A Dinner Fit For a Hobbit
Dec. 13th, 2013 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morgynleriTonight's dinner is fit for a hobbit (or even a company of dwarves, if I made more of it). On the other hand, none of these recipes is meant for one person, so if cooking for yourself, expect leftovers.
All of this is made from scratch, including the stock in the Mushroom-Ginger Soup, so expect to take a couple hours (not counting the stock-prep, which should be started at least two or three hours before the rest of it) to cook it all on a four-burner stove (and microwave, where noted).
Also expect to have to salt it after, because I do not use salt in cooking.
Note: All ginger should be at least as big around as your thumb. Larger is awesome.
Note the second: Some of the bits on where in Middle Earth I'd find the recipes has more to do with my head-canon for a particular AU than actual canon.
Allergy notes: Most of these recipes contain mushrooms. Two of them call for onions and garlic.
Mixed Rice
Mostly because mom wanted rice. Although, this is more likely to be seen in the east, in Middle Earth, I'd think. Probably a common dish for east of the Orocarni, in my head-canon.
There's enough here for two or three, so up the amounts in proportion for more.
1/3 cup short-grain brown rice
1/3 cup red rice
1/3 cup black rice
2 & 1/4 cups water
Combine in a rice-cooker if you have it. Otherwise, bring it to a boil in a pot, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Leave it alone at least ten minutes before checking. Then mostly leave covered until the water is mostly gone, and there are holes in the rice that are no longer spitting out lots of bubbles.
Butternut-Mushroom Cream Sauce
It can also be soup, if you like a pureed cream soup. I suspect my Bilbo-muse was being louder than I thought when I made this the first time. Certainly I can see this as being a hobbit dish, if usually as a soup.
As a sauce, it'll serve a small army. As a soup, it should serve four or five.
Half a butternut squash, cut into chunks
4oz sliced mushrooms
1 inch piece of ginger, sliced thin (or more, if you'd like)
1&1/2 c of heavy cream
enough water to just cover the squash (you should see them just beneath or just at the surface)
Put everything in a pot, and put the pot over medium heat - it should not come to boil, but there should be some bubbles as it cooks. Once the butternut chunks are fork-tender, strain the solids out, and retain the liquid.
Solids go into a food-processor, with about 1/4 cup of the retained liquid. Run the food-processor until pureed. (You can also use a blender, if your blender reliably turns chunks of food into puree, not chunky puree.)
Return the puree to the liquid, and stir until well-blended. Put it on a burner on the lowest setting to keep warm while cooking other things.
Mushroom-Ginger Soup
This is a soup based off one that would be a winter staple for the avari and dwarrows along the southern part of the Orocarni. My muse wanted puffball mushrooms, but that takes more effort than I care to go through for the most part.
Also, this recipe actually only makes enough soup for three or four. Which is little surprise, as there are only reliably three in the family group who particularly hit me over the head with the recipe.
1 pint stock (to make, see below. Stock from a can or box or from bullion is not going to work nearly as well)
3/4 oz of dried mushrooms or 4 oz fresh[1]
1 & 1/2 inch piece of ginger, sliced thin
Put everything in a pot, and put over low heat until it's hot. Experiment with different types of mushrooms to find the flavor you like best.
To make the stock, take a poultry carcass[2], a quartered onion, and a few garlic cloves, and put them all in a pot with enough water to just cover them. Put a lid on the pot, and cook over low heat until any meat remaining on the bones slides off. Strain out the solids and throw them away.
[1] Dried mushrooms are actually preferred, because they keep better.
[2] If you have access to fresh deer bones, or domesticated rabbit, those would also do for stock. Duck or goose would be best for the poultry, turkey or chicken will suffice. Beef and pork are not suitable for the stock for this recipe, because they are not animals that would be available for those this was originally made for.
Chicken In a Pan
I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet for this. Use something with a heavy bottom if you don't have cast iron, because this needs a pan which retains heat very well.
This would be a dwarven dish, I think, and actually can be done with any raw meat - I did chicken tonight because it was what was thawed and needed cooked. I do not think it would work with sausage or bacon, or other already prepared meats.
