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The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook: From Direwolf Ale to Auroch Stew - More Than 150 Recipes from Westeros and Beyond
An Epic Culinary Journey to the Heart of Westeros!
Eat like a Lannister. Brew spirits to warm you in the coming winter. Treat guests to exotic sweets and alchemy-inspired cocktails. With this collection of hearty meals inspired by George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, it's all possible! Every dish finds its roots in the pages that brought Westeros to life, including: Feast your imagination on entrees, desserts, snacks, and drinks that will make your fantasies a reality!
Eat like a Lannister. Brew spirits to warm you in the coming winter. Treat guests to exotic sweets and alchemy-inspired cocktails. With this collection of hearty meals inspired by George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, it's all possible! Every dish finds its roots in the pages that brought Westeros to life, including: Feast your imagination on entrees, desserts, snacks, and drinks that will make your fantasies a reality!
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
101 people are currently reading
368 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 3, 2024
I love reading cookbooks because they usually have some new dishes for me to try. I am very glad I did not buy this book because it would have been a waste of money.
Ingredients for a lot of these recipes are not going to be found in my local grocery store. Haven't seen goose eggs, or frog legs, or moose meat, and nope, I haven't seen any locust on sale EVER at Food Lion. In addition, the book boasts 150 recipes, but some are a joke. For example, the recipe for " Back at the Wall Cream of Wheat" is only instant cream of wheat with some honey thrown in. Really? I didn't need a cookbook for that. Then there is " Arya's Sweetcorn Eaten on the Cob". Here is the recipe- grill the corn and put butter on it. Again, is this author just trying to make the 150 mark but not really coming up with inventive recipes?
I definitely would have wanted my money back if I had paid for this.
Ingredients for a lot of these recipes are not going to be found in my local grocery store. Haven't seen goose eggs, or frog legs, or moose meat, and nope, I haven't seen any locust on sale EVER at Food Lion. In addition, the book boasts 150 recipes, but some are a joke. For example, the recipe for " Back at the Wall Cream of Wheat" is only instant cream of wheat with some honey thrown in. Really? I didn't need a cookbook for that. Then there is " Arya's Sweetcorn Eaten on the Cob". Here is the recipe- grill the corn and put butter on it. Again, is this author just trying to make the 150 mark but not really coming up with inventive recipes?
I definitely would have wanted my money back if I had paid for this.
April 2, 2012
http://angelasanxiouslife.blogspot.co...
Made a few recipes for tonight's Season 2 premier!
Made a few recipes for tonight's Season 2 premier!
October 11, 2017
You know this is not a great GoT cookbook when they lable lemon cakes as Arya's Lemon Cakes...
July 6, 2012
*Disclaimer: I am not a fan of George R.R. Martin's series, A Song of Ice and Fire. That's not to say I couldn't become a fan, but I would have to read the books, something I haven't yet done. I've seen fragments of the first episode of the TV series, but nothing beyond that, so I'm not invested in this series in any way. But I loves me some tie-in cookbooks—-I think it's a sickness—-which is why I got this particular cookbook. Just thought you should know*
Once again Adams Media has jumped on the promotional bandwagon of the latest entertainment pop-culture darling. It all began with The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Wizards and Non-Wizards Alike, followed by The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" - More Than 150 Recipes Inspired by the Hunger Games Trilogy. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, books which incorporate sensory experiences, most especially of the gustatory kind, tend to imprint themselves more on a reader's memory, not to mention draw the reader into the world, the story, and the action which the author has created. So for any fan of a particular set of books, the ability to immerse yourself more fully into those books through a cookbook, authorized or not, is a wonderful thing. Which makes this particular entry into the unauthorized cookbook canon most welcome, despite the blatant commercial aspect of the enterprise.
The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook follows the same format set up by the previous cookbooks: The recipes are separated into categories such as Heroic Mornings: Breakfasts for Warriors, Feasts for Friends—and Enemies: Main Courses, and Deceitful Delights: Desserts, Drinks, and Poisonous Cocktails; whether a recipe ranges from the simple and ordinary to the outlandish and potentially complicated, the title always references a corresponding dish in one of the novels; each recipe has a short blurb at the top detailing in which scene the particular dish appeared and its significance to a particular character or characters, as well as a shorter blurb at the end detailing substitutions for ingredients, serving suggestions, the meaning of an ingredient, additional preparation instructions, and various other “Words of Wisdom,” as these notes are titled. In addition, there's an extensive index as well as two appendices, one listing the recipes by region, the other containing standard brewing processes to aid in creating the ale, stout, and mead recipes listed in the drinks chapter.
