What a Year!

2012 was absolutely, unimaginably great.

After the initial shock and delight of the book deal in 2011, there was an enormous amount of work ahead of us. The cookbook was published in late May, after a half year of grueling deadlines and overflowing fridges.

In July, Sariann and I went to San Diego Comic Con, where we had drinks with George RR Martin and an R2 unit, and signed books for many of you. It was an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to go back!

We had a wide assortment of book signings, interviews for print and radio, and even a cooking demo in Northampton MA.

The Blog:

The blog had more than 1.8 million hits this year, and welcomed visitors from 187 countries. WOWser. Truly, YOU are all the driving force that made the blog and cookbook possible, so thank you!

The blog was updated with 92 posts, including more than 65 new recipes. However, the top recipes are still the classics. The favorites  were overwhelmingly those from The North, including the Old Bear’s Spiced Wine, Honeyed Chicken, and Beef & Bacon Pies.

Best Search terms:

• “What to serve with haggis/Jamie Oliver”
• “Where can I buy Dornish Wine?”
• “savory and violet mustard”
• “What is up with the food in Game of Thrones?”
• “Robert Baratheon was the best.”
• “Where does pumpkin pie really come from?”
• “making the 8”
• “history of crusty bread”
• “are weirwood trees real?”

The Cookbook:

…has sold almost 20k copies in the US alone, and twice that number has been shipped out to bookstores nationwide. It’s looking at the 4th printing in the coming weeks, and it’s also been/being translated into Spanish, German, and Polish; I’m sure many more editions are yet to come!

Now, on the first day of the new year, it’s time to look forward:

We’re one year closer to Winds of Winter! Well, sort of. Right? :)

In the coming year, I’ll be exploring more medieval recipes (in part because we’ve cooked through nearly all the dishes mentioned in the books), and taking an in-depth look at some of the more quirky ingredients I’ve encountered while researching. A new camera means I’m even more excited to get back into the kitchen, and the photos in the new year should be epic. I’ll also continue to explore more historical and fictional food on my other blog, Food Through the Pages.

Also on the list is further exploring the world of home-brewing (look for news on that front soon!), and hopefully devising a playable version of Cyvasse. Yup. Exactly that geeky.

I’ve learned an enormous amount about blogging, photography, and cooking in 2012; just imagine what the next year will bring.

Stay hungry my friends. Dinner is coming.