Elk Meatballs stuffed with Blue Cheese

“Roundels of elk stuffed with ripe blue cheese were being brought out when one of Lord Rowan’s knights stabbed a Dornishman. The gold cloaks dragged them both away, one to a cell to rot and the other to get sewn up by Maester Ballabar.” –A Storm of Swords

Thoughts:

This recipe has been on my to-make list for quite some time, pending only the acquisition of some elk meat. I had originally imagined them as small elk tenderloins, but despite a long search, could only track down ground elk meat locally. So I thought, “How can I stuff them with blue cheese?” And then inspiration struck: meatballs stuffed with cheese. It’s only a little stretch. :)

These are awesome. As they bake, the kitchen gradually fills with this wonderful meaty smell that heightens the anticipation of finally tasting the finished meatballs. They’re roughly two-bite morsels; the first bite reveals a center of melted cheese, the flavors of which meld incredibly well with the gaminess of the elk. I’d planned to serve mine with a sauce, but every last one was eaten before I could produce any… Maybe next time!

Recipe for Elk Meatballs with Blue Cheese

Makes about a dozen small meatballs

Cook’s Notes: Can’t find Elk? Venison, Bison, and Lamb would all work well with this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground elk
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
hefty pinch each of salt and pepper
~4 oz. block blue cheese, cut into 1/2” cubes

Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix together the first four ingredients, taking care that it is evenly combined. Pinch off a little of this mixture and form around a cube of blue cheese, working to seal the edges. Roll into a ball, and set aside.

Place the meatballs on a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet with raised edges (to catch the grease). Bake for around 16 minutes, or until cooked through and the cheese is melty. Allow to cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!

Meatrolls – Dragonriders of Pern

“Menolly had detoured to the Lower Caverns and shared with him the handful of meatrolls she’d cadged from the cooks.”

–Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey

Thoughts:

These are terrible. A curse, in that, so-easy-to-make addictive sort of way.

I made a single batch, and they were gone in minutes. I couldn’t make out all the words around the mouthfuls, but from the wild gesticulations, and later exhortations to please make them again, they seemed to be a great success with the test subjects.

You can use whatever variety of sausage you like. I happened to have some wild boar sausages handy, and they suited the recipe admirably. If you can get game sausage of any kind, it’s definitely worth a try, as they help defamiliarize the experience. In any case, the resulting combination of puff pastry (how could you go wrong?) and juicy sausage is a long tried and much loved pairing. The outer pastry shell stays flaky, while the inside soaks up some of the flavorful juices from the meat.

This recipe also has the added appeal of making small enough meatrolls that they would be snitchable from the kitchens of castle, fortress, or cottage, as Menolly proved in the books. Double win!

Pernese Meatroll Recipe

Prep: 5 minutes Baking: 20 minutes

Makes 12 rolls (it won’t be enough!)

Ingredients

1 lb. package pork sausagemeat
1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 beaten egg
poppy or sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unfold the sheets of puff pastry, and cut lengthwise down the middle. Make five more cuts width-wise so you have 12 long pieces total. Divide the sausage meat evenly between the strips of dough, then seal the ends together with a swipe of egg.

Arrange the sausage rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg, and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for around 20 minutes, or until they’re puffed up and a nice golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Tears of Lys (and other “poisons”)

“A dozen crystals, no larger than seeds, rattled across the parchment he’d been reading. They shone like jewels in the candlelight, so purple that the maester found himself thinking that he had never truly seen the color before… In the Citadel, it was simply called the strangler.” -Clash of Kings

” The Strangler”

To make your own Tears of Lys, or other Westerosi “poisons”, you’ll need a few simple things.

rock candy, in purple, clear, and other colors of your choice
small glass vials

Break the candy up into individual crystals. Try not to overhandle it, as the dye is usually applied to the outside of the candy, rather than mixed in with the sugar. Divide a few crystal between the vials, and hand out to guests as party favors. Remember that these are costly and rare poisons, so a few go a long way. For extra instructions, as well as printable Westerosi “poison” labels, check out the GoT party planning guide.

“This is a crueler poison, but tasteless and odorless, hence easier to hide. The tears of Lys, men call it.” -A Feast for Crows

Party Game: try to sneak your “tears” into others drinks throughout the evening. Whoever gets a crystal in his/her glass is “dead” for the purposes of the game. Anyone left alive wins. If there are multiple winners, decide the champion by how many other guests he/she “killed”. You can also use “poisons” of different colors, especially if the drink of choice is white wine or something similarly see through.