House Tyrell Artichoke Bud Salad

Near all the chivalry of the south had come to Renly's call, it seemed. The golden rose of Highgarden was seen everywhere: sewn on the right breast of armsmen and servants, flapping and fluttering from the green silk banners that adorned lance and pike, painted upon the shields hung outside the pavilions of the sons and brothers and cousins and uncles of House Tyrell.

- Catelyn II, A Clash of Kings

This salad was served at my Game of Thrones Season 7 party. At this dinner, I served 9 courses, each designed to look like the heraldry for one of the Westerosi Great Houses. House Tyrell, with their golden rose on a field of green was an obvious choice for the salad course.

I thought about a few ways to make a rose shape. I'd previously made apple roses pastries, however there is an unfortunate dearth of Westeros sigils that honor vegetables and I wanted to at least attempt to create a balanced meal. Vegetables cut in the shape of flowers seemed either too cutesy or too finicky. In the end, I went with an edible flower - the artichoke.

Although closer to green than to the desired golden hue to begin with, the yellow tones become stronger once roasted. I flavored the artichokes with lemon, olive oil and garlic, and kept the "field of green" field greens simple. 

Ingredients

House Martell Butternut Squash Soup

In centuries past, many a host had come down from the Prince's Pass with banners streaming, only to wither and broil on the hot red Dornish sands. "The arms of House Martell display the sun and spear, the Dornishman's two favored weapons," the Young Dragon had once written in his boastful Conquest of Dorne, "but of the two, the sun is the more deadly."

- The Queenmaker, A Feast for Crows

This roasted root soup served as the second course in my Season 7 Game of Thrones party. For this event, each course was inspired by the banners of one of the Great Houses of Westeros. While many of the Great Houses chose commonly eaten animals as their heraldry, the Martells did not. Early on in my menu development, I recognized I would either need to reject the nutritional needs of my dinner guests, or make the Martell course a vegetable course. (Westerosi lords ought to follow the lead of the Onion Knight and pick a vegetable for their banners!) The Tyrell green and gold seemed like a natural fit for the salad course, so the Martells became a soup course.

I selected butternut squash for its appropriately orangey-yellow hue. I stirred in some chipotle peppers as a nod to the deadly hot sun and the fiery nature of the Dornish people. I tried a few different red garnishes, including sun dried tomatoes and pickled beets, eventually selecting roasted beets for their more sun-like appearance. Skewers both provide a convenient way of perching the beet "suns" over the soup while also representing the spears shown on the house banner.

Roasting the squash before blending it into the soup adds a wonderful complex sweetness which pairs amazingly with the smokiness of the peppers. I think this course ended up being one of the favorites of the night!

Ingredients

Princess Carolyn's "Save The Day" Mushroom Risotto

Recently-Hired-Waitress: "[The food critic] still wants her mushroom risotto."

Recently-Promoted-Chef: "I don't know how to make risotto."

Princess Carolyn: "I know how."

- "Best Thing That Ever Happened," BoJack Horseman

It's #Nyanuary over at Fandom Foodies so I thought I would celebrate with the fictional anthropomorphic cat I perhaps identify with the most, Princess Carolyn from BoJack Horseman. (I also give myself "you are now a robot" pep-talks!)

Mr Green's Basil Zucchini Spirals

For my Clue-themed cocktail party, I based one appetizer or dessert and one cocktail around each of the six murder suspects in the board game. Mr Green's appetizer was an easy choice - I needed something vegetable-based to complement the other heavier dishes like Mrs Peacock's Party Fowl Crostinis, and I love the flavor combination of basil and zucchini!