Aunt Em's Doughnuts

Thoughts:

This recipe is from an old family cookbook, but I’m not sure who “Aunt Em” is in the great family tree. So naturally, I’ve decided to also use it for the Wizard of Oz. Hey, a girl can dream! The original recipe was actually just a list of ingredients, without any instruction. I tried baking a few, but quickly determined that frying is definitely the way to go.

I made mini ones, about 4″ across, and at just the right temperature of oil (tricky!), they puff up and are great. The insides are soft and fluffy, while the outside just barely crisps. There’s a nice hint of the spices, but not so much that they overpower the lightness of the doughnuts themselves. I simply sprinkled a little powdered sugar over top, but they would also be great glazed!

Aunt Em’s Doughnuts Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes Frying: 20 minutes

Makes: around 20 small doughnuts

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. butter
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
Canola Oil for frying

Combine the butter and milk in a small saucepan, and place over low heat until the milk is warm, and the butter melted. Add the sugar and stir until that, too, is incorporated. Pour the contents of the pan into a heatproof bow, and allow to come back down to room temperature.

Whisk in the eggs (if the liquid isn’t cool, the eggs will cook!), followed by the remaining ingredients. If you find that the dough is still sticky, continue adding flour until it becomes a cohesive mass of dough that can be picked up out of the bowl.

Flour a work surface, and roll out the dough to about 1/3″ thickness. Using a 4″ round cutter or glass, cut out rounds from the dough, saving the scraps to reroll. For the center cutout, the large end of a pastry tip works very well.

In a frying pan, heat your canola oil. If you have a thermometer, it should be about 375F. Drop the dough discs into the hot oil, taking care to not splash. The doughnuts should puff up almost immediately; when the first side is a nice golden brown, flip them. Remove from the oil when both sides are golden, and let drain on a plate with paper towels.

Top with your choice of powdered sugar, glaze, or even jam, and enjoy!

Dothraki Blood Pie

Traditional Blood Pie

“Food was brought to her, steaming joints of meat and thick black sausages and Dothraki blood pies, and later fruits and sweetgrass stews and delicate pastries from the kitchens of Pentos…” -A Game of Thrones

Modern Blood Sausage Tart

Thoughts:

*Fun Fact: Blood Pie is also a Klingon Dish. Oh, the wonders of the interwebs…*

The traditional pies are great. Rustic and hearty, frying leaves the dough wonderfully chewy, and the insides bursting with flavor. If you are wary of the blood sausage, you needn’t be; One of our housemates ate four of the pies in quick succession, raving about them, and was shocked to learn that they contained black pudding. The spices further improve what would be a wonderful recipe on its own. I used Aleppo pepper, and loved the middle eastern spiciness of it. If you too add spicy pepper to your filling, then you may find that our Milk Tea is a wonderful counter to that heat.

The modern pie is amazeballs. Truly. It took me about three glorious bites to even be able to think about additional adjectives. The smidge of garlic on the bottom of the filling was planted, grown, and harvested purely to complement the chevre. The leek was lovingly tended by orphans of the Greenblood who sang to it daily, until the time came for it to join the other ingredients in this tart. The black pudding, the center of the whole dish, stands firm amidst the other flavors, allowing them to complement, rather than overpower it. You may think the addition of the pistachios strange, but they lend a bit of crunch to an otherwise creamy dish, and help bring out the subtle nuttiness of the crust. Nibbled on its own, the crust has a nice, dry earthiness. However, it softens as it soaks up moisture from the filling, and adds to the overall gloriosity of the whole.

The two recipes are too dissimilar to compare fairly. I loved them both equally, albeit for their separate merits. I’d say that the traditional pie is the most Dothraki, but although the modern tart moonlights as a dainty and proper dish in its fluted tart pan, it’s absolutely one that Ser Jorah could dig into with both hands. Since most black pudding comes in 1 lb. packages, I suggest making both!

Feast like the Dothraki…

Avocado Fries

Avocado Fries

Thoughts:

They are SO good! Appealingly crunchy on the outside, the avocado warm on the inside. They make a terrific side, snack, appetizer, or even a vegetarian filling for tacos. Sprinkled with a little salt, they are divine. Be sure to invite friends over, though, or you might eat all of them yourself!

Recipe for Avocado Fries

Makes about 20 pieces

Prep: 10 minutes Frying: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

oil for frying
1/4 cup flour
About 1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, beaten with a small splash of water
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 firm-ripe medium avocados, pitted, peeled

Begin by slicing the avocado in half, then into quarters. Then slice each quarter into 2-3 pieces. This should give you 8-12 pieces per avocado.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 in. oil to medium. In a bowl, mix flour with 1/4 tsp. salt in a shallow plate. Put eggs and panko on separate shallow plates. Dip avocado in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, then panko to coat.

Fry a quarter of avocado slices at a time until deep golden, 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer slices to a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with extra salt to taste.

Rats on a Stick (not really!)

Rats on a Stick

Our Thoughts:

I’ll be honest. When I was browsing food blogs and came across this, all I could think was “Rat”. It’s something about that thick corn cob tail…

Contrary to the name, these “rats” are actually quite good. The flavor is savory, the taste of the onions noticable, as is the parm. Cheesey, chivey potato pancake in flavor, but the consistency is more like a samosa or onion bhaji- soft, but holds together well. It’s extra delicious when served with a salsa or other chili sauce.

But the best part? It’s vegetarian, and could easily be adapted to be fully vegan or gluten free. They’re a fun addition to any party spread for guests who can’t eat meat, as well as for those who can.

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Three-finger Hobb’s Breakfast

“Very good, m’lord, only Hobb’s made boiled eggs, black sausage, and apples stewed with prunes this morning. The apples stewed with prunes are excellent, except for the prunes. I never eat prunes myself. Well, there was one time when Hobb chopped them up with chestnuts and carrots and hid them in a hen. Never trust a cook, my lord. They’ll prune you when you least expect it.” -A Dance with Dragons

Three-finger Hobb’s Breakfast

Our Thoughts:

This was a smaller scale, yet immensely satisfying breakfast. The spices in the black pudding perfectly compliment those in the stewed apples, making a bite of the two together something amazing. The egg is the simplest thing on the plate, yet doesn’t seem out of place among the more flavorful elements of the breakfast, instead providing a nice balance for the fruit and meat.

Absolutely a win, and will be a new staple breakfast in our house!

Get the Recipe!