Candied Orange Peel
We made this in preparation for our Oatbread recipe, but it became a fast favorite at The Inn.
It’s such an easy recipe, with impressive results. The delicious candy bites burst with orange flavor, and can be used as a garnish, or added to a wide variety of recipes including breads, desserts, and many others. Perfect for the coming fall and holiday seasons!
“Illyrio smiled as his serving men spooned out bowls of black cherries in sweet cream for them both.” (Dance with Dragons)
Black Cherries in Sweet Cream
This is an easy dessert with a serious wow factor. I mean, have you seen that photo?
I would totally eat this dessert.
In fact, I did.
The cream isn’t too sweet, allowing the slight tartness of the cherries to come through. The pop of the cherries melts into the texture of the cream, leaving just a hint of purple swirl in the bottom of the bowl. It’s so good you may have to lick your bowl…
For an even more decadent dining experience, leave the stems on the cherries. Dip them into a dish of sweet cream, and gently eat them one at a time like a Roman Emperor. Magister Illyrio would be proud.
Get the recipes for the Sweet Cream in the Cookbook, and make it at home!
Medieval Fig Tarts
These are slightly addictive little morsels, and with good reason. Take a fruit as tasty and decadent as figs, dice them, spice them, put them in buttery pastry, then fry them? Yes. The unique spice forte mix gives the tarts a really unexpected bite without interfering with the innate sweetness of the figs. I used a Killer Bee honey to baste mine, which upped the flavor to a wonderful new level.
It’s figs! It’s fried! All it’s really missing to be the ideal GRRM dish is bacon. Which isn’t that bad an idea… Overall, though, this is a great medieval recipe, and well worth a try at home!
Take figus & grynde hem smal; do þerin saffron & powdur fort. Close hem in foyles of dowe, & frye hem in oyle. Claryfye hony & flamme hem þerwyt; ete hem hote or colde. –Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century
Ingredients:
Finely dice the figs as small as possible by hand or purée with a processor; mix in the saffron, powder forte spice mixture, and the 1 Tbs. honey. Roll out the pastry dough and cut into medium-sized circles. On one pastry circle place a spoonful of figs, then cover with another circle of dough; seal the edges well. Fry the pies in hot oil until lightly browned & crispy; remove from heat and allow to drain. In a pot, heat the honey, skimming off any scum that rises. As soon as the pies have drained, brush on the honey. Eat hot or cold.
“The stew was fiery hot, Hotah knew, though he tasted none of it. Sherbet followed, to cool the tongue.” (aDwD)
Sherbet
Our Thoughts:
Unable to decide which recipes to use, we tried three of them. We’ll start with the modern and work our way back in time.
Modern is YUM. The tang of the Greek yogurt pairs deliciously with the sweetness of the pom juice. This version took the longest to freeze, but was lovely and scoopable once it was.
The Oldish recipe is the most pomegranatey, having the most unadulterated juice in it. We tried molding it, which worked reasonably well, although might do better with a silicone mold.
The Traditional Sharbat is the strangest of the three, but I have a feeling that is just due to the recipe we used. We’ve had sharbat that was delicious, but sadly, this one falls short of expectations. The almond milk would better suit a fruit (haha!) like apricots, I think, rather than the pomegranate.
Verdict? We liked the first two about the same, and the traditional version not so much. Sherbet in just about any form, and any flavor, though, is just perfect on a hot summer day.
Blueberry, Apricot, Berry, Cherry
Once again, tart success! As a dessert to an HUGE meal, these tarts were perhaps not well enough appreciated at the time of initial consumption, but it has been determined from their timely disappearance form the left-over counter that they are, indeed, a household hit.
The apricot tart is beautiful in presentation, and has a delicate taste unlike tarts using dried apricots. The fresh fruit has a lighter taste, and is accented phenomenally by the lemon and pistachio combination. Chocolate and cherry is always a fab combination, and eating them with a spoon straight out of the baking tin while no one is looking is certainly the best way to enjoy! The blueberry was a favorite, with a low sugar content it tastes very fruity, almost bordering on savory. The heart warming mixed berry tarts, with their failed shape and lattice, were, as Chelsea pointed out, like most Sariann food is, very rustic. And we loved it.
“A man was pushing a load of tarts by on a two-wheeled cart; the smells sang of blueberries and lemons and apricots. Her stomach made a hollow rumbly noise. ‘Could I have one?’ she heard herself say.” -A Game of Thrones
Medieval Fruit Tarts
These are a wonderful treat that really showcase the fresh fruits of summer. We went all out and made all the varieties mentioned in the books: blueberry, strawberry, ambiguous berry, and apricot. We also added a cherry version because we found a tasty recipe for it, and cherry pie is a Father’s Day favorite.