Serves three or four. It's very good with the Butternut-Mushroom Sauce and the Savory Toasted Cheese.
2 medium sweet onions, chopped fine
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, minced (about three good spoonfuls from a jar of already-minced garlic)
2 inches of ginger root, at a minimum, sliced thin
8 oz sliced mushrooms
5 chicken thighs (about 2 lbs of meat)
2 tablespoons of olive oil (NOT extra-virgin)
Cut up the onions first, because you'll need to cook them a while before adding anything else. In a fry pan over medium heat, put the oil and the onions, making sure the onions are spread out in an even layer. Ignore them for the next five to ten minutes while slicing the ginger and preparing the garlic.
Stir the onions. They may be starting to become translucent or just a little brown around the edges of a few. This is good. If they're already quite brown, the heat's too high. After stirring, ignore them another five to ten minutes, and cut up your chicken into gobbets that aren't any larger than 1&1/2 inches in any one dimension.
Stir the onions. They should start showing brown, but should not have any black on them, and will still not be ready for adding anything else. Ignore them for another five to ten minutes, and make sure your mushrooms are washed (and at least begin to slice them if you didn't buy them pre-sliced).
Stir the onions. Most of them should be showing at least some signs of browning. If this is the case, then you're ready to start adding other stuff. If they're black, they're burnt, and the heat was too high.
If the onions are indeed ready, then add the ginger and garlic and chicken. Stir everything together. Add the mushrooms, and repeat. Then keep an eye on it and stir occasionally to keep everything from burning. Some of it may stick a bit on the bottom of the pan - make sure you get it all loose, you do not want to lose those yummy bits that have caramalized.
Once the liquid has mostly boiled off, take the pan off the stove, and put it on a trivet while you finish the last dishes. This is why you want a cast iron pan.
Savory Toasted Cheese
Um. *grins very broadly* A very, very yummy sauce that goes with just about anything that's not already a rich dish. If I had to pick a people in Middle Earth that would have this, it would be the Rohirrim. A lovely rich cheese dish that would be very good on a cold winter day.
Serves. Um. Technically serves five or six. Realistically serves two fiends for the stuff, without leaving leftovers.
1 small wheel of Brie
1 brick of cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter - unsalted is better
Cut the rind from the Brie - you do not want it in the sauce, or it will add an ammonia flavor to it.
In the top of a double-boiler, put everything, and stir occasionally until everything melts and combines smoothly. If you find the flavor doesn't quite taste right, adjust the proportion of the cream cheese and butter next time - they tend to be easiest to adjust.
This dish can also be made with any strong-flavored cheese that melts fairly well. Cheddar, in particular, makes for a very nice sauce, though it tends to want less butter, because it's a fattier cheese.
Ginger Peas and Carrots
Very simple, and a dish that would be used to get littles to eat their vegetables. A dish that would happily be at home among hobbits, dwarves, or men. Possibly also among elves and avari, too.
I use a frozen mix of peas and carrots for this, but it can be done from fresh, though in that case, they'll probably take a touch longer to cook. I also used a microwave, because I only have a limited amount of room on the stove.
Serves three or four. Or fewer, if you're very fond of vegetables. Also, with a microwave, more can be cooked quickly if needed.
6 oz of mixed peas and carrots, fresh or frozen
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
Put the peas and carrots into a microwave-safe dish and cook for half the recommended time on the bag, with only a teaspoon or two of water. Add the powdered ginger, and cook for the rest of the time.
Mulled Cider
Another recipe that has to be across cultures in some form or another. Serves a small army. Or one person over the course of a week.
1 gallon of apple cider
3 sticks of ceylon cinnamon (about three inches long, and fairly thin)
1/2 tablespoon of whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
Pour cider into a pot large enough to hold it all, and drop in the spices. Warm over low heat until it's hot and smells more of cinnamon than of apples. If you have some left at the end of the night, cover the pot, and let it cool until you can touch the side of the pot, then use a funnel to pour it back into its jug - make sure all the spices go with it, though you may have to drop the cinnamon in after. It's good cold.
