Annual Feast of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones Season Premiere Tradition

My favorite part of Game of Thrones Season Premiere night is the feast and gathering that preludes it. Waiting until 9pm in the final stretch of the long AGOT drought can be a daunting task so I resolved years ago to eat my way through it and hence, the annual Feast of Ice and Fire was born. Throw in great company, games, food, and tons of tasty drinks, and the countdown to showtime flies by.

We followed the tradition that all guests would bring a Westeros themed dish. As usual our friends and family didn't disappoint. However, my sister Alexandra was the real MVP in helping put the feast together. She is as obsessed with all things ASOIAF  as I am so the feast was bigger (and tastier) than it's been in previous years. She is a fantastic cook and baker. We used some recipes from the Feast of Ice and Fire Cookbook and tried to represent the regions of Westeros and Essos in our dish selections.

Our delicious table

Our menu included (I subjectively categorized the dishes brought by our guests):

The North:

Honeyed Chicken

Lemoncakes  (SO DELICIOUS-My sister outdid herself with these)

The Riverlands:

Miniature Meat Pies (Frey pie, anyone?)

The Reach:

Fresh Fruit 

Buttered carrots

Dorne:

Grape Leaves Salad

Spicy Chicken Dip

Kings Landing:

Cheese and crackers

Heads on Spikes

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

My son rolling heads and my favorite neighbor delivering an awesome pose

The Iron Islands:

Pillaged Sour Ale  

Westerlands: 

Ommegang 'Bend the Knee Honeyed Ale'-Lannister sigil

The Wall:

Lord Commander Mormont inspired Spiced Wine

Dothraki Sea:

Fermented Mare's Milk (White Russian)

Meereen:

Mint Green Tea with Honey

Mint Green Tea, Cheese, Lemoncakes, and Frey Meat Pie made for a fantastic second breakfast the next day

The Feast was a success and ran all the way until showtime. When we finally sat down to watch the show, I couldn't believe the wait was finally over (stay tuned for my review). Next year for the final season, I am going to try making an Iron Throne and the Painted Table of Westeros...Ambitious, I know, but I have the luxury of that ambition at this point. Whether or not my vision will be fully realized, only Bran can tell. One thing I can say for sure, each feast has been more delicious than the last and next year will be no exception.