Modern Auroch’s Joints roasted with Leeks

“Such food Bran had never seen; course after course after course, so much that he could not manage more than a bite or two of each dish. There were great joints of aurochs roasted with leeks, venison pies…”

-A Clash of Kings

Our Thoughts

This was yet another very tasty dish. The vegetables were absolutely delicious; I could have made a meal of just those! While the veg almost stole the thunder from the roast beef, the addition of a medieval black pepper sauce really kicked the meat up a few notches. Definitely a keeper!

Get the aurochs recipe in The Cookbook!

Medieval Black Pepper Sauce

Poivre Noir : Black Pepper Sauce

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

165. Poivre noir: Black Pepper Sauce. Grind ginger, round pepper and burnt toast, infuse this in vinegar (var.: and a little verjuice) and boil it. – Le Viandier de Taillevent, 14th century

This recipe makes a lovely, rich sauce that pairs well with robust red meats, such as venison, boar, and beef. The quantities of ingredients can be tweaked to make the sauce thicker or thinner to your preference, and you should also feel free to adjust the amount of pepper to taste. The tartness of the vinegar might surprise you on first taste, but after a little acclimation, we think you’ll like it as much as we do. The charred tasted of the bread combined with the bite of the pepper rounds out the flavor sensations that go with this sauce.

Ingredients

1 slice bread, toasted until black
1/3 cup verjuice, or equal parts cider vinegar and water
1 Tbs. wine vinegar
1 Tbs. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Soak the burned bread in the liquid until it has fallen apart; mash with a fork. Stir in the spices and slowly bring to a boil. For a thinner sauce, add more liquid; for a smoother version, press through a sieve.

Cold Fruit Soup

“There were great joints of aurochs roasted with leeks, venison pies chunky with carrots, bacon, and mushrooms, mutton chops sauced in honey and cloves, savory duck, peppered boar, goose, skewers of pigeon and capon, beef-and-barley stew, cold fruit soup.” -A Clash of Kings

Medieval Fruit Soup

Medieval Cold Fruit Soup

Our Thoughts:

On first taste, the medieval soup comes across with just a strong honey taste. The color tells one’s brain to expect a different flavor, a strawberry, perhaps, but once over that initial surprise, you can begin to really appreciate it for its own merits. With a little cinnamon on top, the soup reminded us of a candied apple, yet the almond milk lends it just a bit of exoticness.

This recipe, along with the modern version, is available in the Cookbook.

Wildling Roasted Haunch of Goat (on a spit!)

There is something deliciously primal about tearing into a roasted haunch of meat with one’s hands. We didn’t anticipate this adventure, but when the opportunity presented itself, we couldn’t say no. The purpose of the weekend had been to do a dry run for a camping trip the following weekend. So we gathered our tents and headed out of the city.

The girls spent the morning going farmstand-hopping, picking up a wide variety of incredible baked goods, ogling jars of vintage buttons, and sourcing quirky meat. Sariann espied the haunch of goat at a great place appropriately named “Blood Farm”, which has been run by the Blood family for 5 generations. Their bacon is terrific, and their lamb has won multiple awards. Another farmstand of note is that of John Crow Farm, where we hope to get goose and duck eggs in a few weeks. To tide us over, we got some potted herbs and some wonderful mixed tea. The then current shopkeeper, Jen, was very helpful, even offering a few tips on where we might look for lamprey and wild boar!

Needless to say, as soon as we were in possession of this large chunk of meat, the rest of the day sort of evolved around that. While it thawed on the front stoop, the girls met up with the guys for a picnic at an old ruined stone church (SO cool!), and did a spot of antiquing before returning to the house.

Gender stereotypes were out in full force at this point. The boys dug a fire pit and hacked down small trees with which they constructed a wild-looking spit for the meat. The girls, on the other hand, pitched tents, and made cozy nests of blankets and pillows, then set about preparing the meat. The goat got a rub of salt, black pepper, savory, marjoram, and cumin, and was set over the fire, getting turned once in a while for a couple of hours.

We could have brought the cooked meat indoors to properly carve and portion out. We could have, but we didn’t. Instead, we found ourselves hunched over the spit like a group of savages, gobbling bits of meat still dripping with juices. We felt like wildlings, and it was fantastic.

Between five of us, we devoured every bite of the goat, and several skewers of lamb and veg as well. Our favorite parts? The sizzle of fat dripping into the coals. The primitive spit outlined against a raging fire. An excuse to yell “HAUNCH” all night long. Needless to say, this weekend was a definite win.

