Bacon and Legs – A Feast of Fire
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Last week, in anticipation of the Game of Thrones season four premiere, I brought you A Feast of Ice which featured foods from the north. Bake the Black, a steak and peppered bacon pie that would warm your bones after a night of guarding the wall, Dire Wolf Puppy Chow to keep in your pack and a stiff White Walker cocktail.
While these recipes are amazing, I feel that the don’t fairly represent all of the excitement we are all feeling for the new season. One week’s worth of recipes doesn’t really cut it for the amount of anticipation we’ve all endured. I’m going full-on Game of Thrones for a second week in a row. Not many things in life are deserving of such an honor. George R. R. Martin, you’re my dude. (Wink.)
Now, I doubt I’ll be able to describe the food with the flourishes and descriptive grandeur that Mr. Martin describes his foods, but I WILL give it a shot.
This week, I give you, A Feast of Fire: recipes from the shadows. The first dish is Dragon Munchies, a collection of succulent meat in bite-sized cubes, just the right size for any new hatchling. Since baby dragons need a little push, we’re doing a quick sear on these red wine and grains of paradise marinated morsels then baking them in a Dothraki … er … Dutch oven.
A natural accompaniment to such a fiery dish would be a fiery cocktail. The Fire God Margarita is an alcoholic beverage that will garner followers and make you believe in it’s awesome power. A spicy jalapeno base is lightened up with a mango and lime juice mixer, turning strong tequila and Cointreau into the bright and lively color of flames. The glass is rimmed with a combination of the smoky salts of Asshai, sea salts of Dragonstone and cayenne pepper from Qarth.
For dessert, we see what fire can really do in the Hound Brulee. You can feel the warmth of the cinnamon lacing through the custard, accompanied by a slight bitterness from the citrus. Half the face is burnt by flame and so horrible to look at that you just want to consume it immediately so you don’t have to look at it any longer.
Whether you make the Feast of Ice, the Feast of Fire or you just drink yourself stupid in a Baratheon-themed stupor, I hope you enjoy the season four kickoff of Game of Thrones. I know I will. (Mostly because I’m opting for the stupor as I’ve already made all of these dishes once.)
Valar Morscrumptious. All men must eat.
Dragon Munchies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean beef, cut into 1- 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 pounds pork, cut into 1- 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 cups red wine
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 tsp grains of paradise, ground
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp hot pepper-infused olive oil
Combine wine, onion, lemon and seasonings in a large bowl. Stir in meat until all is coated. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
Preheat oven to 400.
Over medium-high heat, drizzle olive oil into a Dutch oven. When heated, drain meat and place into pot. Brown for 1-2 minutes. Stir. Brown for another 1-2 minutes.
Put a lid on the Dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until meat is cooked through.
Feed to baby dragons.
Hound Brulee
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for burning
- peels from 1 orange
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a saucepan, heat heavy cream, 1/4 cup sugar, orange peels and cinnamon stick to a boil. Once you reach the boil, remove from heat and let cool.
Preheat oven to 325.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla together. Remove orange peels and cinnamon stick from the cooled cream. Slowly stir into the egg yolks while whisking.
Once fully combined, pour mixture evenly into four ceramic ramekins. Place ramekins in a baking dish and fill the baking dish with hot water. Bake for 35-45 minutes. The outside will be set and the inside will still be jiggly.
Remove and chill for at least an hour.
Just before serving, dust half the top with sugar and burn off with a torch, much like the face of Sir Gregor Clegane.
Fire God Margarita
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp smoked salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- ice
- 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 oz tequila
- 2 oz cointreau
- 2 oz lime juice
- 1 1/2 oz mango juice
Blend salts and cayenne pepper. Rim an old-fashioned with the mixture. Set aside.
Place jalapeno and sugar into a cocktail shaker. Muddle the shit out of it. Add tequila, cointreau, mango juice and lime juice. Add ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled.
Pour into rimmed glass. Drink the nectar of the one true god … for the night is dark and full of terrors.
Fontina Turner, a food blogger and graphic designer from Philadelphia, makes classy-as-fuck comfort food and consumes an unhealthy amount of cheeses and craft beers. She can be found in the kitchen, at the bar, on Twitter or trying to make H. Jon Benjamin love her. Contact her at thelegs@baconandlegs.com.
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