Game of Thrones Kindle Dictionary

One day as I was talking to some friends who were reading the Game of Thrones series on their kindles, I realized that it would be awesome to have a dictionary that was tied into the Kindle and had all the characters and locations built in so that you could look it up.

With the X-Ray stuff that comes with the book there are some details about the characters, but not too much, and there is no information about the locations or maps.  In particular, the maps that come with the books look awful on the kindle.

So I decided to try and do something about it.

To do this I first had to determine exactly how to create a dictionary for the kindle.  Luckily I found an extremely useful site that detailed exactly how to make a dictionary and provided the software necessary to actually create it.  The link with all of the necessary information is Kindle Dictionary.

Second I had to determine where to get the information from.  To do this I primarily used the Game of Thrones Wikipedia page, which can be found here.  I also supplemented it with my knowledge of the series.

I started by taking the list of characters and then going through them and adding descriptions for them.  Since I wanted this to be useful for all readers, not just those that have read all the books I went through a lot of pains to remove all spoilers.  In particular I had to remove past tense verbs for characters who were dead and plot points from later books.

I then talked to my friends who were reading the series and added a few more categories that they wanted such as ship names and house information.  Finally, I added all the locations and maps for most of them.

All in all it ended up being a pretty extensive dictionary and seems to be fairly useful.  It certainly isn't perfect, but I think it is a good first start.

I will just go over a little bit about how it works, which is basically just how a Kindle Dictionary works.

 If there is a word that you want to know the definition of you simple highlight it, either with your finger or .... other Kindle Device. I have a touch, so I don't know how the other Kindles work.  Anyway, you highlight the word and it brings up the beginning of the definition.  In the picture below I highlighted Robb and so it brings up the definition for Robb Stark.  If you wanted to read the entire definition then you click the full definition button.  There are some names with multiple characters, such as Jon.  For those I had to make disambiguation pages that have the list of all Jon's and then you can pick the one that you want to read about.

I tried to include locations for all of the maps.  The example below shows that.  In this case it is just a map of the North that has the information for Widow's Watch on top of it.

The Kindle allows you to increase the size of the images.  To do that just click and hold on the image and then the following screen will pop up.  You can click the magnifying class to get the image to go full screen.

Which isn't really large... but larger at least.

For places where the map did not fit on the page I added a sentence saying that the map was on the next page.

And that was pretty much that.  That was a lot of work boiled into a short description.  I finished this In April or May probably and gave it to my friends.  I always ask them about feedback and they always have forgotten something they wanted to be added, but in general they seemed to find it useful.  So I figured I should share it with the world.

The Dictionary file can be found here: GOTDict.mobi
The README, which is basically what I have written here can be found here: README

The information that I used to create this dictionary, which was the Song of Ice and Fire wiki, is covered by the creative commons.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Recipes 43 & 44: Cider-Glazed Chicken Thighs and Beet and Quinoa Tabouli

All right, it has been a long time since I have posted a recipe, but I finally have some free time, so I shall attack a bit of the back log.  I choose this... well mostly because it looked good, and it was another quinoa recipe that I could try out.  When I told my friends I made a dish with beets they looked at me incredulously and asked very seriously if I had purchased the beets on my own accord.

I thought it was good though, so I suppose that is all that really matters.  Here is the final result:

I managed to slightly burn the skin of the chicken thighs, but I am going to blame the recipe as I shall explain below.

Cider-Glazed Chicken Thighs (Link)

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed  
• 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper  
• 3/4 cup apple cider  
• 1 Tbs. honey  
• 1-1/2 Tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler and heat the oven to 450°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the oil, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Put a rack on the baking sheet and arrange the chicken thighs skin side up on the rack. Roast until the thighs are lightly golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part without touching the bone registers 165°F, about 20 minutes

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the cider and honey to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer vigorously until the mixture has reduced to 1/2 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.

Turn the broiler to high, brush the chicken thighs with the cider glaze, and broil for 1 minute. Brush with more glaze and broil again until deep golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, brush with more of the glaze, and serve.