Of all these tarts, our favorite was probably the apricot one. It had the most complex assortment of flavors, followed by the cherry tart. What all of these tart recipes have going for them, though, is that after eating several slices of each, you won’t feel bogged down by sugar, because there isn’t all that much in any of the recipes. The real focus of each tart is the fruit, and the flavors of the berries in particular comes across beautifully. In short, these are the perfectest herald of summer.
Take fine floure and a curtesy of faire water and a disshe of swete butter and a litle saffron and the yolkes of two egges and make it thin and tender as ye maie. –A Propre new booke of Cokery, 1545
Ingredients
Makes enough for 8-4 inch tart pans and one 9 inch pan.
To make a close Tarte of Cherries. Take out the stones and laye them as whole as you can in a Charger and put in synamon and ginger to them and laye them in a tart whole and close them and let them stand three quarters of an hour in the oven, then take a sirrope of Muscadine and damaske water and sugar and serve it. –Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1596
Ingredients:
Combine cherries, wine, and vinegar in a saucepan. Cover and simmer for around 1/2 hour, or until the pits can be easily removed by squishing the cherries through a colander. Put cherry puree in a bowl and add the sugar and spices. Allow to cool. Line your tart pan with pastry dough (recipe above), and trim the edges. If you like, you can make decorative shapes with the dough remainders to place on top of your filled tarts.
Add rosewater and port to cherries. Add enough sugar to sweeten, but not make it cloy, plus the ginger. Add a little vinegar or lemon juice to sharpen. Cook for 45 minutes or until flavors are mingled. If needed, you may thicken with bread crumbs. Let cool. Fill shells, close, bake at 375º F for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serves 4-6
Leche frys in lentoun. Drawe a thik almaunde mylke wiþ water. Take dates and pyke hem clene with apples and peeres, & mynce hem with prunes damysyns; take out þe stones out of þe prunes, & kerue the prunes a two. Do þerto raisouns, coraunce, sugur, flour of canel, hoole macys and clowes, gode powdours & salt; colour hem vp with saundres. Meng þise with oile. Make a coffyn as þou didest bifore & do þis fars þerin, & bake it wel, and serue it forth. -Forme of Cury, 14th Century
Our Changes: The original recipe for this is sort of a hodgepodge of fruit. We took out the apples, pears, and dates, replacing them with fresh apricots and dried ones. The yellow-orange of the apricots is beautiful against the red of the almond milk filling.
Ingredients
Mix together well the almond milk, sugar, spices, oil, and food coloring. The color should be a brilliant red; the mixture should be thick but runny. In a separate bowl, mix together the fruits. Add the almond milk mixture and thoroughly blend. Place this filling in the pie shell. You may find that you have to put the fruit in the shell first, then spoon the almond milk over that. Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes, or until the filling is set and the top has slightly browned. Remove from oven; allow to completely cool before serving. Serves 4-6.
Daryoles. Take wine & Fresh broth, Cloves, Maces & Marrow, & poweder of Ginger & Saffron & let all boil together & put thereto cream (& if it is clotted, draw it through a strainer) & yolks of Eggs, & mix them together, & pour the liquor that the Marrows was seethed in thereto; then make fair coffins of fair paste, & put the Marrow therein, & mince dates & strawberries in time of year, & put the coffins in the oven, & let them harden a little; then take them out & put the liquor thereto, & let them bake, & serve forth. -Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks
Our Changes: We took out the marrow. Yeah. Not needed here. We also used this recipe for the blueberry and ambiguous berry tarts.
Ingredients
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, wine, saffron and other spices, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. In a separate container, beat egg yolks and honey together. While beating, add a bit of the hot milk mixture. Pour this back into the pot with the hot liquid while whisking furiously. Place the cut strawberries and dates in baked pie shells and spoon the cream mixture over fruit and into the shells. Bake at 375° F for 45 minutes, or until the filling has set. Serves 4-6.
“…we seldom had enough coin to buy anything…well, except for a sausage now and again, or honeyfingers…do they have honeyfingers in the Seven Kingdoms, the kind they bake in Tyrosh?”
-A Game of Thrones
The Roman recipe is a curiosity. They fried to a crispily crunchy on the outside while still leaving a bit of chew on the inside. The pieces were easy to cut into shapes, and could probably even be rolled into logs. The flavor is really all about the honey, but the pinch of pepper and cinnamon on top adds a slight level of complexity.
The Modern recipe knocked our socks off. These fritters are like Winnie-the-Pooh-gasms. Between the spiced sauce and the incredibly luscious texture, we ended up gobbling them and shamelessly licking our fingers.
