Danielle has always loved food and loved to cook, so it's no surprise that she mentions food quite a bit in her stories. In "The Red of Blood and Roses" you'll come across quite a few scenes that involve the characters sitting together at a table and enjoying a comforting meal before embarking on an epic adventure. Her readers would sometimes mention to her of certain dishes from the stories, telling her they sounded delicious and that they wished they could try some. So, Danielle thought it would be fun to actually recreate some of the dishes mentioned in her books. She spent weeks perusing through various recipes, trying all kinds of different things, and even adding her own twists to them. Once she perfected a dish, just how she imagined it would be in her stories, she would keep the recipes. And now she wants to share them with all of you. So, without further ado, here are some of the delicious dishes and treats from the stories. Bon appétit!

*Nayeli's Rose Tea (From the Red of Blood and Roses)

-Serves 2

 

Ingredients:  2½ tablespoons of dried rose petals (the organic-edible kind, so as not to ingest possible pesticides/unhealthy chemicals) 
                       1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
                       2½ cups boiling water
                       1½ Tablespoons of either agave syrup or honey

Instructions:  First, place the rose petals and the vanilla bean seeds into a teapot. If you don't have a teapot, that's fine. A regular cooking pot will also work. Then pour on the boiling water. Slowly stir in the agave syrup or honey, cover it up, and then let steep for 25-30 minutes. The longer it steeps, the more flavor it will have. When it's done steeping, strain it and re-heat it a little bit, to the temperature you'd like to enjoy it at.

*Nayeli's Stew (From the Red of Blood and Roses)

-Serves 10

Ingredients:  1 pound of dragon meat (or 1 lb. of kielbasa sausage) sliced into 1/2 inch pieces                     
                       3 slices of your favorite bacon
                       1 pound cubed pork stew meat
                       ¼ cup all-purpose flour
                       4 cups shredded green cabbage
                       2 carrots, sliced
                       1 ½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms
                       1 onion, diced
                       3 cloves garlic, chopped
                       1 (16 ounce) jar sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
                       ¼ cup of dry red wine
                       1 tablespoon sweet paprika
                       1 teaspoon dried basil
                       ½ teaspoon salt
                       1 teaspoon dried marjoram
                       ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
                       ⅛ teaspoon of crushed caraway seed
                       5 cups of chicken or beef stock (Either one is delicious)
                       1 cup canned diced tomatoes
                       2 tablespoons canned tomato paste 
                       ½ ounce dried mushrooms
                       1 dash your favorite hot sauce
                       1 dash of your favorite steak sauce

​Instructions: You want to begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Then,  you want to heat a large pot over medium heat. Add your dragon or kielbasa and the bacon. You'll want to stir and cook these until the bacon has rendered its fat and the sausage is lightly browned. Then simply transfer it to a large casserole or Dutch oven.

Then, you'll need to coat the cubes of pork with flour and fry them in the bacon drippings over medium-high heat until they are golden brown. You'll want to transfer these to your casserole dish or Dutch oven as well.

Now you'll want to add your cabbage, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Then, add in your sauerkraut. Now you can reduce the heat to medium. You'll want to cook and stir this well, until carrots are soft. This process takes about 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to leave them too long though. You won't want them to brown.

Now, you'll need to deglaze the pan by pouring in your red wine and stirring it to loosen all of the bits of food and flour that are stuck to the bottom. Season with your paprika, basil, marjoram, salt, pepper, caraway seed, and cayenne. Let it simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Now you'll want to mix in your beef or chicken stock, your tomatoes, dried mushrooms, tomato paste, hot sauce, and steak sauce. You'll heat this until it just begins to boil. Then you're just going to pour it all, veggies and sauce, into the casserole dish with the meat. Cover it with a lid.

Then all you've got to do is bake in the preheated oven for 3 hours, or until meat is very tender.

*King Iver's Favorite Pear and Cardamom Jelly (From the Red of Blood and Roses)

-Makes about 2½ pints

​Ingredients: 4 pounds ripe Bartlett pears—peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
                      4 cups of sugar
                      ½  cup, plus a tbs of fresh lemon juice
                      1 tbs green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
                      1 tbs of honey

Instructions:  In a large glass or ceramic bowl, toss in the pears with the sugar and lemon juice. Cover it up and refrigerate overnight.

Next,  put a metal spoon in the freezer. You'll need it to be nice a chilled for later. Transfer the pears and their liquid to a wide, heavy pot and bring it all to a boil. Put the crushed cardamom in a tea ball and add it to the pot. Cook the pears over high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid starts to thicken and the pears become translucent. This should take about 10 minutes. Then, remove the pot from the heat.