If you reheat it in a microwave, though, make sure none of the spices get into your mug - they'll get bitter if microwaved.
All of this is made from scratch, including the stock in the Mushroom-Ginger Soup, so expect to take a couple hours (not counting the stock-prep, which should be started at least two or three hours before the rest of it) to cook it all on a four-burner stove (and microwave, where noted).
Also expect to have to salt it after, because I do not use salt in cooking.
Note: All ginger should be at least as big around as your thumb. Larger is awesome.
Note the second: Some of the bits on where in Middle Earth I'd find the recipes has more to do with my head-canon for a particular AU than actual canon.
Allergy notes: Most of these recipes contain mushrooms. Two of them call for onions and garlic.
Mixed Rice
Mostly because mom wanted rice. Although, this is more likely to be seen in the east, in Middle Earth, I'd think. Probably a common dish for east of the Orocarni, in my head-canon.
There's enough here for two or three, so up the amounts in proportion for more.
1/3 cup short-grain brown rice
1/3 cup red rice
1/3 cup black rice
2 & 1/4 cups water
Combine in a rice-cooker if you have it. Otherwise, bring it to a boil in a pot, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Leave it alone at least ten minutes before checking. Then mostly leave covered until the water is mostly gone, and there are holes in the rice that are no longer spitting out lots of bubbles.
Butternut-Mushroom Cream Sauce
It can also be soup, if you like a pureed cream soup. I suspect my Bilbo-muse was being louder than I thought when I made this the first time. Certainly I can see this as being a hobbit dish, if usually as a soup.
As a sauce, it'll serve a small army. As a soup, it should serve four or five.
Half a butternut squash, cut into chunks
4oz sliced mushrooms
1 inch piece of ginger, sliced thin (or more, if you'd like)
1&1/2 c of heavy cream
enough water to just cover the squash (you should see them just beneath or just at the surface)
Put everything in a pot, and put the pot over medium heat - it should not come to boil, but there should be some bubbles as it cooks. Once the butternut chunks are fork-tender, strain the solids out, and retain the liquid.
Solids go into a food-processor, with about 1/4 cup of the retained liquid. Run the food-processor until pureed. (You can also use a blender, if your blender reliably turns chunks of food into puree, not chunky puree.)
Return the puree to the liquid, and stir until well-blended. Put it on a burner on the lowest setting to keep warm while cooking other things.
Mushroom-Ginger Soup
This is a soup based off one that would be a winter staple for the avari and dwarrows along the southern part of the Orocarni. My muse wanted puffball mushrooms, but that takes more effort than I care to go through for the most part.
Also, this recipe actually only makes enough soup for three or four. Which is little surprise, as there are only reliably three in the family group who particularly hit me over the head with the recipe.
1 pint stock (to make, see below. Stock from a can or box or from bullion is not going to work nearly as well)
3/4 oz of dried mushrooms or 4 oz fresh[1]
1 & 1/2 inch piece of ginger, sliced thin
Put everything in a pot, and put over low heat until it's hot. Experiment with different types of mushrooms to find the flavor you like best.
To make the stock, take a poultry carcass[2], a quartered onion, and a few garlic cloves, and put them all in a pot with enough water to just cover them. Put a lid on the pot, and cook over low heat until any meat remaining on the bones slides off. Strain out the solids and throw them away.
[1] Dried mushrooms are actually preferred, because they keep better.
[2] If you have access to fresh deer bones, or domesticated rabbit, those would also do for stock. Duck or goose would be best for the poultry, turkey or chicken will suffice. Beef and pork are not suitable for the stock for this recipe, because they are not animals that would be available for those this was originally made for.
Chicken In a Pan
I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet for this. Use something with a heavy bottom if you don't have cast iron, because this needs a pan which retains heat very well.
This would be a dwarven dish, I think, and actually can be done with any raw meat - I did chicken tonight because it was what was thawed and needed cooked. I do not think it would work with sausage or bacon, or other already prepared meats.
Serves three or four. It's very good with the Butternut-Mushroom Sauce and the Savory Toasted Cheese.