The winner? We had imagined Tyroshi Honeyfingers to be sort of a tasty sweet street food. The Roman variety is fun because of its historical significance and ease of shaping, but wouldn’t be easy to make in a dusty alleyway. The modern version is SO good and is made basically like carnival fried dough, so fits our loose criteria for a great honeyfinger. Modern Wins!
Get the recipes in The Cookbook!
“The war had not touched the fabled bounty of Highgarden. While singers sang and tumblers tumbled, they began with pears poached in wine…” -A Clash of Kings
Modern Poached Pears
These are utterly delicious.
Imbued with a vibrant pink color from the wine, the medieval pears have a soft, warm texture, and aren’t overly sweet. The taste is reminiscent of mulled wine, redolent with spices. This is an authentically medieval dessert that will transport you to a seat at a long trestle table in a huge stone hall, with hounds fighting for scraps in the corner, and the buzz of mead-inspired conversation all around.
The modern recipe produces an absolutely exquisite dessert. The caramel sauce is warm and gooey, and somehow gives the impression of butter and spices that aren’t actually there, all of which is underlain by the subtlest of orange flavors. It tastes of autumn, of crisp days spent in an orchard, and evenings in by the fire.
Both of these recipes are winners, and can be found in the Cookbook.
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
-William Carlos Williams, 1934
Ohmygoodness, but this is GOOD. Like, crazy delicious. This is an instant favorite, and will probably be made several times during every holiday season for the rest of our lives. The recipe is simple, the texture is smooth, and the flavor can’t be beat. The strong spice mixture leaves just a slight tingle on the lips. And with the onset of summer, and with it fresh fruits, this dish is a must!
Didn’t you read that? Or look at the photo? This is a phenomenally good dish, one that is authentically medieval, yet interesting and exotic enough that any character in Westeros would be delighted to partake. We imagine it in Highgarden, down on The Arbor, or over in Pentos.
Take bolas and scald hem with wyne, and drawe hem thorow a straynour; do hem in a pot. Clarify hony, and therto with powdour fort and flour of rys. Salt it & florissh it with whyte aneys, & serve it forth. -Forme of Cury, 1390
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
Makes around 4 servings
Cook’s Notes: Yellow plums and white wine yield a golden-colored mousse, while purple plums and a red form a quite different but equally delicious mousse. We opted to leave the anise out of our mousse, but have included it in the ingredients to keep consistent with the original recipe. We also think that some candied orange peel garnish would be a fantastic addition to this dish.
Ingredients:
Candied anise seeds can be purchased inexpensively in Indian groceries or, at great cost, in fancy French groceries as anis de Flavigny.
Wash and pit the plums, cutting them in half, or pieces. Meanwhile, bring the wine to the boil in a stainless steel or other nonreactive pan. Add the plums and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the plums are very soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the wine.
Press the plums through a sieve into a heavy saucepan. Place this saucepan over low heat and stir in the honey. Stir the rice flour into the 1/4 cup of the reserved wine, then stir this mixture into the plum puree and add the salt and spices. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until thickened. Pour into a serving bowl and cool slightly before serving. If you like, decorate with the candied anise seeds just before serving.
Powder Forte:
Mix equal parts black pepper, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. You may also include long pepper, but it is very hard to come by. The most determined of cooks may find it in Indian markets.
“He could still recall the sounds of the three bells, the way that Noom’s deep peals set his very bones to shuddering, the proud strong voice of Narrah, sweet Nyel’s silvery laughter. The taste of wintercake filled his mouth again, rich with ginger and pine nuts and bits of cherry…” -A Feast for Crows
Modern Wintercakes
Elizabethan Wintercakes
Our thoughts:
No wonder Areo Hotah remembered these wintercakes fondly. Biting into one is like tasting a memory- the memory of a childhood characterized by roaring fires in stone keeps, the smell of leather, and warm smiles from bearded men. Eating one of these cakes is like finding something you lost years ago and had forgotten how much you loved; it is like coming home.
Needless to say, we loved both of these recipes. In the modern cake, the spice of the ginger combined with the tang of the cherries is reminiscent of an English fruitcake, but is more similar in texture to the interior of a moist, high quality scone. The Elizabethan cakes are denser and heavier, like English biscuits. The overall taste is one of pleasant, homey shortbread, but when you get a bite with cherry or ginger, the flavor shifts from familiar into foreign and fantastic. Both cakes can be served any time of day, and are better at room temperature than hot. They are delicious with tea, coffee, or hot cider.
Bottom line: Have friends over for hot drinks. Sit in big leather chairs. Talk about beautiful things. Take up the mandolin. Consider the merits of index based mutual funds. Whatever you do, make these cakes.
Both recipes are available in the Cookbook.