Next,  you're going to transfer one-third of the pears to a food processor or a food mill and puree it all, until smooth. Add the puree to the pot. Boil over moderately high heat, stirring, until the jam is very thick, about 5 minutes. To test the jam, drop a small amount on the chilled spoon and freeze for about 30 seconds. When you tilt the spoon, the jam should be thick and run down the spoon slowly. If the jam is runny, cook it for a few minutes longer, then test again. Remove the tea ball and stir in the honey.

Then, ladle the jam into three clean, 1-pint jars and let it cool completely. Tightly close the jars and store the pear jam in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

*Errathae Lemon Candies (From the Red of Blood and Roses)

-Serves 16

​Ingredients: 1 cup of granulated sugar
                      1 cup of water
                      2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
                      2-3 lemons (sliced to 1/8 inch of thickness)

Instructions: In a large sauce pan, combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring it all to a boil.

Then, reduce to a simmer (med-low) and toss in your lemon slices in single layers.

After that, you'll want to let your lemons simmer for about 15 minutes. You'll want to turn them over once or twice during the process. You'll notice the liquid thickening as you do this. This is normal.

Once you've simmered for the 15 minutes, you'll then take your lemons out of the liquid and place them gently on a cooling rack or waxed paper. Let them sit out for 24 hrs, before putting them in a container.

If you'd like them to have a little extra crunch, you can also put them in fridge. 

*Odette's Apple Cider Honey Cake (From the Red of Blood and Roses)

-Serves 12

​Ingredients: 1¼ cup of sugar
​                       ⅓ cup of canola oil
                       ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar (unfiltered) 
                       4 eggs
                       ¾  cup of honey
                       2¼ cup of all purpose flour 
                       2 tsp of baking powder
                       1 tsp of baking soda
                       2 tsp of cinnamon
                       ½ tsp nutmeg
                       ½ tsp allspice
                       ½ tsp of kosher salt
                       2 cups of apples - peeled and diced (Odette's favorites are the green ones, but any apples will do)

Instructions: Begin by pre-heating your oven to 300 degrees.

Next, you'll want to butter a 10 inch bunt cake pan. Coat it well and then give it a light sprinkle of flour. This will prevent your cake from sticking to the pan.

Next, you'll want to combine the eggs, honey, sugar, oil and apple cider into a large bowl. You can whisk it by hand or with a beater. Mix until the batter is smooth and light.

​Then, in a different bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and salt. Then add your apples to this mixture. Mix it well and try to coat every apple piece with as much of the spice and flour as you can.

Then, you want to add the liquid batter from the first bowl into the spice and apple mixture. Mix it together and fold it well.

Next, you're going to pour that batter into your buttered bunt pan. Even out the batter with a spatula.

Let it bake for about an hour. Baking times may vary. Use a toothpick or fork to jab at the canter of the cake. If the toothpick comes out wet, that means the cake needs to cook a little longer. Keep it in the oven for an additional ten minutes and then test the cake again. It is done when the toothpick or fork comes out dry. 

Once it's out of the oven, let it cool for about an hour.

And voila! Deliciousness! Serve this cake with a drizzle of honey on top. It's also good warmed, with a dab of melted butter.
                       

*Lysander's Jerky (From the Red of Blood and Roses)

-Serves 15

 

Ingredients: 3 lbs. of beef eye of round or sirloin tip roast (Lysander's favorite is the sirloin) 

                      ¾ cup of soy sauce

                     ¼ cup of Worcestershire sauce

                     1 tbsp of dried oregano

                     2 tsp of ground black pepper

                     1 ½ tsp of garlic powder

                     1 ½ tsp of smoked paprika

                     1 ½ tsp of liquid smoke

                     1 ½ tsp of ancho chili powder (if you like A LOT of heat and prefer your jerky spicier, you can use habanero chili powder instead)

 

Instructions: Begin by trimming all exterior fat from the roast. Then, put your roast in the freezer for about 45 minutes. This will get it frozen on the outside, but still soft-ish on the inside. This will help with slicing it. Then you're slice the beef roast against the grain into 1/8-inch thick strips.

 

Once your beef is sliced, place the strips in a large zip bag. Add all remaining ingredients to the bag. Zip the bag closed, then massage the beef well so the seasoning coats every strip.

 

Then, place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate the beef for at least 5 hours. You can keep it in for as long as 12 though.  *The longer the beef marinades, the better it will taste!*

 

When it’s done marinating, it is ready to bake. Heat your oven to 175 degrees F. Line 2-3 large rimmed baking sheets with foil, and then place baking racks on the pans. 

 

Drain the marinade off the beef and lay the strips in a single layer across the baking racks.

 

Then let it bake in the oven for about 3-4 hours. You can take the jerky out at the 3 hr. mark, let it cool, and taste it. You can put it back in the oven for that additional hour depending on your preferences.

 

It can keep for up to two weeks in an air tight container. If you were unable to trim off a lot of the fat prior though, you may have to eat it quicker, because it may not last as long.