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Haggis, round one

“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the Puddin-race!”  -Ode Tae a Haggis, Robert Burns, 1786


Modern Haggis

Our Thoughts:

In honor of Burns Night (January 25), we’re making Haggis. A traditional Scottish staple,

Just as a disclaimer, we are absolutely planning to prepare our own haggis. However, as it’s tricky to track down all the ingredients, especially in the states, we’re postponing that recipe for just a bit while we search for the elusive wild haggis.

Now, before any haggis lovers go on the defensive, let us just state that of course real haggis is better than canned.

However, we’re crazy about haggis, in just about whatever form it comes.  The canned version is one of our camping trip staples, because it is so easy to prepare. A bit of haggis, spread over toast with some melted cheddar on top? Incredible. Mushrooms stuffed with haggis? The ideal appetizer. Biscuits and haggis gravy? A better breakfast has never been enjoyed.

And if you find the list of ingredients off-putting, just think about the last hot dog you enjoyed; it’s no worse than that!

Modern Haggis

We like the canned version for it’s ease of transportation and storage.  The frozen pack is nice if you will be serving haggis to your guests (and don’t want to make it yourself!), but for general purposes, especially in the US where fresh haggis is nigh unto impossible to obtain, canned is the way to go.

To Serve Haggis: We spread the haggis out on a baking sheet or roasting pan, making sure it is evenly distributed.  Roast in an oven at about 350 degrees for around 20 minutes.  At this point, all the haggis should be hot, but some will have gotten a little crispy.  These are the very best parts! Serve with turnips and potatoes (neeps and tatties).

Haggis Toast: Heat the haggis in a large skillet, making sure to keep it moving so it all heats equally. Spread a thin layer on a piece of toast, add a layer of sharp cheddar cheese, and broil until the cheese is melted. NOM.

Biscuits and Haggis Gravy: in a large skillet, melt just over 1 Tbs. of bacon fat or butter. To this, add 1 Tbs. of flour to make a roux. Blend the butter and flour and let cook until it’s a golden brown. Add in 1 cup of milk, stirring all the while to keep lumps from forming. When you have a nice smooth gravy, add the haggis and stir until the whole mixture is hot. Serve over biscuits!

Tywin’s Rack of Venison

Tywin’s Rack of Venison

Our Thoughts:

Although rack of venison is not specifically mentioned in A Song of Ice and Fire, venison is mentioned often and would be an obvious food source through most of Westeros. In episode seven of the television series, viewers meet Tywin Lannister, and, in a slightly heavy-handed metaphor, he is skinning a deer carcass. We’d like to think a man of his refined tastes would enjoy his venison ribs prepared in a manner similar to that of our recipe.

When ordering venison ribs, be prepared for their ridiculous size. Usually frenched by the butcher, ribs acquired straight from the hunter, as these were, are undressed. The long cook time of this recipe tenderizes even the stringy bits between the ribs, creating a delicious, authentic eating experience. The loin meat was succulent and sweet, offset by a bit of gaminess. Overall, this is a wonderfully sweet seasonal dish.

This post is especially for the Gillespies, who insisted on venison. :)

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Jellied Calves’ Brains

“The wedding feast began with a thin leek soup, followed by a salad of green beans, onions, and beets, river pike poached in almond milk, mounds of mashed turnips that were cold before they reached the table, jellied calves’ brains, and a leche of stringy beef.” (Storm of Swords)

Jellied Calves’ Brains

Our Thoughts:

Yes, we said we wouldn’t be making this dish.But I couldn’t help myself when I saw the lonely package in the freezer at Savenor’s labeled “Half Veal Brain”. It had to be done. So I dived in, probably more enthusiastically than is normal.

The final product is nothing short of decadent. When working with brains, it’s important to remember that they essentially have no flavor, although their texture is delightfully creamy and rich. Which is why the flavor of the aspic and the Montpellier butter becomes important. I implore you, if you are brave enough to try this, not to skimp on your stock preparation. It provides the lion’s share of flavor in the dish and allows the other components to shine.

Eaten by the spoonful, or spread on toast, the brain aspic delightfully exceeded our expectations. The saltiness of the butter is balanced by the creamy texture of the brain, and unified by the familiar flavor, if not texture, of the stock. Certainly not for the faint of heart, more for the culinarily daring, this side dish is steeped in history and an adventure to both create and consume.

Brains! Eat brains!

Spit-roasted Rabbit

“Serving men were carrying off baskets of Hot Pie’s bread and tarts, the chief cook was carving cold slices off a ham, spit boys were turning rabbits while the pot girls basted them with honey, women were chopping onions and carrots.” -A Clash of Kings
Spit-Roasted Hare

Our Thoughts:

This is about as rustic as our recipes get. Limited by our current residency in the city, we roasted our rabbit over our porch grill, rather than a proper fire. The result, as you can see, is a picturesquely charred rabbit suspended over glowing coals.  The pairing of the char on the rabbit and honey produces a taste reminiscent of barbecue sauce, smoky and sweet together. Although rabbit is prone to turning dry as it cooks, ours stayed juicy and tender, in part, no doubt, to the honey basting.