Beet and Quinoa Tabouli (Link)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs. pine nuts  
• 1 cup (7 oz) uncooked white quinoa  
• 2 cups water or homemade vegetable broth  
• Sea salt  
• 1 large cooked beet, peeled and diced  
• 1 cup mixed cherry tomatoes, cut in half  
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped  
• 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until lightly colored and fragrant; remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Rinse the quinoa under cold water and drain it in a colander. Add it to a pot and cover with the water or broth and a pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 12 to 14 minutes, or until all of the water or broth is absorbed. Remove from the heat and keep covered for 5 more minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl and fluff it with a fork; let cool. Add the beet and toss gently. The quinoa will take on a nice pink color. Add the tomatoes, onion, and cheese.

The Process

So cooking the chicken thighs was going to be pretty quick, so I first started on the tabouli.  I first  toasted the pine nuts so they would be ready.

Then I prepared the beet..... this took... much longer than I was expected.  I think next time, I would recommend cutting it in half or in smaller pieces, because cooking a whole large one was very long.

Sprinks came to explore!  My water bottle.

So the quinoa was done, I didn't include pictures of that, but I used chicken broth.  I would always recommend using broth of some sort when cooking quinoa.  Also, if you didn't buy the prewashed kind.  Make sure you wash it.

So I cut up the beet into kind of small pieces and then mixed everything together.

Then I added the onion and the feta and the cherry tomatoes.

 Mixed it all up and.... it was done!

 I think I started the chicken as the quinoa was cooking.  I tossed the chicken thighs with oil, salt and pepper and then put them in the baking sheet and put it in the oven to cook.

Then I prepared the glaze.  It was pretty simple and was done quickly.

Here is the chicken after getting out of the oven ready to be glazed and broiled

SO..... the recipe said to broil it for 2-3 minutes 6 inches away from the broiler and then glaze again and then broil again.  Perhaps I was too close to the broiler... I am not positive... but regardless.... I made a mistake and the skin got just a tad crispy and that was only after about a minute... so... be careful.

And here is the final dish.

 

Other than the fact that the skin was a little burnt, I thought that this meal was great.  The beet was actually really good when mixed with quinoa.  It was much better when it was warm.  The chicken was good.  The skin... was a little crispy, but the glaze helped a lot.  All in all it was a good meal, and not too bad in terms of time. 

Recipes 41 & 42: Plum glazed Duck Breast and A Quinoa Salad

Over the thanksgiving break I had a duck breast at a restaurant in Eugene.  I thought it was really good, though perhaps a little rawer than I would have made.  However, that made me really want to try out making duck.  I was debating between two recipes, one with peaches and one with plum.  Since peaches aren't really in season I decided to go with the plum glazed recipe.

In addition, I also decided to make a quinoa salad to go with it.  I must admit that when I first tried quinoa I was a little skeptical, but I have really enjoyed a lot of the recipes that I have made with it.  I think that one big difference is making it with broth instead of water.  I think that adds a lot to the flavor.

Just a note, you might have noticed that this is recipe 42, and it happened in late November.  Which basically means that to reach my goal of 52 in a year I would have to make 10 recipes in the month of December.  It was a daunting challenge, and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it, despite being behind on blogging, I swear that I did!

Here is the final result, primarily of the duck, but you can see the salad in the background.

Here is the recipe that I used for the duck: (Link)

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skin-on duck breast halves (about 1 lb. each)  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper  
• 1/2 cup plum preserves    
• 1 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce   
• 1/4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder  
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes    
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced 

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Trim any excess skin and fat from the duck and score the remaining skin and fat underneath in a 1-inch diamond pattern, taking care not to cut the flesh. Pat the duck dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat. Put the duck in the skillet skin side down, reduce the heat to medium low, and render the fat until only a thin, crisp layer of skin remains, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the preserves, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and red pepper flakes.

Turn the duck over, carefully spoon off most of the fat from the skillet, and brush the preserves mixture over the breasts.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 135°F for medium rare, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the duck to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, tilt the skillet and spoon off as much fat from the pan juice as possible. Slice the duck diagonally into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange on plates and spoon the pan juice over. Sprinkle with the scallions and serve.

Changes

 The only change that I made was in the duck breasts that I used.  This recipe called for 2 large breasts, but the only store where I could find duck only had a frozen package of two 1/2 pound duck breasts.  This meant that they were smaller than the recipe called for.  This changed the cooking time for the recipe as I cooked it a little bit less than the recipe called for.

