April 29, 2013
Onions in Gravy

As we continue to eat our way through the official "Game of Thrones" companion cookbook, A Feast of Ice and Fire, this week's recipe takes us again to the northern region of Westeros and the stoic Stark family:

"Ben Stark laughed. 'As I feared. Ah, well. I believe I was younger than you the first time I got truly and sincerely drunk.' He snagged a roasted onions, dripping brown with gravy, from a nearby trencher and bit into it.  It crunched." -- Game of Thrones

Cookbook authors Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer note: "Gravy, as we think of it today, evolved out of the ancient practice of using the drippings left from roasted meats to flavor other dishes; over time, it became a sauce in its own right.  Here we have added whole onions to the gravy to make it more of a side than a sauce.  However, as delicious as this recipe proves to be, it is at its best when paired with something.  Bread, sharp cheeses, and roasted meat all suit admirably."

The Onions in Gravy recipe itself features small pearl (or boiler) onions cooked in a honey-butter mixture; deglazing with apple cider makes the gravy rich and full-bodied.  Although the picture doesn't do it justice, this recipe was quite delicious and the perfect side for our main course of fried wild turkey (freshly shot that morning) -- surely Arya Stark would have been proud!