The Hermit's Game of Thrones Party

The Hermit's Game of Thrones Party

For those of us who love to party but hate the people part of it..

It's very easy for me to imagine a kick-ass Game of Thrones party for just myself.  As much as I love to wow my guests with these amazing treats (and I really do) a lot of the things I put together are things I intend to keep at home for just me.  Hello, Dragon eggs.  Hello, Wall of Sigils.  Hello Apothecary set.  I figure if my husband can nerd-out over Amiibos then I can have my collection of quirky awesomeness as well.  Throwing a party for just yourself is not anything to be ashamed of - or embarrassed by at all!  It just takes a little prep and legwork to have yourself a fine feast and a show.  

The first thing you'll need for your party is a fancy invite - depending of course on how far into this you want to go.  You can skip this part if you don't want a memento of your amazing evening.  

Over the years, I have come up with several that have been a big hit but yours doesn't need to be so fancy.  This one here is from Innatthecrossroads.com and is available for you to download and customize.  Simply print it out, roll it up, and tie it to the foot of one of these to perch on your microwave.  Now your invite has been sent and you just have to wait for a response.

Now, we need to settle on a menu.  The possibilities here are as endless as the yellow sea but I've put together some ideas that will leave you with some leftovers but not completely drowning in food.  

Main Dish

Spiced Honeyed Harpie

(with or without stuffing... but that stuffing is awfully good.)

Sides

Roasted leeks and root vegetables

Appetizer

Scottish Deviled Eggs

Dessert

Cherries and fresh whipped cream

We will talk about the food prep a little further down. 

Next, we have to take care of dishes and decor.  For this, I hope you don't turn your nose up at the idea of a thrift store but they are your friends in times like these unless you want to spend an arm and a leg on new stuff from Etsy/Amazon/Ebay.  I always hit the thrift store first, you can find some amazing things there.  For example, a few weeks ago I had to hit one on the way home to find some old cake pans my son and I could destroy by making sun catches and I happened upon some pretty awesome candle holders, several silver trays, and an old cast-iron serving dish that was, like, $3.00.  I had to talk myself out of the glass goblets - they were incredible but alas, we already have some pretty stellar metal ones.  And my husband would have killed me.  

The cool thing about the thrift stores is that you're not committed to buying things as a set.  A lot of the time they will price things by the piece and you'll be free to put together your own special table setting for your own amazing party.  Here is a list of things you'll want to consider:

• 1 wooden bowl
• 1 large metal serving platter
• 1 medium or small sized platter for your dish
• 2 candle holders
• 1 big glass or ceramic bowl
• 1 large wine goblet
• 1 metal mug

Next take a gander though the blog here and see if you are ambitious enough to take any of the larger projects on.  Even a door sign will help transport you to Westeros on GoT day.  These will also help with your decor.

Now that it's Game of Thrones day, and you're just about ready to start your food adventure.  If you're sticking to my menu above, you'll need some things from the grocery store unless they're already laying around your house.  

Spiced Honeyed Harpie:

A little different from the Inn's version - in this version you're going to get yourself either 1 or 2 cornish game hens - depending on how much food you want to eat tomorrow... Before you do anything to them, make sure they are rinsed and dried and there are no presents sitting in the cavities of them.  The link above will walk you through the needs of your recipe but since you're only stuffing itty bitty birds, you can easily half the list of ingredients.  

Roasted Leeks and Root Vegetables

 A staple in our house and REALLY (REALLY) easy to make - you'll need 1 leek, 2 carrots, a parsnip and a smallish yellow potato.  The leek prep is a little tricky and you have to rinse them after you cut them to get all the dirt off.  To accomplish this, simply cut the leek diagonally into slices and drop them into a bowl full of water - separate the rings as best you can and give them a good jooge - the dirt sinks while the leeks (Rhymes with Reek..) floats to the top.   Dry them off on a paper towel while you're chopping up the rest of your veg.

All of your veggies should be chopped to about the same size so that they roast evenly and they don't have to be chopped up super small in order to accomplish this.  Big rough cuts on all of your washed veggies will work just wonderfully.  Toss them all (leeks too!) into a bowl with some olive oil and your favorite herbs (thyme is wonderful with these...) and coat them all well.  Then transfer your coated veggies to your roasting dish and put them in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes.  After they've had some time to roast, take them out and NOW they are ready for your birds.  These hens don't take long to roast and if you do a pre-roasting they'll be finished with your hens and all will be well in your kingdom.  Turn the temp up on your oven to 350 and roast until the internal temp is at least 165.

Scottish Deviled Eggs

Mmmm... I love these.   You can find my adventure with these here.

Cherries and Fresh Whipped Cream

You will need the following ingredients for these:

• Fresh cherries
• powdered sugar
• heavy cream
• vanilla extract

Here your mixing bowl will get a work-out.  Just add 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 pint of heavy whipping cream to your mixing bowl and whip it (whip it good!) til it's fluffy and delicious.  Wash off your cherries and put them in a bowl and plop some of this goodness on top.  Viola.  An easy desert - and after all of that work, you deserve it.  

Remember that large serving platter you got at the thrift store?  Put your veggies on it, stuffing, bird(s) and appetizers on it and take it to your living room.  Pour yourself your favorite wine or (AND!) ale in your pretty cups.  Set yourself up a little picnic with your new plate and some silverware in front of your TV (don't forget to light some candles!) and kick up your feet!  Winter is coming but at least you won't go hungry.  

If you have other ideas for the Hermits Game of Thrones party (Put on some eye-liner and order a pizza?)  feel free to comment!

Valar Morghulis!