A review of tonight’s Game of Thrones season finale coming up just as soon as I examine the contents of this delicious meat pie. Their deaths — and the later death of Walder Frey at the.
You’ll be forgiven if you can’t remember the mention of the Beef and Bacon Pie Reeder refers to here, when Castle Black-bounded Jon Snow reminisces about his favourite dish back in Winterfell. Especially since the Game of Thrones TV series has given us such memorable scenes with other pies: the pigeon pie that poisoned Joffrey, the Frey pie studded with fingers that Arya fed her uncle Walder, and even kidney pie, the making of which Hot Pie expounded on to Brienne of Tarth at the Inn at the Crossroads. Still, it’s hard to argue with Jon that beef and bacon pie makes for a great comfort food of choice, and Reeder’s version here is warm and hearty enough. Those looking for a more flaky pie crust are recommended to fold the dough.
Walder Frey popular quotes from Game of Thrones TV Show and Books. We bet you never realised how many actors had been in both Harry Potter AND Game Of Thrones, right? Walder Frey has been boning up on his wedding planning books.
The only beef I had with this recipe is that after an hour braising, almost all the beef stew gravy had been soaked up by the meat. Sure, the beef was juicy and flavourful after that, but you’d do well to increase the amount of beef stock and red wine added to keep things nice and moist. As Hot Pie had so kindly instructed Brienne, “You cannot give up on the gravy. No gravy, no pie.”
Serves 6-8 | Level: EASY | Total time: 3 hours
double-crust pie dough
2½ cups (310 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp granulated sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks, or 240 g) unsalted butter, chilled
6 tbsp ice water
- Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Slice the butter into the processor and pulse everything until it forms crumbs. Blend in enough ice water to create moist clumps, but not so it is all stuck together.
- Gather the dough into a ball with your hands. If you’re making double crust, divide the dough in half and form into 2 balls. Flatten into disc(s), wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
beef and bacon pie
1 pound (450 g) stew beef, cubed
salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
10 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup (235 ml) red wine
1 cup (235 ml) beef broth
1 cup (150 g) raisins
2 bay leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
½ tsp ground allspice
1 double-crust pie dough
1 tbsp flour, for dusting
- Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C) and season the beef with salt and pepper.
- In a Dutch oven, brown the beef in the olive oil until it’s got some good color on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- Add the bacon to the Dutch oven and cook until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set the bacon aside, leaving the fat behind.
- Add the carrots to the bacon fat and sauté until they are softened, then add the onion. Keep cooking until the onion is soft and beginning to caramelize.
- Add back the beef, along with the red wine, beef broth, raisins, herbs, and spices. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits sticking to the pot and incorporate them with the broth and wine.
- Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and stick it in the oven to braise for 1–2 hours or until the beef is tender enough that it can be mashed with a fork.
- Break the beef up into smaller pieces—this will help incorporate the gravy. Once done, stir in the bacon.
- Increase the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and roll out the pie dough on a lightly fl oured surface. Grease and line two 12 ounce ramekins with pie dough, keeping in mind that there should be enough dough left over to top them as well. Trim away the excess.
- Spoon the beef mixture into each dough-lined ramekin, rationing it evenly between the pies.
- Roll out the dough again and top each of the ramekins with a layer of dough, cutting off any excess and rerolling as necessary. Crimp the edges of the pie to seal and cut vents into the center.
- Bake the pie for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is a nice golden brown color.
The Geeky Chef Strikes Back is published by Race Point Publishing. ©2017 Cassandra Reeder
For SALT’s full review, download our December 2017 issue here! Meanwhile, here are the other dishes from the book that we tested: Jawa Juice from Star Wars, White Dragon Noodles from Blade Runner, Gunslinger Burritos from The Dark Tower, and Norma’s Cherry Pie from Twin Peaks.
Arya didn't take long to find her way back to Westeros — and the very first thing she did when she got there was reap some bloody revenge on those who have wronged her. Arya took out Walder Frey cold and quick. But why did Arya kill Walder Frey?
Walder Frey Game Of Thrones
Arya has wanted to kill Walder for years: his name was always on her kill list, just waiting to be crossed off. Walder is among the men responsible for the Red Wedding, which remains one of the bloodiest spectacles on a show known for its bloody spectacles. The Red Wedding took Arya's brother Robb and her mother Catelyn from her; the Freys betrayed her family and desecrated their bodies, and it was all thanks to a plot hatched between Walder, the Lannisters, and the Boltons. She's had it out for Walder Frey ever since, and with good reason.
Arya waited until festivities were over to strike, and she utilized every skill she learned from the Faceless Men to do it – but with a creative twist to her revenge that I'm pretty sure she didn't pick up from Jaqen H'ghar, unless he teaches a cooking class at the House of Black and White that I don't know about.
Walder sat alone in his hall when a serving girl handed him a slice of pie. He demanded to know where his sons were even as the girl insisted that they were here – they were both right here. She gestured at the pie, horror and tension mounting as Walder peeled back the flaky crust to reveal what could have been a finger, or a toe. Then she pulled off her face and viewers saw that the serving girl was really Arya the entire time. Just in case Walder didn't get the hint, she announced herself to him. Then she slit his throat.
Walder Frey Death
It's been no secret over the years that Arya has violence on her mind; she has been training to be an assassin, after all. And there couldn't have been anyone watching who wasn't happy to see Walder get his just desserts. Still, there was something more than unsettling about Arya's pleased smirk as she watched him die. It felt like a turning point for Arya, perhaps more than other murders she has committed. Despite how justified it is, it means something big for the character: Arya isn't messing around. She doesn't forget grudges, and she follows through on her promises of vengeance. She may not be a Faceless Man in the truest sense of it, but she is an assassin. She's just following her own orders instead of someone else's.
Walder Frey Dies
Arya has never been someone you'd want to mess with, but she more than proved that tonight. Anyone with a name on her list would do well to sleep with one eye open.