A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire) (2 page)

Enter Sariann and Chelsea.

At this late date, I can’t possibly recall the first person to suggest we publish a cookbook with all the recipes from my novels. The first such suggestion probably came in not long after the publication of
A Game of Thrones
in 1996. Dozens of other readers have made the same suggestion in the decades since. Most of them were just tossing out the notion as a joke, to be sure—“You write so much about food, you ought to do a cookbook, ha ha.” And even those who treated the idea seriously made the mistake of saying, “
You
ought to write a cookbook.” Given my prowess in the kitchen, the chances of that happening were about equal to the chances of me writing an auto repair manual or a guide to computer programming.

Sariann and Chelsea were different. They did not just write to me and suggest that a cookbook would be a nifty idea, no. They actually began to cook some of the meals described in A Song of Ice and Fire, hunting up recipes in crumbling books of medieval cookery and pairing each with a more contemporary version made with modern, twenty-first-century techniques and ingredients.

They called their blog the Inn at the Crossroads, after a certain namesake establishment in the novels where various dire events take place. Among other
things, the innkeep is hanged, and her corpse strung up outside the door to twist in the wind. A fate, I devoutly hope, that will not befall Sariann and Chelsea. Their food is much, much better than what is served at the original inn.

How do I know that? you may ask. Have I cooked any of these dishes, in either their medieval or modern versions? Well, no. I told you, I can’t cook. I have
eaten
many of these dishes, however, and that’s the important thing. When
A Dance with Dragons
, the most recent novel in the series, came out last July, I kicked off my book tour in Boston, and Sariann and Chelsea themselves showed up with a basket of lemon cakes, meat pies, and other goodies to keep me from feeling peckish during the signing. And thereafter, as I made my way from coast to coast, in a dozen different cities, confederates of theirs and readers of their blog turned up at most every signing, with more baskets and more dishes, each more toothsome than the last. And every basket featured lemon cakes. Sansa would have loved them.

Now that I am back home again, working on the next book, the baskets have stopped, alas. But fear not; we have this book instead, so you can cook your own versions of the favorite dishes of the Seven Kingdoms and the more exotic lands beyond. Those of you who cook can, anyway. And, hell, maybe even I will give a few of these recipes a try, assuming I can find a good source for dragon peppers.…

Eat hearty, my friends. Winter is coming.

George R. R. Martin       
Santa Fe                        
January 21, 2012          

About This Book

For many fans of the bestselling series A Song of Ice and Fire, reading these books is an immersive experience. Set in a quasi-medieval world, full of political intrigue, mayhem, and just a touch of magic, one defining quality of these books is George R. R. Martin’s incredible attention to detail. He paints intimate portraits of his characters, embroidered with poignant descriptions of the landscapes they inhabit, the clothes they wear, and—our primary concern for this project—the foods they eat. It is a rare Martin reader who has never felt a pang of desire at the descriptions of dishes that are familiar enough to make the mouth water and exotic enough to stimulate the imagination.

Having often felt that stirring hunger as we read, we were eager to try our hands at turning fiction into an edible reality. It only took a few meals before we realized that we were really on to something. We launched our food blog, Inn at the Crossroads, shortly after and were delighted at how quickly it attracted an enthusiastic fan base. Just a few months after launching the blog, we were given the incredible opportunity to create this cookbook.

One needn’t be a chef to enjoy the delicious fare of Westeros. Through our recipes, we aim to enable fans, regardless of how much or how little they know about cooking, to connect with their favorite fantasy series in a whole new way.

This cookbook is designed to take readers on a culinary journey through George R. R. Martin’s world—beginning at the Wall, then gradually moving southward to King’s Landing and Dorne, before taking ship across the narrow sea to feast with the Dothraki and in the Free Cities.

We can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed our culinary adventures, but we can try to show you. So we hope that you will join us in your own kitchens for a feast unlike any you have prepared before: a feast of ice and fire.

Welcome to the Inn!      
Chelsea & Sariann         

A Feast of Ice and Fire

Stocking a Medieval Kitchen

While researching recipes for this cookbook, we found that our modern pantry was often insufficiently stocked with some of the quirkier ingredients called for in medieval, Roman, and Elizabethan cookbooks. Palates and preferences have changed through the centuries, usually with one taste replacing another. In this vein, we were able to satisfactorily replace the more scarce ingredients with those readily available in today’s shops.

The key to successful cooking, whether in a medieval kitchen or a modern one, is innovation, so don’t despair if you cannot find the exact meats or spices called for in a particular recipe. Rather, take a step back and look at the dish as a whole. Get a feel for the dish, based on where it is served, and go from there. To help you get started, we offer a few easy substitutions below.

Easier substitutions for meats:

Some wonderful and underappreciated herbs and spices, many of which can be found in specialty food stores or online:

Kitchen items that make period cooking easier:

The Basics

Poudre Douce, or “Sweet Powder,” was a common medieval spice mix. Equally useful for flavoring savory main courses and sweet desserts, it was also used to season mulled wine, or hippocras. We’ve replaced the cassia flowers with extra cinnamon, although if ground cassia is available, two teaspoons may be used in place of half of the regular cinnamon.

Poudre Forte, or “Strong Powder,” was another of the commonly used spice mixes in the Middle Ages. The scents are reminiscent of holiday baking—clovey, but with a lovely bite to it.