.  He would like it every day.

However, call me traditional, but I really missed the presence of eggs in this breakfast.  Bacon is always a sound choice, and the bread is yum, especially combined with butter and honey. The fish didn’t quite hit the mark, though. We would rather a darker, smokier fish that would suit the bacon, rather than such a light, flaky cod. Perhaps even a dried and salted fish? Next time, we might try pairing it with our Traditional Fingerfish…

 For a really decadent and true-to-the-books experience, try pairing the breakfast with a dark coffee porter or stout. The beer goes with the medieval setting, while the slight coffee taste appeals to one’s morning psychology.

Make it at Home!

Blackberry Preserves

“There was much more than she’d asked for: hot bread, butter and honey and blackberry preserves, a rasher of bacon and a soft-boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a pot of mint tea.  And with it came Maester Luwin.”  (I: 113)

Blackberry Preserves

Our Thoughts:

These preserves are bursting with the intensity and vibrancy of spring! Slathered over a buttered scone, the tanginess of the blackberries is balanced wonderfully by the relatively meager sugar content (as compared to commercial jams). A perfect destination for berries that are either fresh off the plant, or at the end of their life, this recipe can be followed using other berries as well, or even mixing berries. If pectin is added and proper canning technique used, these preserves could be saved to brighten up a dreary winter morning.

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Breakfast in Mereen

“Dany broke her fast under the persimmon tree that grew in the terrace garden… Missandei served her duck eggs and dog sausage, and half a cup of sweetened wine mixed with the juice of a lime. The honey drew flies, but a scented candle drove them off.”

-A Storm of Swords

Breakfast in Mereen

Our Thoughts:

We need a duck. To lay eggs. For us to eat. Because this was one of the most decadent breakfasts we’ve ever encountered. The yolks of these eggs stay creamy even after being hard boiled, and the texture combined with the subtle flavors imparted by its tea-immersion is just wonderful. Then you take a bite of the sausage and get an explosion of meaty, spiced nomminess.

Not feeling all that keen to search out dog sausage, let alone actually eat it, we swapped in some delicious lamb sausage instead. Lamb seems to be nearly everywhere in Westeros and Essos, so it is a reasonable substitute.  We wanted the eggs to look exotic, so we used a Chinese technique for tea staining them.

The honey-sweetened wine is a variation on Ancient Roman Mulsum, and is very refreshing and very drinkable on a warm summer morning.  The crispness of the drink counters the heaviness of the other elements of the meal, as does the fresh fruit.

Get the recipes in The Cookbook!