Bookworms: A Feast of Ice and Fire (2012) by Monroe-Cassel and Lehrer

A Feast of Ice and Fire is a sumptuous, real-world exploration of the varied dishes described in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. As any acolyte of the series can tell you, the fictional tables of Martin’s Westeros (and other regions) groan under the weight of the many exotic and intriguing dishes he describes, from roasted swan and honeyed locusts to applecakes and the disturbingly noncommittal “bowl of brown.”

Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer, two intrepid ladies who enjoy culinary exploration, started a blog called Inn at the Crossroads — named so after a particularly blighted inn in Westeros that’s seen more than its fair share of death and mayhem. Ignore that, though, and just let it be an evocative title, summoning Martin’s series immediately to mind and invoking a place where many different cuisines can share the tables and jostle elbows. Considering this cookbook goes beyond Westeros and across the Narrow Sea, it’s a suitable image.

Chelsea and Sariann originally developed these dishes and posted many to their blog before it became an official, forthcoming cookbook. You can still find a number of them there, and I recommend checking out the Inn at the Crossroads  to see what you might be getting into.

Each recipe is accompanied by a passage from Martin’s books, identifying the origin of inspiration for the dish. There’s a bit of elucidation, discussing what tastes you might expect or what recipe they based the dish on, and then there’s a list of ingredients. Following, you’ll get a concise and clear description of the procedure (assuming you know some basic culinary skills) and, if you’re lucky, a picture of the finished dish in an atmospheric setting. The recipes are also divided according to likely region of origin (The Wall, The North, The South, etc.) and each section’s page edges are color-coded for easy finding. The authors are even kind enough to include some recommended menus at the end, allowing you to recreate gustatory experiences from a feast at Winterfell to a wedding at King’s Landing.

As a high fantasy enthusiast and someone interested in history, I’m also thrilled that Chelsea and Sariann include the original, historical recipes they based many of these dishes on. These recipes are often in the original Middle English, French, or Latin — 2/3rds of which I can actually read! (Of course, these original recipes are then clearly explained in English.) Further, they include notes on medieval elements you can recreate in your kitchen, from spice mixes to doughs and what you might substitute for hard-to-find ingredients such as grains of paradise.

I haven’t yet tried any of the recipes, but I will say that I’m a relative novice in the kitchen and this book left me feeling capable of tackling any of its recipes. It’s true there are a few that made me mark down a YouTube demonstration or two, but I don’t view this as a hardship. Also, the Twitter account @InnAtCrossroads  is very active and the two authors more than willing to answer any questions hopeful cooks might have.

My only complaint of A Feast of Ice and Fire is that there isn’t more — I’m keenly looking forward to what new recipes the ladies at Inn at the Crossroads develop on their blog this year!