We tried eating the rabbit with forks and knives, but in the end stooped to tearing at the meat with hands and teeth. Much more effective, and somehow even more flavorful. Not to mention perfectly in keeping with the book, given how the rabbit is eaten a few pages later…

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Black Bread, redux


We decided to give this bread another try after so many of our readers wrote in to give their takes on Black Bread.

Are we glad we did? YES.

This new recipe is wildly easy, dense, and incredibly authentic tasting. In part, because it tastes like beer. The flavor of the beer really comes through in the finished loaf of bread, a deep, earthy bitterness that is countered by the small amount of honey.

The inside of the loaf is soft, almost crumbly, while the crust bakes hard, ideal for a bread bowl for a bit of Sister’s Stew.

Try it! Try it!

Black Beer Bread Recipe

Yes, I made this recipe up, but it is so straightforward and the ingredients so simple that I believe it could easily have been made well back into history, not to mention in the Northern reaches of Westeros. Bread making and brewing have gone hand in hand practically since they were both begun, and it’s only fitting that they should come together in this delicious bread.

Makes two loaves.

Ingredients:

  • One 12oz bottle of warm dark beer, such as stout or porter
  • 1 packet yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
  • 2 Tbs. honey
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 4-5 cups flour (we used 2 cups white flour, 2 cups rye, and 1/2 cup whole wheat) plus 1/2 cup for working.

In a small bowl, add the yeast to the beer and allow to sit for 5 minutes until foamy. To this, add the egg and honey. Combine dry ingredients, then add gradually until you have a cohesive, workable dough that isn’t too sticky. Knead about 5 minutes, then cover and let rise for at least 1 hour.

Punch down mixture, and divide in two. Shape into your desired loaf, then let rise for at least 2 hours or refrigerated overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 450F. Dust the loaf lightly with flour and slash top.

Bake for 25-30min or until the crust is nicely browned.  Let stand for at least 15 minutes.


Grilled Snake

“A short man stood in an arched doorway, grilling chunks of snake over a brazier, turning them with wooden tongs as they crisped. The pungeant smell of his sauces brought tears to the knight’s eyes. The best snake sauce had a drop of venom in it, along with mustard seeds and dragon peppers.” -A Feast for Crows

Grilled Snake

Our Thoughts:

After the shock factor faded, we were able to sit down and appreciate the snake for what it was. While many people claim that snake tastes just like chicken, we beg to differ. A bit. The texture is similar to chicken, but a slightly overcooked one, so the texture is slightly firm. It’s almost reminiscent of a dried sausage, given the leanness of the meat and its density.

The flavor, admitedly, does share some similarities with chicken. But this is only insofar as both chicken and snake are relatively mild tasting, almost designed to showcase whatever they are served with. In this case, the sauce is the real show stopper. Warm, rich, with a bit of a bite to it, the sauce is subtly exotic. However, it is not so strong that it overpowers the flavor of the snake, instead complimenting the slight gaminess of the meat.

In short, this is a cool recipe that’s now in the cookbook. And eating snake is badass. Do it.

Fingerfish Crisped in Breadcrumbs

Traditional Fingerfish

“In the Queen’s Ballroom they broke their fast on honeycakes baked with blackberries and nuts, gammon steaks, bacon, fingerfish crisped in breadcrumbs, autumn pears, and a Dornish dish of onions, cheese, and chopped eggs cooked up with fiery peppers.” -A Storm of Swords

Our Thoughts:

The traditional recipe is one made on the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, where these fantastic little fish are a staple food. The outside is crunchy with the corn meal breading, while, the inside is tender and moist. Just a pinch of salt brings out the taste of the fish, while a bit of lemon is a classic pairing.

The modern recipe is a fish stick in perfect form. Miles beyond anything that came out of your mom’s freezer when growing up, the fried batter is crispy, the fish tender and flaky. Pair with a squeeze of lemon and some tartar sauce and become a kid again. But way better.

Get the recipes in The Cookbook!

Cookbook of Ice and Fire

Yes, it’s official.

We have won the Game of Food!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we are the authors of the forthcoming cookbook, A Feast of Ice and Fire.

We plan to keep cooking and updating the blog in the meantime, but we will be doing a great deal of scurrying around behind the scenes, perfecting recipes and staging awesome photos. The book is due out May 29th, 2012, but we’ll be bringing even more recipes to the blog in the meantime, so keep in touch!

Cream of Mushroom and Escargot Soup

Medieval Cream of Mushroom and Escargot Soup

“The first dish was a creamy soup of mushrooms and buttered snails, served in gilded bowls. Tyrion had scarcely touched the breakfast, and the wine had already gone to his head, so the food was welcome. He finished quickly.” -A Storm of Swords

Modern Cream of Mushroom and Escargot Soup

Our Thoughts:

An inherently a rich, decadent dish, the modern soup was devine. The creamy texture of the escargot is countered nicely by the fresh, clean taste of parsley. The wine in the broth adds a depth of flavor, and the longer the broth is cooked down, the creamier and more decadent it becomes. Also makes fantastic leftovers!

The medieval dish was an odd one- not bad, but very different. Extremely spiced, the almond milk just didn’t seem to have the proper robustness to support the clove and mace. That said, it was a very interesting dish, and very typically medieval in it’s flavor profile.

Recipes are available in the Official Cookbook!

Playing Favorites

A reader recently asked if we knew which were the favorite recipes and dishes at The Inn. We know the general top picks, but wanted to ask…