Like any story in The Song of Ice and Fire, a girl must wait for the conclusion. My Santa sent me a second thing! The seller may have been really slow, but they're still beating George RR Martin, so hey. =) Did you also like the gift and want in on my Santa's great ideas? Here's something so you can join in the fun - the website of the cookbook authors, which has some GoT recipes for free http://www.innatthecrossroads.com/recipes/recipes-by-meal/

Here's how it all went down:

You see, I love Game of Thrones, yet I'm short on space for charming collectibles, so I requested exchanging items that were useful. Bonus points for kitchen stuff. I wasn't sure how well that would turn out, but I was in EXCELLENT hands with my Santa! Seriously, my Santa's shopping is so clever I suspect Littlefinger was my match.

A second box arrived from my Santa, with a ridiculously useful and completely clever follow-up gift: A cutting board with the Stark Direwolf sigil in the center and a play on their House Words.

Dinner is Coming

Hell. Yes.

Also the wood looks an awful lot like sustainable bamboo, which is really my jam, so I'm going to just say that's true.

The design seems to be laser engraving. Very crisp. Not too deep. Like printing on the board with dragon fire. Every kitchen north of Riverrun needs one of these!

And of course the original gift: 'A Feast of Ice and Fire' - a Game of Thrones cookbook :D Thank you Santa! I'm thrilled and even live in a town that has non-standard meats and veggies to try the recipes with! So far I have made honeyed wine and Aurochs with Roasted Leeks. (Shh, it was totally Aurochs. And yes, I failed to take photos. My millennial card is on probation due to lack of Instagramming my food)

Three reasons why this gift is delightful!

First - it's a cookbook. Inherently useful and thus just what I wanted! Second - I admitted enjoying the show just a bit more than the books because of its immersiveness and the rich look and feel of everything. What's more immersive than lemon cakes in my own garden? Soon I'll be quipping like Olenna Tyrell :D Third - I enjoy brewing beer and drinking libations, and not only does this cookbook include several drink recipes, but it introduced me to some medieval spices that I think would go really well in a Saison. (Where on earth do I find Galangal though...)

Bonus points to the authors for including honest to goodness historical recipes, and modernized versions of them, with descriptions of what you can expect from the authors. I also love that they didn't shy away from including snake, bugs,