A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook (A Song of Ice and Fire) (11 page)

Using a ladle, serve into individual mugs or other heat-safe vessels. Try not to disturb the layer of spices at the bottom of the pot.

This recipe comes from the chaplain’s wife at a top British university. It produces a delicious hot wine that, while spicy and rich, is medium-bodied and easy to drink. The sweetness of the honey and cane sugar combines brilliantly with spice of the fresh ginger, resulting in an arresting tingle that floods the palate without compromising the other flavors.

Slice the clementines in half and stud each half with the whole cloves, inserting the stem of the clove into the rind and leaving the buds protruding. You may need to pierce the flesh of the clementines with a small knife in order to insert the cloves. Float the clementines in the wine, rind down, so that the cloves are suspended in the wine.

Add all the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring often with a whisk, but
do not boil
. Simmer for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat so that the wine is kept just below a simmer. Heat for 45 minutes, then serve with a ladle.

Cook’s Note:
Don’t be afraid to meddle with the proportions to suit your taste, adjusting the amounts of honey, ginger, and fruit juice as desired. Additional sugar or honey can also be added, to make the wine more drinkable for those who are not enduring freezing temperatures. The clementines make delicious boozy treats for the lucky guests still around when the wine runs out.

This meal presents an interesting textural array—the creaminess of the perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg, the crispiness of the bacon, and the pop of berry seeds all add something special. The continental elegance of the soft-boiled egg is a wonderful counterpart to the salty heartiness of the bacon. Likewise, the sweetness of the preserves and honey pairs well with the other elements. Go ahead and splurge on the bacon and eggs. If you truly wish your breakfast to have the feel of Winterfell, you shouldn’t skimp on the ingredients. We recommend a nice cut of Black Forest bacon and free-range eggs. While the meal is fairly hefty, the mint tea lightens it more than one would expect and is the perfect finish to what might be the perfect breakfast. It’s cold in the North, but this is a great breakfast for any time of year, anywhere.

Cook the bacon to your preference. Meanwhile, toast your bread, then butter it and add preserves, honey, or both. Heat water for tea. When the bacon is done, cover
it with an overturned plate or a sheet of tin foil to keep it warm. Then you can focus on the eggs.

To cook the eggs, fill a saucepan about halfway with water and bring it to a simmer. Gently lower the eggs into the water one at a time. Cook the eggs for about 4 minutes. Don’t wander off! (Although the worst that will happen is you’ll have hard-boiled eggs, which are still yummy.) Using a slotted spoon, fish the eggs out of the hot water. Run them under cold tap water for 30 seconds to keep them from continuing to cook in the shell.