There are few things Hobbits enjoy more than eating, what with second breakfasts and Elevensees and such. So what would a proper Hobbit serve on a huge eating day like Thanksgiving? We looked around for the best Hobbit and Middle Earth recipes, and pulled a few that we thought would make for a fun and delicious Turkey Day to rule them all.
Ingredients:
1 ounce dried Porcini mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sliced celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/4 cup diced onion
1 lb. button mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
6-8 oz Shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
6-8 oz Crimini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
6-8 oz Oyster mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup dry Sherry
4 cups beef broth
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 1/2 - 2 tsp salt, or to taste
4 tbsp cornstarch
Directions:
Place Porcini in medium bowl. Pour boiling water over. Let stand until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Strain soaking liquid through cheesecloth to remove any dirt. Coarsely chop Porcini.
Melt butter and olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium high heat. Add celery, garlic, and onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add all mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add Sherry and cook until almost all liquid evaporates. Add reserve soaking liquid, beef and chicken broths, dried thyme, and pepper. Simmer soup 30 minutes to blend flavors.
Add half-and-half and stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt. Mix cornstarch and water together. Pour cornstarch mixture slowly into soup, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (rounded) of whole wheat flour
2 tbs olive oil (cold pressed)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbs honey
Directions:
Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl with your fingers, rubbing between fingers to ensure even-ness. Don't worry if it all seems a gooey mess at this state; it sometimes does. The amazing thing is that the water dries up.
Now add 1 TBS very cold water (ice water, even?) and keep mixing and behold it becomes more pastry-like and you can form it into patties/wafers. Make them about 1/4 thick, and about 2-4 inches in diameter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and turn over to brown the other side. Bake another 5 minutes. Sometimes it seems to take a bit longer to get a nice golden brown.
Directions:
Option 1:
On an outdoor gas grill, keep the bird to one side of the grill, with a pan of water beneath the rack it sits on. Light only the burners on the other side of the grill.
Option 2:
Brine the bird in a cooler in a mix of saltwater, orange Juice, lime slices, jalapeño slices, and serrano slices. The flavor is gently added to the bird via the brining process, but there is no heat in any real sense.
Option 3:
Prepare a bird for the deep fry by injecting the bird with cajun flavoring. An example is melting a stick of butter and adding a bottle of onion juice and garlic juice to it. Dry off the bird and lower it into the oil and let it cook for 3mins/pound. Pull it out, wrap it in foil and let it continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes. All told, it is ready to eat about 1 hour, 45 minutes after immersion.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 pounds butternut squash (about 2 medium)
2 1/4 pounds medium-size tart green apples such as Granny Smith (6-7)
3/4 cup dried currants
Freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Peel, quarter lengthwise, seed, and cut each squash into 1/4-inch thick slices. Peel, quarter, core, and cut each apple into 1/4-inch slices.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook squash in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 3 minutes and drain well. Combine squash, apples and currants in a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine maple syrup, butter and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Whisk over low heat until butter melts. Pour syrup over squash mixture and toss to coat evenly. Season generously with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Bake until squash and apples are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans , stem ends snapped off
1 tablespoon olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper
Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil*; spread beans on baking sheet. Drizzle with oil; using hands, toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, toss to coat, and distribute in even layer. Roast 10 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from oven. Using tongs, redistribute beans. Continue roasting until beans are dark golden brown in spots and have started to shrivel, 10 to 12 minutes longer.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, transfer to serving bowl, and serve.
Serves 4
An aluminum foil liner prevents burning on dark nonstick baking sheets. When using baking sheets with a light finish, foil is not required, but it is recommended for easy cleanup.
Ingredients:
5 cups fresh cranberries
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
Directions:
After your next big gathering of Dwarves goes by and that cold turkey is just waiting to be used up, try this Cranberry Tomato Chutney to go with the cold turkey left-overs. In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients. bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes or until cranberries and raisins are tender, stirring occasionally. Cool. Cover and refrigerate for three days before serving.
