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What a deliciously dorky meal we had! As a family who likes to eat and cook together we decided when Duckie rolled into town earlier this fall we should have a literary dinner.
Kellie was tasked with planning and organizing. I (Kellie) did great on the planning, the organizing was not as good. I planned a “Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” dinner. In these books food or lack of it is a big focus especially for the hobbits. I read articles and what looked like a thesis paper on the food in Tolkien’s world. What I gleaned was there are very few instances where we hear what anybody is actually eating. We hear about feasts and meal times, but what is being enjoyed has less of a spotlight.
So I planned a Behind the Waterfall cheese plate. One of the few meals we hear what they eat. Faramir in “The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers” shares yellow wine, red cheese, dried fruit, salted meat, bread and butter.So the red cheese should have been red leicester. I found a cheese that looked like red leicester which was technically orange. Then a Red Dragon mustard cheese. Ours was probably fancier than the one the hobbits had especially because Duckie styled it.
Then we had a Venison Pot Pie from “An Unexpected Cookbook”.
Katie and Josh supplied the meat so it was not too expensive, but you can also use beef. This cookbook is very fun. I spent a long time choosing the dish we would eat. Chris-Rachel Oseland is a historian, nerd and cookbook writer. So all of the recipes in the cookbook are not mentioned in “The Hobbit”, but they are based on extensive research of what Tolkien wanted for the Shire. As I read I could tell the amount of thought, time and effort Oseland put into this cookbook.
I did end up changing a few things about the recipe. Oseland’s sauce was more of a broth and I prefer more of a gravy so I put five tablespoons of flour instead of two(if you are doing this add one at a time not all flour is created equal). Katie also said that venison can overcook very quickly so Jessie just pretty much touched the venison to the pan to brown it. Jessie also cooked the carrots with the onion and the celery. Oseland said 4-5 minutes for the cook time on those and Jess did about 10. You need to let the food speak to you, not the cookbook owner; they are not controlling the heat and pan thickness. It took Oseland five minutes to get the veggies brown and it took us ten, nothing wrong with that.
At this point we were supposed to have honey cakes for dessert. I forgot to make them. I was running around purchasing things and forgot to make them. I was texting the sisters all weekend being like definitely having honey cakes! Then there was no honey cake. So mad at myself for this. I will definitely make them at a later date (I have made them before).
Then it was time for a cocktail!
This version of Liquid Lit is LOTR Miruvor- cordial of valar
“As soon as Frodo had swallowed a little of the warm and fragrant liquor he felt a new strength of heart, and the heavy drowsiness left his limbs. The others also revived and found fresh hope and vigor.” – The Fellowship of the Ring
In the book this is a mead/ nectar wine made with flowers from Yavanna’s (giver of fruit) garden. This cordial was to revive the body and spirits. Elrond gave Gandalf a bottle for the journey. In the book it is described as needing only a cap full, but I made a whole cocktail! I chose to make a cocktail instead of a mead because it’s hard to make and takes a long time (I planned this dinner in a week).
I chose to make a honey and chamomile simple syrup with gin and sparkling water. In floriagraphy chamomile stands for: Energy in adversity. So I thought that was too perfect to pass up! I used the blog fit foodie finds honey simple syrup recipe, but instead of water I used tea. I brewed two bags of chamomile tea for 30 minutes in a cup of water to make sure that the camomile would be strong enough to come through in the simple syrup.
Honey chamomile simple syrup
1 cup water
2 chamomile tea bags
1 cup honey
Boil the cup of water. Take off the heat and add two tea bags. Leave in the boiling water for 30 minutes, Now I’m going to kick you over to the website I used to figure out the honey syrup because they did such a great job! Fit Foodie Finds.
Miruvor
¾ ounce gin (i choose a floral one)
¼ ounce chamomile honey simple syrup
Top with Sparkling Water
Coupe glass
Dry shake gin and honey syrup. Pour into coupe glass and top with sparkling water