And here is the recipe that I used for the Quinoa Salad: (Link)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups quinoa, preferably red  
• Sea salt  
• 5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed  
• 1 large red onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise  
• 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar  
• 4 oz. arugula, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 3 cups)  
• 4 oz. aged Gouda, finely diced (about 1 cup)  
• 3 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced  
• 1 large, crisp apple, such as Fuji or Pink Lady, cut into 1/2-inch dice  
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped  
• 1 cup finely diced fennel  
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries  
• 3 Tbs. sherry vinegar  
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a bowl, rinse the quinoa with water, rubbing it between your fingers for about 10 seconds. Drain and transfer it to a 3-quart pot. Add 2-1/2 cups water and 1/2 tsp. sea salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender but still delicately crunchy, about 15 minutes.

Drain the quinoa and return it to the pot. Cover and let the quinoa rest for 5 minutes; then fluff it with a fork. Let cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa cooks, heat 2 Tbs. of the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring frequently, until tender and brown around the edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and toss with the onions until the vinegar cooks away, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, onions, arugula, cheese, celery, apple, walnuts, fennel, and cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil with the sherry vinegar, 1/2 tsp. sea salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Add the dressing to the salad and gently mix it in. Let rest a moment; then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if the salad seems dry.

Changes

I made two minor changes to this.  The first is that I used chicken broth to cook the quinoa in.  Also, it should be noted that I didn't wash the quinoa since I buy the prewashed brand.  However, if you don't buy prewashed quinoa, you need to make sure to wash it, otherwise it isn't going to taste very good.

The second change was that I did not add 4 oz of arugula, that seemed like way too much.  I might have added 2.5 or 3.  But I would recommend adding as much as you want.

The Process

The first step in cooking the duck was to trim the fat and score the skin.  Here I have laid them out.  To trim it I just cut a little bit of the skin off, since there wasn't a lot of fat.  Scoring the skin was a little tough, mainly because I wasn't exactly sure what I should do.  So I basically just cut the skin in diamond patterns and tried to make it a little deep, but not deep enough to reach the skin.

Once that was done I put the breasts in the skillet, skin side down.

After a few minutes, I flipped them over, the skin was crispy, so they were pretty much done.

I spooned over the plum preserve and then put them into the oven to cook them.

Meanwhile, probably actually before most of the duck work, I worked on the salad. Here is the Gouda and onions chopped up.

Most of the steps of this is pretty simple.  I cooked up the onions and quinoa and then mixed it all together.  You can see in the picture below that this looks like a lot of arugula, and that isn't even all that the recipe called for.

Here is is mixed up a little bit more.

Again, the cook time for my duck was a little bit shorter, but I took it out based on the thermometer.  I actually cooked it a little high. I think I probably went to 150 instead of 135.

And here is the final result.

I thought that both of these recipes were terrific.  The salad was really good, especially with the guoda and cranberries.  The duck was also very good.  I wish that I could have got not frozen breasts, but that was ok, this was still a great recipe.

Recipes 39 & 40: Blue Ribbon Chili and Creamy Broccoli Casserole

While most of the recipes I have made have been completely new, there was one point where I was really feeling like Chili.  I have a recipe that I typically used, but I figured that it would be fine to highlight that.

In addition, I figured that I would make something to go with it, so that at least I was making something new.  So I settled on a broccoli casserole.

Here is a picture of the chili:

And of the broccoli casserole:

I have made this Chili many times and it is really great.   Here is the recipe (link)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) jar salsa
• 4 tablespoons chili seasoning mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans

Directions

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.
2. Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.

Changes

 The only change that I made to this recipe was that I used ground sirloin.  I didn't have two pounds, I only had 1.3, but I kept everything else the same.

And here is the recipe for the broccoli casserole. (link)

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup crushed buttery round crackers

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place broccoli in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, about 4 to 6 minutes; drain.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in salt, flour, and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Remove from heat, and stir in broccoli.
4. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of crushed crackers over the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Slowly pour the broccoli mixture into the dish, and top with remaining crushed crackers.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Changes

The main change that I made to this was that I used fresh broccoli and steamed it before continuing with the recipe.  In addition I cut the cream cheese in half and also added some garlic salt and pepper to the sauce since a lot of reviewers talked about it being a bit bland.

