We’re off for the West Coast today, where we will be mingling, eating, and signing books for the next several days at San Diego Comic Con.
If you are also planning to be there, come and say hello! Bring a book to sign! Ask us questions!
We’re looking forward to meeting you!
To paraphrase one of our Twitter followers, it would be wrong for our primary blog to dominate our other pursuits. We’ve loved stepping into the kitchens of Westeros, but it has opened up our own kitchens to the foods of other places, times, and fictional works. As we continue to update this blog with Westerosi cuisine, and shepherd it through the transition into something new, we also wanted to share our other work with you.
If you have any questions for us, or suggestions, we’d love to hear them!
Chelsea researches and translates historical recipes with the special kind of geeky enthusiasm unique to former classics majors, (which she is) and bronies, (which she is not). In addition to being a food and history geek, Chelsea is an artist. Among her current projects are a hand-drawn map of Westeros, an icon of Baelor the Blessed, and a playable game of Cyvasse. While working on IatC, Chelsea discovered she especially enjoys channeling her artistic skills into staging and photographing food.
In addition to maintaining the various online facets of IatC, Chelsea also has her own food blog, Food Through the Pages, in which she explores both historical cookery and food-from-fiction. She welcomes emails from all bacon enthusiasts, fictional foodies, aspiring food stylists, hobbits, and authors eager to see their fictional food realized!
Sariann continues to explore historical recipes, and dishes that are too tasty to not make. Her blog, Chopped Ginger, includes recipes for cocktails, savory courses, and the best dual Clotted Cream/Scone recipe that ever was. She is fascinated by the the history behind food; where it comes from, why it was made, and why we still eat it, or in some cases, why we don’t. In the near term, she will be transcribing and cooking through a hand written Victorian cookbook from Dorset, sharing images of the beautiful calligraphy and of course the finished dishes themselves.
Always on the lookout for unique local or family recipes, Sariann loves digging into the story behind the dishes. Want to know the history behind your grandma’s secret recipe? Sariann would love to find out for you! Contact her through ChoppedGinger with any cultural culinary inquiries, and she’ll get to work. What better way to learn about the past than through something we all love – food!
A glimpse into one of my current side projects: a Westerosi Icon of Baelor the Blessed!
Avocado Fries
They are SO good! Appealingly crunchy on the outside, the avocado warm on the inside. They make a terrific side, snack, appetizer, or even a vegetarian filling for tacos. Sprinkled with a little salt, they are divine. Be sure to invite friends over, though, or you might eat all of them yourself!
Makes about 20 pieces
Prep: 10 minutes Frying: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Begin by slicing the avocado in half, then into quarters. Then slice each quarter into 2-3 pieces. This should give you 8-12 pieces per avocado.
In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 in. oil to medium. In a bowl, mix flour with 1/4 tsp. salt in a shallow plate. Put eggs and panko on separate shallow plates. Dip avocado in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, then panko to coat.
Fry a quarter of avocado slices at a time until deep golden, 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer slices to a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with extra salt to taste.
We have learned so very much over the past year, about blogging, photography, and historical cooking. The cookbook process was veritable trial by fire, and we had to accomplish a great deal in a relatively short amount of time. We’ve gone from photographing dishes in the kitchen with our phones:
…to published authors with an eye for edible aesthetics:
But now, about a year and a half after starting this blog, we find ourselves, ironically, approaching a crossroad.
In time, inevitably, we will run out of new Westeros foods to make. It seems nearly impossible, given the sheer size of the books, but in over a year, we’ve made hundreds of recipes. A far cry from our original goal of about 100 recipes, we’ve now completed more than
132 dishes, and over 208 total recipes!
Clearly, we got carried away.
But since we’ve enjoyed our time at The Inn so much, we would like to see it turn into something new, rather than just fizzle out. We have a few ideas, but as always, we’d love to get your input! An historical food blog? A medieval chatroom? A shadowy corner for Westerosi conspiracy theorists?
What would you like to see The Inn transition into? At least, of course, while we wait for The Winds of Winter, because you know that if GRRM writes it, we’ll try to cook it. ;)
And for fictional food from other worlds, be sure to check out Chelsea’s blog, Food Through the Pages.
“Cookery means the knowledge of Medea and of Circe and of Helen and of the Queen of Sheba. It means the knowledge of all herbs and fruits and balms and spices, and all that is healing and sweet in the fields and groves and savory in meats. It means carefulness and inventiveness and willingness and readiness of appliances. It means the economy of your grandmothers and the science of the modern chemist; it means much testing and no wasting; it means English thoroughness and French art and Arabian hospitality; and, in fine, it means that you are to be perfectly and always ladies — loaf givers.
–John Ruskin, as quoted in the Boston Cooking School Cookbook, 1918
“Maybe they don’t have sheep and cattle, Bran thought. He commanded the serving men to bring them mutton chops and a slice off the aurochs and fill their trenchers with beef-and-barley stew. They seemed to like that well…” -A Clash of Kings
Beef-and-Barley Stew
Thick and hearty, this is the kind of stew that will stick to your ribs. Because this soup, and many other variations similar to it, are served in the North, I’ve only included ingredients we know they have. I’d recommend you use this recipe as a starting point and mix in your own choice of ingredients, as available and desired.
This version holds a delicate balance between barley, meat, and veg. The barley and turnip give the stew some heft, while the carrots provide a much welcome burst of color. The beef softens as it stews, and each spoonful holds a different combination of filling. Pair with our white or black breads, and you’ll be as happy as a crannogman in a bog.
Mushroom. Puff Pastry. Parmesan. Balsamic.
Rich, savory, and delicious, these mushroom straws are an easy snack for parties. Guests will marvel at their deliciousness, never suspecting how simple they were to make. I, for one, ate about half a batch on my own throughout the course of the day. Normally, I would be embarrassed to admit such, but I think you will agree, once you’ve tasted one, that they’re difficult to stop eating.
Puff pastry, in my opinion, is always a win.
But go on to fill it with this savory puree, and it becomes even better. The balsamic, while not quite robust enough to feature in the flavor, helps to round out the woodsy flavor of the mushrooms. The saltiness of the Parm stands out without overpowering the other components, and the pinch of pepper gives just a hint of a bite.
Truly, try these out the next time you’re expecting guests, and watch how quickly they go!
Prep: 5 minutes Baking: 15 minutes
Makes about 40 short straws
Ingredients:
This post is dedicated to Tundra, Olga, and Apollo. :)
The kitchen can be torture for a pet with a culinary inclined owner. I know my own direwolf sits proper for the entire time I’m cooking, in hopes of receiving scraps. We’ve concocted these biscuits so you don’t have to feel guilty looking into those big brown eyes every time you pick up your chef’s knife. Simply toss one of these down to your most loyal friend.
I wanted to make a treat that had no fillers, no grains, and could be easily made in a standard stocked kitchen. There are no crazy ingredients, and nothing bad for your dog. When developing this recipe, I did a series of scientific experiments along the way to ensure that the dogs thought it was as yummy as it looked to me. When they licked my hands clean of the raw mixture, I knew it was ready for the oven.
End result – all three dogs these biscuits were tested on loved them. Everyone was sitting pretty, politely asking for another round after the initial taste test.