As to the recipes themselves, many of them have varied and interesting ingredients, giving the anticipation of an exciting culinary adventure. However, there are a couple which are so unbelievably easy, their inclusion is almost ridiculous; it was if Kistler needed just a couple more recipes to reach a quota and so came up with the easiest ones he could find. You may or may not remember the mention I made in my review of The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook concerning the simplicity of a few of the recipes it contained. However, unlike the recipes in the Hunger Games Cookbook, whose simplicity belied their emotional impact, the recipes in the Game of Thrones Cookbook didn't seem to carry the same kind of weight, despite their apparent connection to the novels. For instance, one recipe is called Arya's Sweetcorn Eaten on the Cob: Basically, you brush some butter over ears of corn and grill them. Really? Wow, that's amazing! Come on. I've seen plenty of grilled corn recipes which use herbs, spices, cheeses, all sorts of additional ingredients to make grilled corn on the cob a bit different; if the recipe had been along those lines, I could see why it was included. However, if Kistler wanted to keep the recipe as-is because it meant something to the character, it would've made more sense to have placed it as an adjunct to a main course recipe rather than have it as a stand-alone. The other recipes are in the breakfast section, which has a tendency to attract the most basic of dishes anyway, but these are ridiculous--I'm talking about eggs and toast, and eggs and bacon. Oy. Also, the occasional recipe would skip over steps or pertinent information, steps which an experienced chef would take automatically, but, since this book is aimed at all ages and cooking experience, are needed in order to prevent mishaps. In the recipe for The Cheesemonger's Candied Onions, for example, an alternate step calls for placing the entire pan in a preheated oven to finish the dish and there's nothing wrong with that. However, in the first step, there's no mention of using an oven-safe pan. Well, that's just a given, I'm sure you're saying. True, but there are people out there who will put an inappropriate pan in the oven, watch it catch fire, and become irate over the fact that that particular pan had no business being in the oven, blaming the cookbook and not themselves for their ignorance. It's how we've gotten “Caution: Contents May Be Hot” notices on the side of fast food coffee cups and “Do Not Use in the Shower” tags on hair dryers and irons. People can be stupid and, to prevent that, need every single step of a process clearly outlined.
I have a couple other niggly issues with the book. For one, a few of the recipes are mislabeled. For instance, the recipe for Winterfell Cold Fruit Soup is not a soup. Consisting of seven different fruits and berries, chopped, halved, and sliced, gently tossed together and served with a sauce lightly drizzled to coat, it's clearly a salad. Fruit soups exist, but to be a soup, the fruit must be pureed. Also, some of the cooking directions are questionable: Butter is a common ingredient in many of the frying/sauteing recipes, which is fine except for those where the directions say to let the butter brown and then have long cooking times for the ingredients. Butter will burn very quickly once it has browned; keep the butter, but reduce it and replace that amount with a bit of olive oil (good ol' EVOO), safflower oil, or sunflower oil.
I think part of the problem is the author. There's no mention of his involvement in or experience with the culinary arts in his author bio, nor is there a mention of recipe tasters or advisers in the acknowledgments. However, we are told that Alan Kistler is an actor, a columnist focusing on the evolution of superheroes and villains, the creator and co-host of a weekly podcast which discusses popular geek culture and gives out dating advice, a comic book historian who's been recognized for having a deep knowledge of many sci-fi and fantasy sagas through his articles, convention appearances, comic book documentaries, and lectures, not to mention has inspired a fictional counterpart in Star Trek novels written by David A. Mack. His resume doesn't particularly inspire my confidence in his ability to write a cookbook. Though some doubts have been raised regarding the extent of their respective culinary expertise, the authors of the other two unauthorized cookbooks, Dinah Bucholz (Harry Potter) and Emily Ansara Baines (Hunger Games), at least have had some experience with cooking, baking, and working with recipes. It makes me wonder, where did Kistler get his recipes? Did he simply find recipes from other sources which happened to fit a dish in one of Martin's books, steal them and rename them, as has been rumored? I can't say.
