Brown Oatbread

“Maester Luwin sent Poxy Tym down to the kitchens, and they dined in the solar on cheese, capons, and brown oatbread. While tearing apart a bird with fat fingers, Lord Wyman made polite inquiry after Lady Hornwood, who was a cousin of his.” -A Game of Thrones

Brown Oatbread

Thoughts:

I tried several recipes before lighting upon this one in an old family cookbook, on a snippet of browned newspaper clipping. As is so often the case in my kitchen, the old recipe took the day. This is such an amazingly light, fluffy, soft bread, and almost impossibly easy. It requires no kneading, and is quick to rise, and fills the whole house with a rich, buttery aroma while it bakes. I can just imagine loaves of this bread luring the Stark children to the kitchens of Winterfell. Homey enough to be a comfort food, but delicious enough to serve to guests, it could well be a staple of Northern cuisine.

Because the bread is so soft, it has to be cut into fairly thick slices- what a shame! Light toasting makes for a sturdier slice that is ideal with jam, honey, or other spreads. And, as in the quote, it is excellent with some cheese and chicken.

Recipe for Brown Oatbread

Ingredients:

2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup molasses
2 Tbs. butter
1 cup rolled oats (not the instant variety)
1 Tbs. yeast
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
~2 cups flour (you may need more or less depending on how much liquid your oats soaked up)
1 Tbs. melted butter

Combine the boiling water with the molasses and butter, stirring to combine. Pour this over the rolled oats, and let sit for 30 minutes. When the mixture is warm to the touch, but not hot, stir in the yeast, and let sit for another 15 minutes. It should be very light and bubbly at this point. Add the salt, followed gradually by the flour, until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Transfer the dough to a clean, greased bowl, and brush the top with melted butter to keep from drying out. After the dough has doubled in bulk, transfer it to a bread pan, brush the top with butter, and let it rise again until doubled.

Bake at 350 for ~40 minutes, when the bread should be a nice golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before taking it out of the pan and slicing. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Castle-palooza!

I had this thunderbolt of an idea a few weeks ago.

I am going to make a gingerbread version of Castle Black for our holiday party on the 15th.

The online response to the idea was great, and one reader on FB suggested holding a Westerosi Gingerbread contest. I loved the idea, so I’m extending in invitation to all of you wonderfully creative fans to come up with your own Westerosi cookie castle, and share photos online.

In my opinion, the most well known castles stack up thusly:

Simpler

The Twins
Sept at Quiet Isle

Moderate Difficulty

Riverrun
Pyke
Dragonstone
Castle Black

You’re Nuts

King’s Landing
Winterfell
The Eyrie

And if you’re not up for making a castle by yourself, why not make it a party game? Have all your guests bring an assortment of towers, walls, etc, then glue them together with icing. Bam! You’ve just made Harrenhal!

Be sure to send us the photos of your finished castles!

Pease Pie laced with Bacon

Medieval Pease Pie laced with Bacon

“We must take you out of that vile dungeon, then. Scrub you pink again, get you some clean clothes, some food to eat. Some nice soft porridge, would you like that? Perhaps a pease pie laced with bacon. I have a little task for you, and you’ll need your strength back if you are to serve me.” -A Dance with Dragons

Modern Pease Pie

Our Thoughts:

If you love peas, then this is the dish for you. But I mean really, really love them, because that is a lot of peas… The bacon helps to alleviate the near overdose of peas, but still.

The medieval pease pie was a delight to discover in our cookbooks. Sadly, the reality didn’t quite live up to our hopes. The flavor of the juices was overwhelmed by the sheer number of peas. Additional bacon might have helped this, as well as the occasional pearl onion. The pie also had some serious structural issues, as the crust got soggy, and the peas rolled everywhere when a slice was dished out.

The modern pease pie solved all of these problems. Because the peas are mashed, they hold their shape when the pie is cut. We used a little extra to make the tart in the photo above, but a closed top pie will ensure the peas don’t burn. The flavors are much better rounded and full, the shallots and mustard coming to prominence. We also used purple pearl onions for a splash of color.

Conclusion? The modern pie is definitely the winner in this mash up.