Three-finger Hobb’s Breakfast

“Very good, m’lord, only Hobb’s made boiled eggs, black sausage, and apples stewed with prunes this morning. The apples stewed with prunes are excellent, except for the prunes. I never eat prunes myself. Well, there was one time when Hobb chopped them up with chestnuts and carrots and hid them in a hen. Never trust a cook, my lord. They’ll prune you when you least expect it.” -A Dance with Dragons

Three-finger Hobb’s Breakfast

Our Thoughts:

This was a smaller scale, yet immensely satisfying breakfast. The spices in the black pudding perfectly compliment those in the stewed apples, making a bite of the two together something amazing. The egg is the simplest thing on the plate, yet doesn’t seem out of place among the more flavorful elements of the breakfast, instead providing a nice balance for the fruit and meat.

Absolutely a win, and will be a new staple breakfast in our house!

Get the Recipe!

A Meal at the Inn

“Ser Rodrik tried to tug at whiskers that were not there, but before he could frame a rebuke the serving boy came scurrying up. He laid trenchers of bread before them and filled them with chunks of browned meat off a skewer, dripping with hot juice. Another skewer held tiny onions, fire peppers, and fat mushrooms. Ser Rodrik set to lustily as the lad ran back to fetch them beer.” -A Game of Thrones

Meal at the Inn

Our Thoughts:

Take some tasty vegetables, award winning meat, and cook them both over a hot fire. Can you really go wrong there? The meat was perfectly tender, and the veggies came out wonderful. The peppers were perhaps a little too hot for our taste, but added a lot aesthetically. The mushrooms were delicious as is, while the cooked onions could be popped out of their crispy outer skin.

Our only change? Try cooking the meat under a broiler, with the bread well below to catch the drippings. YUM.

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Crusty, fresh-baked Bread

“The Great Hall of Winterfell was hazy with smoke and heavy with the smell of roasted meat and fresh-baked bread.”

-A Game of Thrones

Thoughts:

This was one of my first attempts at making country-style fresh bread, and have to say that it was a smashing success. The crusts are crusty, the insides soft and gobbleable. This is the ideal bread accompaniment to soups, stews, or a large pot of honey.

Get the recipe!

Cersei’s Creamy Chestnut Soup

“Cersei set a tasty table, that could not be denied. They started with a creamy chestnut soup, crusty hot bread, and greens dressed with apples and pine nuts.” (II: 565)

Modern Creamy Chestnut Soup

Our Thoughts:

Cersei knows her foods; this is a rich, creamy concoction of yummy goodness. The richness of the duck is balanced by the mildness of the lentils, while the chestnuts give it a slight sweet taste. The added elements- croutons, sauteed duck, cheese- provide a nice textural and flavorful counterpart to the thick bisque of the soup itself. Each bite tastes of luxury and the privilege that comes with being a Lannister of Casterly Rock.

The smoked duck is worth springing for, but we are now quite possibly addicted to it. Still, it makes for an absolutely mouthwatering soup that is the perfect cure for a cold, gloomy day.

Get the Recipe!

Poached Pears from Highgarden

“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

Thoughts:

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.

Fiddlehead Ferns

Dance to the beat of the rain, little Fern,
And spread out your palms again,
And say, Tho’ the sun
Hath my vesture spun,
He had labored, alas, in vain,
But for the shade
That the Cloud hath made,
And the gift of the Dew and the Rain.
Then laugh and upturn
All your fronds, little Fern,
And rejoice in the beat of the rain!

-John Banister Tabb, “Fern Song”, 1894

Our Thoughts:

Fiddleheads are a sure sign of spring here in the North East, and the fact that they are edible make them doubly exciting! They are an excellent foraging food, as they can be eaten raw or cooked. If you plan on harvesting these baby ferns on your lonesome, be sure that you are trimming from the correct variety, usually Ostrich Fern, and that you harvest no more than three fronds per plant. The ferns only shoot up 5 to 7 new fronds a year, and you sure want to have some for next spring as well!

As for the taste, everything is better when browned in butter, and the same goes for fiddleheads. They are reminiscent of asparagus in taste, slightly bitter. The butter gets trapped in its unfurled leaves, tempting you to play with your food and uncurl the fronds to reach the best parts.

Why it should be in the Next Book:

There are several cases where characters in the books have to forage desperately for something to eat. They resort to eating all sorts of dreadful things, but if they had some fiddleheads, they would be all set. Well, maybe not quite. But less likely to die of scurvy! Make them at Home!

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