Despite my misgivings about Kistler, as with the previous cookbooks, I look at this one as a fun and entertaining novelty item, good for some interesting reading; anything more is simply a bonus.
See more of my reviews at: http://lollyslibrary.blogspot.com/
Once again Adams Media has jumped on the promotional bandwagon of the latest entertainment pop-culture darling. It all began with The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Wizards and Non-Wizards Alike, followed by The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" - More Than 150 Recipes Inspired by the Hunger Games Trilogy. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, books which incorporate sensory experiences, most especially of the gustatory kind, tend to imprint themselves more on a reader's memory, not to mention draw the reader into the world, the story, and the action which the author has created. So for any fan of a particular set of books, the ability to immerse yourself more fully into those books through a cookbook, authorized or not, is a wonderful thing. Which makes this particular entry into the unauthorized cookbook canon most welcome, despite the blatant commercial aspect of the enterprise.
The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook follows the same format set up by the previous cookbooks: The recipes are separated into categories such as Heroic Mornings: Breakfasts for Warriors, Feasts for Friends—and Enemies: Main Courses, and Deceitful Delights: Desserts, Drinks, and Poisonous Cocktails; whether a recipe ranges from the simple and ordinary to the outlandish and potentially complicated, the title always references a corresponding dish in one of the novels; each recipe has a short blurb at the top detailing in which scene the particular dish appeared and its significance to a particular character or characters, as well as a shorter blurb at the end detailing substitutions for ingredients, serving suggestions, the meaning of an ingredient, additional preparation instructions, and various other “Words of Wisdom,” as these notes are titled. In addition, there's an extensive index as well as two appendices, one listing the recipes by region, the other containing standard brewing processes to aid in creating the ale, stout, and mead recipes listed in the drinks chapter.
As to the recipes themselves, many of them have varied and interesting ingredients, giving the anticipation of an exciting culinary adventure. However, there are a couple which are so unbelievably easy, their inclusion is almost ridiculous; it was if Kistler needed just a couple more recipes to reach a quota and so came up with the easiest ones he could find. You may or may not remember the mention I made in my review of The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook concerning the simplicity of a few of the recipes it contained. However, unlike the recipes in the Hunger Games Cookbook, whose simplicity belied their emotional impact, the recipes in the Game of Thrones Cookbook didn't seem to carry the same kind of weight, despite their apparent connection to the novels. For instance, one recipe is called Arya's Sweetcorn Eaten on the Cob: Basically, you brush some butter over ears of corn and grill them. Really? Wow, that's amazing! Come on. I've seen plenty of grilled corn recipes which use herbs, spices, cheeses, all sorts of additional ingredients to make grilled corn on the cob a bit different; if the recipe had been along those lines, I could see why it was included. However, if Kistler wanted to keep the recipe as-is because it meant something to the character, it would've made more sense to have placed it as an adjunct to a main course recipe rather than have it as a stand-alone. The other recipes are in the breakfast section, which has a tendency to attract the most basic of dishes anyway, but these are ridiculous--I'm talking about eggs and toast, and eggs and bacon. Oy. Also, the occasional recipe would skip over steps or pertinent information, steps which an experienced chef would take automatically, but, since this book is aimed at all ages and cooking experience, are needed in order to prevent mishaps. In the recipe for The Cheesemonger's Candied Onions, for example, an alternate step calls for placing the entire pan in a preheated oven to finish the dish and there's nothing wrong with that. However, in the first step, there's no mention of using an oven-safe pan. Well, that's just a given, I'm sure you're saying. True, but there are people out there who will put an inappropriate pan in the oven, watch it catch fire, and become irate over the fact that that particular pan had no business being in the oven, blaming the cookbook and not themselves for their ignorance. It's how we've gotten “Caution: Contents May Be Hot” notices on the side of fast food coffee cups and “Do Not Use in the Shower” tags on hair dryers and irons. People can be stupid and, to prevent that, need every single step of a process clearly outlined.
I have a couple other niggly issues with the book. For one, a few of the recipes are mislabeled. For instance, the recipe for Winterfell Cold Fruit Soup is not a soup. Consisting of seven different fruits and berries, chopped, halved, and sliced, gently tossed together and served with a sauce lightly drizzled to coat, it's clearly a salad. Fruit soups exist, but to be a soup, the fruit must be pureed. Also, some of the cooking directions are questionable: Butter is a common ingredient in many of the frying/sauteing recipes, which is fine except for those where the directions say to let the butter brown and then have long cooking times for the ingredients. Butter will burn very quickly once it has browned; keep the butter, but reduce it and replace that amount with a bit of olive oil (good ol' EVOO), safflower oil, or sunflower oil.
