The Wings of Winter

Tonight is the season 6 finale of Game of Thrones. If you watch the show, that’s not news to you. If you don’t watch the show, you don’t give a fuck. There will be some slight spoilers (show, book or otherwise). Leave or deal.

The show is known for it’s epic penultimate episodes. Last week was the Battle of the Bastards. Though it was epic in many ways (multiple battles, dragons galore) it was unlike any of the others in that… it had a happy ending. Now, there has been a good deal of chatter on the internet regarding the upward swing of this season, but I’m not here to debate the turn the show has taken. I’m here to feed you.

The finale, titled the Winds of Winter, will hopefully set up the war with the Night King, wrap up Cersei’s church lady drama, bring Arya AND Dany back to Westeros, kill off Melisandre, show Ghost falling in love with another wolf, and hopefully *hopefully* give us a gift from the riverlands.

It is important to note that the title of Martin’s next book is also the Winds of Winter and I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s gonna end with Jon Snow being like “and YOU get a book, and YOU get a book” and we’ll finally get the next in the series. Whatever.

Regardless, in celebration of the the Winds of Winter, I’ve created the Wings of Winter. Three stark-white wing recipes to carry our three-eyed raven safely home to Winterfell. All of them, as different as the three remaining Stark children. Enjoy.

Bran’s Wings are rustic and hearty for long cold nights north of the wall.

Bran’s Wings
wings braised in bacon fat and blonde ale, served atop a bed of smashed pasrnips with caramelized shallots and mascarpone cheese

for the parsnips
1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp sugar
1 shallot, diced
½ cup mascarpone
¼ cup buttermilk
salt and pepper

for the chicken
½ lb bacon, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 lbs chicken wings
½ onion, diced
1 bottle Iron Throne Blonde Ale by Ommegang (or similar)
2 tbsp whole-grain dijon mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar
8 sprigs fresh thyme
flour
salt and pepper

Boil parsnips until soft. Drain. Melt butter in the pan. Over low heat, stir in parsnips and sugar. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until browned and sweet. Remove from heat. Return parsnips to pan. Using a hand mixer, blend parsnips, shallots, mascarpone and buttermilk. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven or large pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked through. Remove the bacon to a bowl and set aside.

Remove skin from wings and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper. (You may need to work in batches.) Dredge the wings in flour and cook in bacon grease for 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Dump the onion into the bacon grease. Stir. Cook for a minute. Whisk in 1 cup beer, mustard and brown sugar. Place chicken wings and thyme sprigs into pot and cover with the rest of the ale. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve atop parsnips and garnish with bacon.

Arya’s wings have delicious flavors, foreign to Westeros but comforting to her

Arya’s Wings
wings marinated in an exoctic tikka spiced yogurt, grilled and served with a spicy mint chutney

for the mint chutney
¼ cup yogurt
1 ½ cups fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 green chili, seeds removed and cut into chunks
1 small onion, cut into chunks
1- ½” piece of ginger, peeled
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp amchur powder

for the wings
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
2 cups whole-milk yogurt
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1- 1 ½” piece of ginger, peeled and quartered
3 tbsp vegetable oil
juice from 1 lime
1 ½ tsp salt
¾ tsp ground tumeric
½ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp cayenne
2 lbs chicken wings

In a food processor, combine the mint, cilantro, chili, onion, ginger and garlic. Pulse. Add water (¼ cup to ½ cup) as needed to create a coarse paste.

In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, cumin, chaat masala and amchur powder.

With a spoon, stir the green chutney mixture into the yogurt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the wings. Pulse until combined.

Place wings in a freezer bag and pour marinade over it. Seal and place in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

Preheat grill and brush grates with oil. Place wings on the grill and cook for ten minutes. Flip and cook for another ten minutes. Serve with chutney.

Sansa’s wings are simple and wholesome until darkness tempts you to dip them into the spicy, punishing sauce.

Sansa’s Wings
buttermilk ranch marinated wings with fiery red dipping sauce

for dipping sauce
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup hot sauce

for wings
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
⅛ tsp paprika
¼ tsp mustard powder
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp fresh chives, chopped
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
2 lb chicken wings
oil
flour
salt and pepper

Whisk together melted butter and hot sauce. Set aside.

Whisk together first 11 ingredients. Place chicken in a freezer bag and pour mixture over the chicken. Seal and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.

Heat oil over medium-low heat.

Remove wings from the marinade and dredge in flour. Work in batches. Fry in the oil for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Serve with hot sauce.

References
Food Network
Food Network – Aaron McCargo Jr.
Epicurious
Veg Recipes of India
Simply Recipes