2 medium sweet onions, chopped fine
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, minced (about three good spoonfuls from a jar of already-minced garlic)
2 inches of ginger root, at a minimum, sliced thin
8 oz sliced mushrooms
5 chicken thighs (about 2 lbs of meat)
2 tablespoons of olive oil (NOT extra-virgin)
Cut up the onions first, because you'll need to cook them a while before adding anything else. In a fry pan over medium heat, put the oil and the onions, making sure the onions are spread out in an even layer. Ignore them for the next five to ten minutes while slicing the ginger and preparing the garlic.
Stir the onions. They may be starting to become translucent or just a little brown around the edges of a few. This is good. If they're already quite brown, the heat's too high. After stirring, ignore them another five to ten minutes, and cut up your chicken into gobbets that aren't any larger than 1&1/2 inches in any one dimension.
Stir the onions. They should start showing brown, but should not have any black on them, and will still not be ready for adding anything else. Ignore them for another five to ten minutes, and make sure your mushrooms are washed (and at least begin to slice them if you didn't buy them pre-sliced).
Stir the onions. Most of them should be showing at least some signs of browning. If this is the case, then you're ready to start adding other stuff. If they're black, they're burnt, and the heat was too high.
If the onions are indeed ready, then add the ginger and garlic and chicken. Stir everything together. Add the mushrooms, and repeat. Then keep an eye on it and stir occasionally to keep everything from burning. Some of it may stick a bit on the bottom of the pan - make sure you get it all loose, you do not want to lose those yummy bits that have caramalized.
Once the liquid has mostly boiled off, take the pan off the stove, and put it on a trivet while you finish the last dishes. This is why you want a cast iron pan.
Savory Toasted Cheese
Um. *grins very broadly* A very, very yummy sauce that goes with just about anything that's not already a rich dish. If I had to pick a people in Middle Earth that would have this, it would be the Rohirrim. A lovely rich cheese dish that would be very good on a cold winter day.
Serves. Um. Technically serves five or six. Realistically serves two fiends for the stuff, without leaving leftovers.
1 small wheel of Brie
1 brick of cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter - unsalted is better
Cut the rind from the Brie - you do not want it in the sauce, or it will add an ammonia flavor to it.
In the top of a double-boiler, put everything, and stir occasionally until everything melts and combines smoothly. If you find the flavor doesn't quite taste right, adjust the proportion of the cream cheese and butter next time - they tend to be easiest to adjust.
This dish can also be made with any strong-flavored cheese that melts fairly well. Cheddar, in particular, makes for a very nice sauce, though it tends to want less butter, because it's a fattier cheese.
Ginger Peas and Carrots
Very simple, and a dish that would be used to get littles to eat their vegetables. A dish that would happily be at home among hobbits, dwarves, or men. Possibly also among elves and avari, too.
I use a frozen mix of peas and carrots for this, but it can be done from fresh, though in that case, they'll probably take a touch longer to cook. I also used a microwave, because I only have a limited amount of room on the stove.
Serves three or four. Or fewer, if you're very fond of vegetables. Also, with a microwave, more can be cooked quickly if needed.
6 oz of mixed peas and carrots, fresh or frozen
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
Put the peas and carrots into a microwave-safe dish and cook for half the recommended time on the bag, with only a teaspoon or two of water. Add the powdered ginger, and cook for the rest of the time.
Mulled Cider
Another recipe that has to be across cultures in some form or another. Serves a small army. Or one person over the course of a week.
1 gallon of apple cider
3 sticks of ceylon cinnamon (about three inches long, and fairly thin)
1/2 tablespoon of whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole allspice
Pour cider into a pot large enough to hold it all, and drop in the spices. Warm over low heat until it's hot and smells more of cinnamon than of apples. If you have some left at the end of the night, cover the pot, and let it cool until you can touch the side of the pot, then use a funnel to pour it back into its jug - make sure all the spices go with it, though you may have to drop the cinnamon in after. It's good cold.
If you reheat it in a microwave, though, make sure none of the spices get into your mug - they'll get bitter if microwaved.