I think part of the problem is the author. There's no mention of his involvement in or experience with the culinary arts in his author bio, nor is there a mention of recipe tasters or advisers in the acknowledgments. However, we are told that Alan Kistler is an actor, a columnist focusing on the evolution of superheroes and villains, the creator and co-host of a weekly podcast which discusses popular geek culture and gives out dating advice, a comic book historian who's been recognized for having a deep knowledge of many sci-fi and fantasy sagas through his articles, convention appearances, comic book documentaries, and lectures, not to mention has inspired a fictional counterpart in Star Trek novels written by David A. Mack. His resume doesn't particularly inspire my confidence in his ability to write a cookbook. Though some doubts have been raised regarding the extent of their respective culinary expertise, the authors of the other two unauthorized cookbooks, Dinah Bucholz (Harry Potter) and Emily Ansara Baines (Hunger Games), at least have had some experience with cooking, baking, and working with recipes. It makes me wonder, where did Kistler get his recipes? Did he simply find recipes from other sources which happened to fit a dish in one of Martin's books, steal them and rename them, as has been rumored? I can't say.
Despite my misgivings about Kistler, as with the previous cookbooks, I look at this one as a fun and entertaining novelty item, good for some interesting reading; anything more is simply a bonus.
See more of my reviews at: http://lollyslibrary.blogspot.com/
July 14, 2022
This book contains recipes inspired by the Game of Thrones series. And they're heavy. Aside from a few Dornish recipes (think Mediterranean inspired - like hummus etc), they are mostly meat and potatoes (and grasshoppers) types of dishes. Even the desserts seem like they'd be thick and stodgy. Some ingredients seem not too accessible - goose, auroch, beef heart).
The last chapter contains drinks, including some homebrewed beers. There is an appendix that walks through a home brewing process.
I have not read the books, but I did watch the series. So some of these recipes, I'm not too sure of how they actually fit into the universe.
The last chapter contains drinks, including some homebrewed beers. There is an appendix that walks through a home brewing process.
I have not read the books, but I did watch the series. So some of these recipes, I'm not too sure of how they actually fit into the universe.
August 15, 2012
I guess with a title stating "The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook" it somehow excused the publisher from including photos of the recipes. I don't expect to see cast photos from the TV series but honestly, readers do expect to see a few photos of some of the meals that the author is trying to convince us to make. At least the author is sticking to more accessible ingredients in this cookbook, unlike in the "Hunger Games Cookbook". Although I have to admit, it still might be a little challenging to find goose liver or boar meat than I would like. But in keeping with the "Games of Thrones" theme, I think I would have also preferred if the publisher had grouped the recipes not according to the meal type (like in traditional cookbooks), but rather, according to its region or by its house/character. Yes, this is a cookbook but if you are trying to reach out to the fans of the series, the author has to do a little more than just reference where blood sausage is mentioned as a breakfast meal in the books. Somehow I just feel like the author just missed the mark here both as a cookbook and as a special add-on for the readers.
July 26, 2017
I wasn't a big fan of this unofficial Game of Thrones cook book. I was looking for recipes to make for a Season 7 premiere party and only made a roast because it was one of the least complicated recipes but still included many ingredients. It also didn't turn out as good as I would have hoped it would. I used the other Game of Thrones cook book (the official one with pictures) and made three recipes from that book that were much more simple and tasty. I recommend trying that cook book first before using this one.
June 29, 2014
I actually haven't even read Game of Thrones, but when I saw it I was like "ooh, cookbook!" Needless to say, I found it lacking and most of the recipes I wouldn't even dream of cooking up. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I'd read Game of Thrones but oh well. I didn't really enjoy this cookbook.
April 11, 2015
Good recipes that follow the books well but call for obscure ingredients (no grasshoppers, thanks). One as simple as honey & butter in cream of wheat - delicious. Think I'll make something to celebrate the start of the new series.
October 31, 2018
The official cookbook is better and has most of the same recipes done in the modern AND medieval style. Would have liked this better had the other book not been so good.
