What To Eat For An Epic 'Game Of Thrones' Party
Game of Thrones returns this Sunday with its sixth season, and we couldn't be more excited. Bring on the dragons, the White Walkers and the feasting, of course. Guilty as charged, we're thinking just as much about the show's gory feasts as the PG feast we intend to make for its premiere.
Wherever this season's first episode takes us, there's always a lot to . . . er . . . stomach, so we intend to stay fortified with abundant dishes and drinks based on some of the show's best food moments.
Come Sunday, at 9 p.m. EST, you can find us on the couch, eyes glued to HBO, in front of a feast fit for Tyrion Lannister and occasionally beckoning for "more wine, please."
Here are 11 ideas to get you inspired.
① The Red Wedding
If you're planning a wedding this season, we have one suggestion: Do not use the Red Wedding as inspiration. Everyone dies, there is enough blood to form a fifth ocean and it just doesn't stop. However, if you're planning a Game of Thrones party, go forth and make this cocktail from Charleston, South Carolina's Edmund's Oast. It takes the Southern bourbon-sweet tea to a darker level with murderously cold alcohol-based ice cubes.
② Seared Duck Breast with Glazed Sweet Potatoes
What better way to celebrate Game of Thrones than with game? Luckily, it's no longer the medieval times, so you don't have to hunt it yourself. With duck-fat-braised sweet potatoes, quick-pickled shallots and crisp apples, this is a dish that belongs at a Winterfell feast.
③ Lemon-Thyme Bars
We can relate to Sansa Stark, Winterfell's No. 1 fan of lemon cakes. She may not have been able to stomach them after the Red Wedding, but that's probably because she's never had our version.
For more ideas, see below. And warning: If you aren't up to date, read at your own risk!
It's no raw stallion heart (eaten by Daenerys in season one), but steak tartare should do the trick for your party.
Relive that gruesome scene in which Joffrey gets poisoned and dies from pigeon pie by making this guinea fowl potpie. Poison not included.
Go forth and make this cocktail from Charleston, South Carolina's Edmund's Oast. It takes the Southern bourbon-sweet tea to a darker level with murderously cold alcohol-based ice cubes.
If you're a true fan, celebrate the whole Song of Ice and Fire series, on which Game of Thrones is based, with this baked Alaska.
Pay your respects to the fiercely industrious Arya with some grilled clams with garlic butter. "Oysters, clams and cockles!"
What better way to celebrate Game of Thrones than with game? Luckily, it's no longer the medieval times, so you don't have to hunt it yourself. With duck-fat-braised sweet potatoes, quick-pickled shallots and crisp apples, this is a dish that belongs at a Winterfell feast.
Serve this bread alongside those clams in honor of the bread and salt at the infamous Red Wedding.
Since you'll likely be watching a steady flow of blood this season, make sure you have the cocktails to match. Try this riff on a Blood and Sand cocktail for starters.
Whether you drink it at the party or as a hangover cure the next day, you're also going to want this killer (sorry) seafood Bloody Mary.
This pitaya (dragon fruit) bowl might be best for your inevitable GoT hangover the next morning. Refreshing and subtly sweet, it'll help you recover from the emotional roller coaster you're going to experience Sunday night.
We can relate to Sansa Stark, Winterfell's No. 1 fan of lemon cakes. She may not have been able to stomach them after the Red Wedding, but that's probably because she's never had our version.