Outlander Kitchen

Historical and Character-Inspired Food from the fictional world of Diana Gabaldon.

Archive for the category “Dragonfly in Amber”

05 Nov 2012
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Beef Consomme from DIA

We had reached the second course without incident, and I was beginning to relax slightly, though my hand still had a tendency to tremble over the consommé.

“How perfectly fascinating!”  I said, in response to a story of the younger Monsieur Duverney’s, to which I wasn’t listening, my ears being tuned for any suspicious noises abovestairs.  “Do tell me more.”

I caught Magnus’s eye as he served the Comte St. Germain, seated across from me, and beamed congratulations at him as well as I could with a mouthful of fish.  Too well trained to smile in public, he inclined his head a respectful quarter-inch and went on with the service.  My hand went to the crystal at my neck, and I stroked it ostentatiously as the Comte, with no sign of perturbation on his saturnine features, dug into the trout with almonds.

Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (Chapter 18 – Rape in Paris)

consomme-

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Posted in Dragonfly in Amber and tagged , , , , , , ,
22 Oct 2012
19 Comments

The Comte St. Germain’s Poison

“Drink, Monsieur,” said the King.  The dark eyes were hooded once more, showing nothing.  “Or are you afraid?”

The Comte might have a number of things to his discredit, but cowardice wasn’t one of them.  His face was pale and set, but he met the King’s eyes squarely, with a slight smile.

“No, Majesty,” he said.

He took the cup from my hand and drained it, his eyes fixed on mine.  They stayed fixed, staring into my face, even as they glazed with the knowledge of death.  The White Lady may turn a man’s nature to good, or to destruction.

The Comte’s body hit the floor, writhing, and a chorus of shouts and cries rose from the hooded watchers, drowning any sound he might have made.  His heels drummed briefly, silent on the flowered carpet; his body arched, then subsided into limpness.  The snake, thoroughly disgruntled, struggled free of the disordered folds of white satin and slithered rapidly away, heading for the sanctuary of Louis’s feet.

All was pandemonium.

Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (Chapter 27 – An Audience with His Majesty)

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Posted in Beyond the Books, Dragonfly in Amber and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
04 Sep 2012
24 Comments

Bangers & Mash with Crock Pot Onion Gravy from DIA

“Where the hell have you been?” I demanded.

He took time to kiss me before replying.  His face was cold against mine, and his lips tasted faintly and pleasantly of whisky.

“Mm, sausage for supper?” he said approvingly, sniffing at my hair, which smelled of kitchen smoke.  “Good, I’m fair starved.”

“Bangers and mash,” I said.  “Where have you been?”

He laughed, shaking out his plaid to get the blown snow off.  “Bangers and mash?  That’s food, is it?”

“Sausages with mashed potatoes,” I translated. “A nice traditional English dish, hitherto unknown in the benighted reaches of Scotland.  Now, you bloody Scot, where in hell have you been for the last two days?  Jenny and I were worried!”

Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (Chapter 33 – Thy Brother’s Keeper)

bangers-and-mash

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Posted in Dragonfly in Amber and tagged , , , , , , , ,
13 May 2012
15 Comments

Steamed Mussels with Butter from DIA

I sat on a chest against the taffrail, enjoying the salty breeze and the tarry, fishy smells of ships and harbor.  It was still cold, but with my cloak pulled tight around me, I was warm enough.  The ship rocked slowly, rising on the incoming tide; I could see the beards of algae on nearby dock pilings lifting and swirling, obscuring the shiny black patches of mussels between them.

The thought of mussels reminded me of the steamed mussels with butter I had had for dinner the night before, and I was suddenly starving.  The absurd contrasts of pregnancy seemed to keep me always conscious of my digestion; if I wasn’t vomiting, I was ravenously hungry.  The thought of food led me to the thought of menus, which led back to a contemplation of the entertaining Jared had mentioned.  Dinner parties, hm?  It seemed as odd way to begin the job of saving Scotland, but then I couldn’t really think of anything better.

Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (Chapter 6 – Making Waves)

mussels-plate

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Posted in Dragonfly in Amber and tagged , , , , , , ,
19 Mar 2012
27 Comments

Claire’s Nettle-Kissed Buns

“The peasants of Gascony beat a faithless wife wi’ nettles,” he  said.  He lowered the spiky bunch of leaves and rushed the flower heads lightly across one breast.  I gasped from the sudden sting, and a faint red blotch appeared as though by magic on my skin.

“Will ye have me do so?” he asked.  “Shall I punish you that way?”

“If you…if you like.”  My lips were trembling so hard I could barely get out the words.  A few crumbs of earth from the nettles’ roots had fallen between my breasts; one rolled down the slope of my ribs, dislodged by my pounding heart, I imagined.  The welt on my breast burned like fire.  I closed my eyes, imagining in vivid detail exactly what being thrashed with a bunch of nettles would feel like.

Suddenly the viselike grip on my wrist relaxed.  I opened my eyes to find Jamie sitting cross-legged by me, the plants thrown aside and scattered on the ground.  He had a faint, rueful smile on his lips.

“I beat you once in justice, Sassenach, and ye threatened to disembowel me with my own dirk.  Now you’ll ask me to whip ye wi’ nettles?”  He shook his head slowly, wondering, and his hand reached as though by its own volition to cup my cheek.  “Is my pride worth so much to you , then?”

“Yes!  Yes, it bloody is!”  I sat up myself, and grasped him by the shoulders, taking both of us by surprise as I kissed him hard and awkwardly.

Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (Chapter 29)

nettle-buns

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Posted in Beyond the Books, Dragonfly in Amber and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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