September 7, 2019
This book has really great recipes from soups and salads to the grand desserts. Not just for Game Of Thrones fans but all food lovers in general. I highly recommend this amazing recipe book.
February 7, 2021
These types of books amuse me. This particular book will take a passing reference to a dish from the series and give it a brief background/ explanation, and then make something that could pass for it. We go off the rails in the source material. Contains material adapted and abridged from:
THE EVERYTHING (TM) book series & Book or Cookbook will be dropped.
THE EVERYTHING (insert Item or Country) BOOK or COOKBOOK
Bartenders Book, Bread Cookbook (You get it?), Canning & Preserving, Chinese, College, Guide to Foraging, Homebrewing, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Mediterranean diet, 1 Pot, Paleolithic, Pie, Raw Food, Salad, Slow Cooker, Slow Cooking 4 a Crowd, Soup Stew & Chili, Tapa's & Small Plates, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Grain-High Fiber, Wild Game; and just to put a punctuation on the joke, "THE BARTENDER's GUIDE!" ~~ridiculous.
These types of books amuse me. Books which incorporate sensory experiences, most especially of the gustatory kind, tend to imprint themselves more on a reader's memory, not to mention draw the reader into the world, the story, and the action which the author has created. So for any fan of a particular set of books/movies/universes, the ability to immerse yourself more fully into those books through a cookbook, authorized or not, is a wonderful thing.
THE EVERYTHING (TM) book series & Book or Cookbook will be dropped.
THE EVERYTHING (insert Item or Country) BOOK or COOKBOOK
Bartenders Book, Bread Cookbook (You get it?), Canning & Preserving, Chinese, College, Guide to Foraging, Homebrewing, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Mediterranean diet, 1 Pot, Paleolithic, Pie, Raw Food, Salad, Slow Cooker, Slow Cooking 4 a Crowd, Soup Stew & Chili, Tapa's & Small Plates, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Grain-High Fiber, Wild Game; and just to put a punctuation on the joke, "THE BARTENDER's GUIDE!" ~~ridiculous.
These types of books amuse me. Books which incorporate sensory experiences, most especially of the gustatory kind, tend to imprint themselves more on a reader's memory, not to mention draw the reader into the world, the story, and the action which the author has created. So for any fan of a particular set of books/movies/universes, the ability to immerse yourself more fully into those books through a cookbook, authorized or not, is a wonderful thing.
March 2, 2013
Full of lots of old and traditional flavors from British cooking, including lots of recipes for game meats and hard to find fowl. Last I heard aurochs, for instance, have been extinct since the 17th century. This book is in desperate need of pictures, and dishes that serve smaller numbers. Most of the recipes serve no less than four and often as many as ten.
May 11, 2014
Since this cookbook is "unofficial," I guess there's an official one as well. However, I have a hard time imagining that the recipes would be any better. Some of them are fairly complex - totally novice brewers may have a hard time with the ales - but most aren't too complex. I esp. like Weasel's Oatcakes.
October 18, 2012
Some of the foods are obscure but, the bread section was great and easy to make. I made the Night's Watch and Winterfell Black Bread. Of course,as anyone who has made bread can tell you, it is a several hour affair making the dough, waiting for it to rise, and then baking it.
November 15, 2014
The helpful tips at the ends of the recipes actually are. And the index with instructions for home-brewing beers was very clearly written (not that I plan to brew -- but now I understand what's entailed). An entertaining companion to the books.
January 7, 2013
A great cookbook for the old English style of cooking. Very fun to bring out for a meal departure from the norm :)
Read
July 18, 2013Fun!
January 22, 2014
Filled with interesting and unusual recipes, this book is a quick, fun read. I would love to try my hand at some of the recipes.
March 31, 2014
A very entertaining book :)
January 22, 2015
Loved the references. Wish it had pictures
Read
July 5, 2015Only looked at because I am a fan of the show. Was not quite what I thought it would be.
July 2, 2015
Need to be reviewed.
January 25, 2016
It really bothers me that the author says that Lemon Cakes are Arya's favorite treat when they are actually Sansa's favorite. Otherwise, very interested book.
April 7, 2012
I can't wait to try more recipes. Not sure ill ever try "Khaleesi's Heart" but who knows. :D
December 4, 2012
Adorable book!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews