Although not as amazing as the originals upon which they are based (from The Haven, in JP), these tasty hand pies are a wonderful seasonal snack or side. The natural sweetness of the squash and the sauteed leeks compliment one another, and the flaky pastry is a delight.
Cider, for me, is the epitome of Autumn.
Dense, moist, and characterized by that distinctive spiced cider flavor, this cake is an easy new favorite. I initially wondered if the cake would need icing, since it calls for so few ingredients, but after tasting it, I love it as is. It’s delightfully simple, and while frosting would only add, I enjoy a simpler baked good next to my afternoon tea. If frosted, it would be pigeonholed into the dessert category, while unfrosted, it can be enjoyed equally well as breakfast, snack, dessert, or with tea. I’ve tweaked the recipe just a bit, but it is every bit as delicious as the original.
Also, one of the best parts of the recipe is the note afterward, which states that despite the recipe coming from a Young Lady, it “will make a nice cake, better than some old ladies make.”
I’m inclined to agree.
Prep: 10 minutes Baking: 35-40 minutes
Makes one 9″x9″ cake
Cook’s Note: The batter is much, much thicker than what we are used to with cake recipes. Also, you may wish to trim off the edges of the cake if they are a tad too crispy.
from Dr. Chase’s Receipt Book, 1887
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8″ square pan, or a 9″ round one.
Cream together the sugar, butter, and egg. Add the cider, and beat until it’s all the same consistency. Add the soda and spices, followed by the flour, which should give you an unusually thick batter. Smooth this evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the middle comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool in the pan for around 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Delicious served with a little whipped cream, or vanilla or ginger ice cream.
“How do you brew klava?”
“You don’t know?”
She smiled. “I can serve it with the best, but I’ve never needed to learn how to brew it.”
“You press coffee through a filter made of eggshells and wood chips with vanilla bean, then reheat it so it almost boils, then you pass it through a cloth to remove any oils brought out by the reheating.”
-Issola, by Steven Brust
Not being an every day coffee drinker, I tend to think Turkish coffee is already superior to the average cup of morning joe. But put through this process, it transcends the bounds of ordinary beverages, and becomes something near ethereal. Each of the different flavors is discernible, from the earthiness of the woodchips to the sweet subtlety of the vanilla bean. The cream thickens the already dense coffee into a silky, decadent drink.
Fun Fact? The eggshells help decrease the bitterness of the coffee. See? Right there, you and I both learned something culinary and fascinating from fictional food. That’s why it’s so cool!
Don’t be intimidated by the list of below ingredients and equipment. Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite straightforward. I’ve also included a version that is french-press friendly, because more people have those than have cezves.
**Disclaimer: I’m not really a coffee drinker, but I thoroughly enjoyed Klava. However, if you are crazy for coffee, you may want to increase the strength of your own brew!**
Prep time: about 10 minutes
Makes 1 (strong) mug-worth, or about 4 Turkish coffee cups-worth
Ingredients:
You’ll need:
Alright. So. In a small pot, or cezve, combine the water and coffee grounds. If also adding spices, do so at this point. Place over medium-high heat and watch carefully. Heat until it froths up, then remove from heat.
In a mesh bag, combine the eggshells, woodchips, and chopped vanilla bean. Suspend this bag in the mason jar, and pour the coffee over it. Allow to steep for five minutes. Remove the mesh bag, and pour the Klava through a funnel lined with cloth.
Klava is best served in a mug, as opposed to a glass, so it doesn’t get cold. Turkish coffee cups are also ideal serving vessels, albeit on the small side.
Makes about 2 mugs, takes about 5 minutes.
Couldn’t be easier.
I doubled the above quantities for the coffee grounds and the water, then let all the ingredients steep together in the pot before pressing down the filter. It’s a great recipe cheat for those who don’t have the cezve for making proper Turkish coffee, but are looking for a quirkier style of caffeine.
Traditional Blood Pie
“Food was brought to her, steaming joints of meat and thick black sausages and Dothraki blood pies, and later fruits and sweetgrass stews and delicate pastries from the kitchens of Pentos…” -A Game of Thrones
Modern Blood Sausage Tart
*Fun Fact: Blood Pie is also a Klingon Dish. Oh, the wonders of the interwebs…*
The traditional pies are great. Rustic and hearty, frying leaves the dough wonderfully chewy, and the insides bursting with flavor. If you are wary of the blood sausage, you needn’t be; One of our housemates ate four of the pies in quick succession, raving about them, and was shocked to learn that they contained black pudding. The spices further improve what would be a wonderful recipe on its own. I used Aleppo pepper, and loved the middle eastern spiciness of it. If you too add spicy pepper to your filling, then you may find that our Milk Tea is a wonderful counter to that heat.
The modern pie is amazeballs. Truly. It took me about three glorious bites to even be able to think about additional adjectives. The smidge of garlic on the bottom of the filling was planted, grown, and harvested purely to complement the chevre. The leek was lovingly tended by orphans of the Greenblood who sang to it daily, until the time came for it to join the other ingredients in this tart. The black pudding, the center of the whole dish, stands firm amidst the other flavors, allowing them to complement, rather than overpower it. You may think the addition of the pistachios strange, but they lend a bit of crunch to an otherwise creamy dish, and help bring out the subtle nuttiness of the crust. Nibbled on its own, the crust has a nice, dry earthiness. However, it softens as it soaks up moisture from the filling, and adds to the overall gloriosity of the whole.
The two recipes are too dissimilar to compare fairly. I loved them both equally, albeit for their separate merits. I’d say that the traditional pie is the most Dothraki, but although the modern tart moonlights as a dainty and proper dish in its fluted tart pan, it’s absolutely one that Ser Jorah could dig into with both hands. Since most black pudding comes in 1 lb. packages, I suggest making both!