The top 5 activities on “Game of Thrones”:

1. Plotting conspiracies

2. Committing acts of violence

3. Plotting betrayals

4. Committing acts of sex

5. Eating and drinking

No. 5 is what we at Team Crave are concerned with in the run-up to Sunday’s season premiere of HBO’s fantasy series about knights, wights and dragons. It’s the final season, so anticipation runs high.

A suggestion to maximize appreciation: Throw a watch party and feast upon items that might have been served in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

The show offers some clues to a potential menu, but the five books on which the shows are based can really get you started. George R.R. Martin, author of the epic series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” writes about meals with reverence:

“All the while the courses came and went. A thick soup of barley and venison. Salads of sweetgrass and spinach and plums, sprinkled with crushed nuts. Snails in honey and garlic. … Then came trout fresh from the river, baked in clay. … Later came sweetbreads and pigeon pie and baked apples fragrant with cinnamon and lemon cakes frosted in sugar. …”

It so happens that I have all five books on my Kindle, so it was a simple matter of searching various culinary keywords to come up with menu ideas. A search for the word “pie,” for instance, came up with references to pies filled with steak, kidneys, boar, mutton, pigeons, live doves, lampreys (eels) and locusts. There’s even a character called Hot Pie.

And so for the main course at your mini-banquet, bake a meat pie. To make the hunting and gathering easier, go with pork instead of boar, lamb instead of mutton or chicken instead of pigeon. Although you could get yourself a couple of pigeons, it’s not like they’re scarce. Live large.

You’re on your own with the locusts, though.

Round out your meal with stuffed peppers and, for dessert, lemon cake.

For more ideas, try the website innatthecrossroads.com, a geeky paradise of information and tested recipes.

If you need more of a running start to put together a truly worthy “Thrones” feast, the season does run for six episodes. You could build up to a mighty repast for the series finale May 19. You should be able to round up enough pigeons by then to fill a pie.

LEMON-OLIVE OIL TINY CAKES

By Betty Shimabukuro

Lemon cakes are frequently mentioned as the favorite of Lady Sansa of Winterfell. Citrus was a precious thing at Winterfell, a place of snow and ice, so these cakes were indeed treats.

This recipe produces cakes that don’t rise much. I tried to correct that by adjusting the leavening, then decided I like the tininess — they’re kind of like muffin tops, with a bit of a crust all around. In this form, they’re easy to pass around while everyone’s glued to the television.

You could also make a single cake in a 9-inch round pan and serve it in wedges, just be aware that it will be a fairly flat cake.

It will take 3 to 4 small lemons to get all the juice and zest you need to pull this off.

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• Powdered sugar, for decorating

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 (12-cup) muffin pans.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Combine olive oil and lemon juice; set aside.

Beat eggs and sugar with mixer on high speed until light yellow and smooth.

Lower mixer speed and add flour mixture, alternating with oil mixture, blending until smooth. Mix in vanilla; fold in lemon zest. Pour into prepared pans, filling cups halfway (for taller cakes, fill 2/3 full). Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a pick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean.

Cool in pans, then remove tiny cakes to serving plate. Dust well with powdered sugar. Makes 24 cakes.

Nutritional information unavailable.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH BARLEY AND CHEESE

By Betty Shimabukuro

Long green peppers stuffed with cheese and onions were the most palatable item on a list of dishes served at a meal in the land of Dorne (the warm, tropical part of the Seven Kingdoms). Also on the menu: “chunks of seven different sorts of snake, slow-simmered with dragon peppers and blood oranges and a dash of venom to give it good bite.” Yummy.

These are basically jalapeno poppers, but instead of the usual cream cheese filling (I’m not at all sure they had cream cheese in medieval times), I’ve bulked these up with barley and a mix of shredded cheeses (barley is an ancient grain and cheddar and Parmesan are also age-old).

Jalapenos sub in for the dragon peppers of Dorne. Jalapenos are mild when cooked, but to eliminate any burn use small sweet peppers instead. For the amount of cooked barley needed, start with 1 cup of raw barley; simmer in 3 cups water.

• 12 jalapeno peppers
• 2 cups cooked pearl barley, warm
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 12 pieces bacon, cut in half

Heat over to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment or foil.

Cut peppers in half lengthwise; remove seeds and veins.

Combine barley with cheeses (barley should be warm to melt cheeses). Fill each pepper half with barley mixture. Wrap bacon halves around pepper halves, tucking ends under peppers. Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, until bacon is cooked and edges of peppers are beginning to brown. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 370 calories, 25 g total fat, 11 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 16 g protein.

SEVEN KINGDOMS MEAT PIE

By Betty Shimabukuro

In Westeros you’d use ale in this dish, but I’d suggest a good craft stout, preferably coffee-flavored. Whatever beer you choose will determine the flavor of the filling, moreso than the seasonings.

Use beef, lamb or pork in any combination adding up to about 2-1/2 pounds. Make your own pie crust, if that’s your jam, or use a frozen prepared crust. Or for an express presentation, use a bread bowl instead of making a pie.

You’ll probably have some extra filling, which can be combined with pie dough scraps to make meat turnovers, or serve the extra filling as a stew.

• 2-1/2 pounds boneless lamb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or use beef, pork or a combination)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 cups quartered white mushrooms
• 1 cup beef stock
• 12 ounces stout
• 1/2 cup flour

Dough for 10-inch, double-crust pie

Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper and thyme; set aside.

Heat oil in large, deep saute pan or Dutch oven on medium-high. Saute onions, garlic and carrots until onions are softened. Add meat; brown lightly (add a little more oil if meat starts to stick). Stir in mushrooms; saute briefly.

Add stock; scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pan. Slowly add beer (it will foam up). Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Sift in flour; stir well. Let simmer 30 minutes, uncovered, until meat is tender and gravy has thickened. Let cool to room temperature (filling may be made ahead and refrigerated 1 to 2 days).

Heat oven to 450 degrees. If meat filling has been refrigerated, let sit on counter to take chill off.

Roll out 1/2 the pie dough to fit a 10-inch pie pan. Place in pie pan. Fill with lamb mixture. Roll out a second crust and cover pie. Trim extra dough and crimp edges all around. Cut slits in top to vent steam. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until top is golden. Let pie cool on rack about 20 minutes to let filling set. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 780 calories, 50 g total fat, 21 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 800 mg sodium, 45 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 29 g protein.

Nutritional analyses by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.