Blandissory

“Four master pyromancers conjured up beasts of living flame to tear at each other with fiery claws whilst the serving men ladled out bowls of blandissory, a mixture of beef broth and boiled wine sweetened with honey and dotted with blanched almonds and chunks of capon.” -A Storm of Swords

Thoughts:

This is a great example of how sweet and savory elements are often combined in a medieval dish. The chicken and broth, and to some extent even the wine are more commonly served as savory dishes, while cinnamon, ginger, and honey are more often associated with sweet dishes, like cookies and desserts.

This dish is quirky, and while not especially appealing in appearance, it is actually quite tasty. The almond and rice flours thicken the broth to a consistency just shy of a medium gravy. The chicken is wonderfully soft and flavorful, a great textural counterpoint to the occasioinal crunch of the almonds.

Also, while the text excerpt calls for beef broth, I found that this is a wonderful way to use a second day roast chicken. Simply pick off any remaining meat, and boil down the carcass for broth. Very economical, and in keeping with the traditional practices of not letting anything go to waste. Of course, if you’re a Lannister, you needn’t worry about such things…

All in all, a quirky dish, but not without its merits. Medieval food surprises yet again!

Recipe for Blandissory

Makes: about 2 servings Prep: 5-10 minutes

Blaundesore to potage. Take almondes and grynde hom when thai byn blounchet and tempur hom, on fysshe day wyth wyn, and on flesheday with broth of flesh, and put hit in a pot, and therto floure of rys, and let hit boyle ; then take the braune of hennes, or of capons, and bray hom, and tempur hit up with the broth of the capons, and do hit in the pot, and colour hit with saffron; and do therto gynger mynced, and powder of canel, and sugur ynogh, and serve hit forth, and florish hit with white annys. –Ancient Cookery (England, 1425)

Cook’s Notes: I used red wine because it’s what I had open, but a white wine would make for a very pretty dish, especially with the saffron to color it.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Ground almonds
2 cups meat broth
1 cup wine
2 Tbs. rice flour
~1 cup shredded and chopped cooked chicken meat
pinch of saffron (if using white wine)
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground cinnamon
1-2 Tbs. sugar or honey
blanched almonds for garnish (~1/4 cup)

Combine ground almonds with wine/broth, and bring to a boil. Gradually add the rice flour, whisking to avoid creating clumps. Add the chicken, spices, and honey, and stir for around 2 minutes.

Pour into your serving dish, sprinkle with almonds, and serve!

Roasted Capon w/ garlic, onions, grapes & figs

“So Locke scuttled about, embarrassment and relief mingled on his face. The meal was roasted capon stuffed with garlic and onions, with grapes and figs scalded in a hot wine sauce on the side. Father Chains poured all of his usual toasts, dedicating the last to ‘Jean Tannen, who lost one family but came to another soon enough.'”

–The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch

Thoughts:

Delicious. It’s a dish that would be warm and comforting to a newly orphaned boy, yet different enough to showcase the culinary skills of the Sanza brothers and to take a reader into the world of Camorr.

The sauce, for me, was part of what made this dish sound so appealing. I’d been keeping an eye out for fresh figs, and when I finally found some, I knew I had to make this recipe asap. The final dish is a fascinating combination of sweets and savories. The onions and garlic infuse the chicken from the inside out, leaving the tender meat savory with flavor.

I wasn’t sure that the flavors of the stuffing would pair well with the sauce, but it actually works quite well. On its own, the chicken tastes of the stuffing, but with the sauce, and a bit of fruit, it becomes a sweet bite, all but overpowering the more savory elements.

Now I just need to sort out the Rock Eel smothered in a Caramel-Brandy Sauce… :)

Recipe for Capon with Grapes & Figs

Cook’s Notes: Capon, while different from chicken in flavor and texture, is not essential to the enjoyment of this recipe. Feel free to substitute a chicken!

Main Ingredients:

1 capon, or chicken
small onions, such as cippolini, pearl, or boiler, peeled
1 head of garlic, separated and peeled
2 Tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup seedless grapes
2 Tbs olive oil
6 fresh figs, sliced in quarters
1 cup red wine
pinch of grains of paradise, or black pepper
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of mahlep (optional, but tasty)
1 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400F. Stuff the bird with the small onions and the garlic, then rub down the outside of the bird with olive oil, followed by a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, which crisps up the skin. Roast in the oven for around an hour, or until the juice runs clear.

For the sauce, drizzle your olive oil in a medium sized frying pan, over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grapes. Cook, stirring for several minutes, until the grapes appear slightly wrinkled and cooked. Add the figs, and continue to stir for another minute more, but stopping before the figs start to fall apart.

To the roasted fruits, add the wine, spices, honey, and vinegar. Simmer this mixture until the sauce begins to thicken a bit, about 30 minutes or more. Serve as an accompaniment to the roast chicken/capon.

Like this recipe? Check out the other recipes from the Gentlemen Bastards series!

Violatium

“I’d give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died.” -Ophelia, Hamlet

Violatium

Thoughts:

So get this: The Ancient Romans actually made this beverage where they immersed violet blossoms in wine. Naturally, I had to try it.