Finally, I only added the crumbled crackers to the top of the dish.

The Process

I started by cooking the ground sirloin and onions in a large pot.

Sprinkles, attracted by the smell of the meat came to investigate.

After the meat was ready I added the beans and spices and other ingredients, covered it and let it cook for an hour.

Then I started on the broccoli casserole.  I steamed the broccoli and then prepared the sauce.

Once the sauce was ready, I then mixed the broccoli into it.

I then put all of that into a pie plate.

I then added the crumbled crackers (in this case Ritz) to the top of the broccoli mixture.  I then put it in the oven.

As that was cooking, the chili finished.  I took it off the burner and let it sit until the broccoli casserole was done.

Here is a picture of the casserole just out of the oven.

Here is the final result of the chili, covered with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.

And here is the final view of the broccoli casserole.

The chili was as good as ever, I think I liked it better with ground sirloin instead of the ground beef.  I also liked the broccoli casserole.  I am not sure that it is a really healthy way to get broccoli, but it was good.

Overall, this was a very good meal.

Recipe 38: Grilled Sausages with Caramelized Onions and Apples

After a very successful friend Thanksgiving, I had a short week before thanksgiving, but I still needed to feed myself.  So I chose to make a dish that I have had on my list a very long time but never attempted.

This dish was very German kind of, with sausages and apples and onions, or at least it reminded me a bit of Oktoberfest and also of Fall.

Here is a picture of the final result:

And here is the recipe that I used: (Link)

Ingredients

• 8 sausages
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium onions, halved and sliced
• 3 large apples - peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges
• 2 tablespoons apple cider or red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare grill for high heat.
2. With a fork, poke sausages several times. Place in a pot, cover with water, and simmer over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Warm butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, and cook until soft and translucent. Stir in apples, vinegar, and brown sugar; cook, stirring gently, until caramelized, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, place sausages on grill (or under broiler), and cook until well browned. Serve on a mound of caramelized apples and onions.

Changes

I made several changes to this recipe:

The first is that instead of cooking the sausage in water I instead used two bottles of beer.  I am not sure how much of an effect this had, but I really enjoyed it.

The second change was that I also made mashed potatoes to go with this dish.  I used this recipe (Link), which was pretty simple and used red potatoes which I like.  One thing to note about that recipe is that it is for 100 servings.  I obviously did not make that much.  I believe I made 2 servings and it was fine with this dish. 

The final change is that I did not have a grill around to cook the sausage on.  Instead I used the broiler for just a few minutes.

The Process

  I started by first preparing the potatoes.  I added them to a pot of water.

At this point, Sprinks walked in and stared at me.  

At the same time I started preparing the sausages.  Here you can see one sausage lifted out of the beer.  I almost forgot this when I was making it, but don't forget to poke holes in the sausage it makes a large difference it the flavors they soak up.

While both of those were cooking I prepared the apples and the onions.  Here you can see the carnage of coring and slicing apples. I am not the neatest corer in the world, but it got the job done.

By this time the sausages were done, so I set them aside and  begin working on the onions and apple mix.

I then prepared a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place the sausages on it, to prepare for the broiler.

 With the onions and apples cooking, I begin to mash the potatoes, here you can see the butter, garlic and romano cheese added.

Soon the onions and apples were ready.  I didn't add a whole lot of salt and pepper to this, but you certainly could if desired.

I then finished mashing the potatoes.

Finally, I placed the sausages in the broiler.  I only broiled them for about a minute or 2 on each side, you definitely don't want to leave them in too long.

You can't really see this in the picture below, but I put the mashed potatoes down first, then on top of that I put the onions and apples and finally topped it off with the sausage.

I really liked this dish.  I know that I basically say that about everything that I make.... so I guess I am not sure how much that means.  But I thought this was great.  Definitely not very green or veggie oriented, so it wouldn't hurt to add a side salad to this dish.  But in terms of quantity of food this was more than enough for me.