Welcome back to this week’s custom menu for the Fellowship of Fans weekly Rings of Power After Party!
Every Thursday you can join the Discord at 10 pm EST/7 pm PST for a two hour long live-chat before the next episode! Then visit the Fellowship of Fans YouTube to join the 3 hour long After Party on Sunday at 2:30 pm EST/11:30 am PST for panel discussions, live guests, fan art, and more!
While we all think of the Lord of the Rings universe as being set squarely in pseudo-Medieval times, Tolkien was explicit in his writing that the Hobbits in particular were his representation of English life in a late Victorian village that hadn’t yet been corrupted by the presence of trains and technology. I based these recipes on late Victorian cookbooks from the region that inspired the Shire, altered to fit Tolkien’s incredibly strict mandates on what foods the Hobbits did and didn’t eat.
In the spirit of Tolkien’s own writings, I present this hearty but dubious Middle Earth Innkeeper’s Menu for this week’s episode of Rings of Power.
A Night At The Inn
Inn food was always suspect. Keeping with the spirit of all travelers inns, you should absolutely use fast, easy, and cheap substitutes when feeding folks you’ll never see again. For us today, that means go ahead and buy your grocery store’s cheapest premade pie crusts instead of making a scratch one using real butter. Thin your broth. Bulk everything out with potatoes. Float one lonely mushroom on your “freshly foraged mushroom soup.” You’ll not only save some cash, but will also be following centuries of tradition!
My favorite part of this meal is the historical dessert. Plum Heavies are literally just leftover pie crust rolled with whatever dried fruit you have on hand, flatted out, cut into circles, and dusted with a little sugar. They were cheap cookie substitutes given to kids, literally made from scraps.
Treat yourself to a Traveler’s Meal during the next Rings of Power Watch Party! Share photos on Twitter for a chance to be featured on the stream!
Need more Hobbity goodness in your life?
Preview even more recipes from An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery, available now!
Sample recipes from all seven chapters of An Unexpected Cookbook:
Breakfast – Poached Pears Stuffed with Frumenty
Second Breakfast – Beef and Mushroom Stuffed Hand Pies
Elevenses – Shire Seed Cake
Luncheon – Stewed Hare with Root Vegetables and Dumplings
Afternoon Tea – Shortbread
Supper – Stuffed Roasted Mushrooms
Dinner – Boxty on the Griddle with Bacon
Need more? Buy your own copy of An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery from Amazon.com.