The finished product is quirky. As the mixture ages, the color leaches out of the violets, leaving them looking sort of like wispy ghost-flowers.

The flavor, when all is said and done, is… quirky. It was described by our tasters as a combination of vegetal, green, and like a cheap rose with floral overtones. A smidge of wildflower honey compliments the hint of violets quite nicely. Really, though, the big appeal is in the appearance and uniqueness.

Were I to try it again (which I probably will), I’d pick off the green parts, and mix in the honey from the beginning.

Why it should be in the Next Book:

Doesn’t it just sound like something from a GRRM book? I mean, come on.

Violatium.

It’s got all the inherent threat of sinister syllables, and the exotic flair of being made with flowers. It’s a recipe from Ancient Rome, a culture fabulously known for their decadent fare. I imagine it being served across the Narrow Sea, where they have other exotic fare such as persimmon wine and honeyed locusts.

Get the recipe on the brew blog, Game of Brews.

Brewing!

Brewing Projects from April

Having mostly settled into the new apartment, I’m ready to get back to brewing!

As with many such projects, it’s a lot more fun in a group. I’ve got a long list of various brews I’m planning to try sooner or later, and these are at the top of my list. Pick up to three of your favorites in the next week, and I’ll get to work!

And while the new brew is aging, I’ll be cracking open a few of my previous bottles. If they’re as delicious as I’m expecting, then you’ll have the recipes in no time.

Update: As of Feb. 2013, all brewing recipes will be posted on IatC’s sister blog, Game of Brews.

And if that’s not enough for you, check out the other fictional brew options over at Food Through the Pages! Ent-draught, anyone? :)

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Tart Persimmon Wine

“While the good masters of Astapor conferred among themselves in low voices, Dany sipped tart persimmon wine from a tall silver flute…” (Storm of Swords)

Tart Persimmon Wine, on the right

Our Thoughts:

This was our first foray into home brewing, and we’re totally hooked now. You would have been amused to see us come home and rush to the kitchen to watch the airlock bubble as the yeast did its work. After following the process below, we let our bottles sit for about 3 months, then cracked open a bottle for sampling.

It is indeed very tart, and toes the edge of being just a bit too dry. It’s fresh and crisp, with only a hint of the fruit it started as. Vote? A very fun project, with a nice, drinkable result. Dany would drink it, and so would we. Try serving very chilled, with a swirl of honey, in a tall flute.

*FURTHER UPDATE*

It’s good! Several months after bottling, we cracked a bottle open to taste, and found that the flavors are mellowing beautifully. It still has the characteristic tartness for the wine Dany drinks, but is now downright pleasant to drink.

Continue reading →

It’s good to be the King… Robert Baratheon’s Ideal Meal

No wonder King Robert is so large, and there’s little question why the crown was six million gold dragons in debt.

Cheese.

And ale. And venison, mead, bacon, wine, tarts, and a plethora of other tasty, tasty foodstuffs. This meal left two of us utterly stuffed. The roasted veg were all soft and delicious, slightly caramelized from cooking in duck fat and cider. The venison was simply mindblowing. I have no words. The desserts were a wonderful conclusion, and proof of my theory that dessert occupies a different space in the stomach than does dinner. Sweet and delicious, we managed several of each before succumbing to a sensory overload. The honeycakes (forthcoming!) were absolutely divine, though. The Menu

Breakfast in Mereen

“Dany broke her fast under the persimmon tree that grew in the terrace garden… Missandei served her duck eggs and dog sausage, and half a cup of sweetened wine mixed with the juice of a lime. The honey drew flies, but a scented candle drove them off.”

-A Storm of Swords

Breakfast in Mereen

Our Thoughts:

We need a duck. To lay eggs. For us to eat. Because this was one of the most decadent breakfasts we’ve ever encountered. The yolks of these eggs stay creamy even after being hard boiled, and the texture combined with the subtle flavors imparted by its tea-immersion is just wonderful. Then you take a bite of the sausage and get an explosion of meaty, spiced nomminess.

Not feeling all that keen to search out dog sausage, let alone actually eat it, we swapped in some delicious lamb sausage instead. Lamb seems to be nearly everywhere in Westeros and Essos, so it is a reasonable substitute. We wanted the eggs to look exotic, so we used a Chinese technique for tea staining them.

The honey-sweetened wine is a variation on Ancient Roman Mulsum, and is very refreshing and very drinkable on a warm summer morning. The crispness of the drink counters the heaviness of the other elements of the meal, as does the fresh fruit.

Get the recipes in The Cookbook!

Plum Wine

The Queen took a flagon of sweet plum wine from a passing servant girl and filled Sansa’s cup. “Drink,” she commanded coldly. “Perhaps it will give you courage to deal with truth for a change.” (II: 621)

Sweet Plum Wine

Our thoughts:

Your first sip of this wine will make you feel like you’ve been punched in the face by a plum, in a good way. The first sensation is of biting through the skin of a plum, a little coarse, then a burst of flavor. There then follows a quick whirl of tart-sweet-tart, followed by a lingering taste of pure dark plum. It feels as though it should be a heavy wine, but is surprisingly light, and would be perfect for summer picnics.

For our plum wine, we selected a local variety from Nashoba Vineyards. Highly recommended!