Medieval Pease Pie Recipe

To make a close Tart of greene Pease. Take halfe a peck of greene Pease, sheale them and seeth them, and cast them into a cullender, and let the water go from them then put them into the Tart whole, & season them with Pepper, saffron and salte, and a dishe of sweet butter, close and bake him almost one houre, then drawe him, and put to him a little Vergice, and shake them and set them into the Ouen againe, and so serue it. -The Good Housewife’s Jewell, 1596

Our changes: to better match the description in the novel, we added bits of crunchy bacon to the pie. We also substituted the verjus for more readily available grape juice. We also downsized from half a peck (~5 lbs!) to an amount of peas that would actually fit into a modern pie pan.

Ingredients:

6 cups shelled fresh green peas, or most of one 32 oz. bag frozen, thawed
pastry crust, top and bottom (get a recipe)
3 Tbs. butter
pinch saffron
pinch each salt and pepper
4 strips bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
1 Tbs. grape juice
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 egg for glaze

Preheat oven to 425.

Divide your pastry dough in half. Roll out one half and lay in a pie pan. Set the other half aside.

Put your peas into a saucepan with water, and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Drain in a collander, then pour into your prepared pie crust. Using the palm of your hand, press firmly down on the peas to pack them down.

Melt 3 Tbs. butter, and add the saffron to it. Allow to cool slightly, then pour over the peas. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread the crumbled bacon on top of everything.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Fill the prepared shells with the cooled peas and top with some small pieces of butter. Lay remaining dough circles over tops of tarts. Pinch crusts together, using a little brushed-on water as glue. Trim off any excess dough, and crimp. Make a few slits in the top crusts with a sharp knife so that steam can escape. Brush top crusts with beaten egg.

Bake until brown, about 30 minutes. Let settle on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Be careful as the peas will roll and spill from the sliced pie.

Modern Pease Porridge Recipe

Ingredients:

Pastry dough for a large 9″ pie dish, or similarly sized springform pan
2 lb. peas
2 Tbs. butter, divided
1 cup rough cut bacon
3-5 shallots, sliced thin
1 tsp. mustard
2 Tbs. Parmesan cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten

Boil the peas until they are soft enough to be thoroughly mashed, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash them with 1 Tbs. butter.

In a separate pan, fry up the bacon until just shy of crispy, then scoop it out with a slotted spoon and add it to the mashed peas. In the remaining bacon grease, cook the shallots until they are soft. Add them to the peas and bacon, followed by the mustard, cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Roll out your pastry dough and line the pan with it. Spread the remaining butter over the bottom of the pastry, then dump the filling in. Smooth it out, and cover with remaining pastry. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

Tyrion’s Breakfast at Winterfell

“A servant approached. “Bread,” Tyrion told him, “and two of those little fish, and a mug of that good dark beer to wash them down. Oh, and some bacon. Burn it until it turns black.” ” (Game of Thrones)

Tyrion’s Breakfast at Winterfell

Our thoughts:

Not a bad way to start a day. This is the favorite breakfast of our sous chef, taster cat. He would like it every day.

However, call me traditional, but I really missed the presence of eggs in this breakfast. Bacon is always a sound choice, and the bread is yum, especially combined with butter and honey. The fish didn’t quite hit the mark, though. We would rather a darker, smokier fish that would suit the bacon, rather than such a light, flaky cod. Perhaps even a dried and salted fish? Next time, we might try pairing it with our Traditional Fingerfish…

For a really decadent and true-to-the-books experience, try pairing the breakfast with a dark coffee porter or stout. The beer goes with the medieval setting, while the slight coffee taste appeals to one’s morning psychology.

Make it at Home!

Breakfast at Winterfell

“There was much more than she’d asked for: hot bread, butter and honey and blackberry preserves, a rasher of bacon and a soft-boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a pot of mint tea. And with came Maester Luwin.” -A Game of Thrones

Breakfast at Winterfell

Thoughts:

The continental elegance of the soft boiled egg was a wonderful counterpart to the salty heartiness of the bacon. Likewise, the sweetness of the preserves and honey paired well with the other elements of the meal. It was an interesting textural experience, too. The almost creaminess of the perfectly done soft-boiled egg, the crispiness of the bacon, and the pop of berry seeds all added something to the meal. While it is a fairly hefty meal, the mint tea lightens it more than one would expect, and is the perfect finish to what might be the perfect breakfast.

Bottom line? It’s cold in The North, but this is a great breakfast for any time of year, anywhere.

Make it at Home