Comments on: Best (dinner) food for a LOTR Marathon?

Question: Best (dinner) food for a LOTR Marathon?

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:25:11 -0800

LOTR Marathon and Dinner. Suggestions for food? [MI]

A good friend of mine knows for a fact that he's getting the extended ROTK for Christmas. This is what we Martha fans call A Good Thing. He also owns FOTR and TTT extended editions. Accordingly, when he's back from his holidays, we're going to throw away a day of our lives (seriously, we're talking about 12+ hours of movies here!) watching all three movies, back-to-back-to-back.

What I need is food suggestions. It'll just be the two of us, but he's a really close friend, so I really don't mind going a little crazy in the kitchen. The only suggestion for LOTR-themed food he could come up with was mutton and ale, which I suspect I'll translate into a dinner of lamb (of some description; a whole leg would be a bit much) braised in some sort of delicious beer over a nice long slow heat, quite possibly served on some sort of trencher-like bread product. My usual kitchen-fu has failed me. Suggestions, anyone?

The first person who says 'onion rings' gets a day playing with an angry Oliphaunt.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:26:57 -0800

Oh, forgot to mention... the more (and varied) the ideas, the better. I'm going to need a whole days' worth of food.

oh god I'm a geek somebody shoot me now

By: mono blanco

mono blanco — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:29:58 -0800

Lembas

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:33:29 -0800

Ooh, brilliant!

Those look like they'd be lovely fresh off the griddle, drenched in butter, and slathered with good jam. (And given that I live within spitting distance of approximately 364978 Polish delis and bakeries, good jam is easy to find.)

Thank you!

By: sebas

sebas — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:36:08 -0800

Here are a few recipies that might be interesting.

(It's amazing what a search for "boiled dwarf" can do)

By: Asparagirl

Asparagirl — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:37:35 -0800

Start off the meal with some sort of crackers or tortillas to substitute for Lembas bread. Have stewed rabbit (er, a brace of conies) for a main dish if you want to get really fancy-schmancy. Side dish of po-ta-toes, obviously! And a side dish of (a shortcut to...) mushrooms--sauteed in garlic and olive oil would be yummy and really easy to prepare.

And don't the Hobbits cook bacon and/or tomatoes or something during the first book, which is how their fire gets seen by the Nazgul?

As for refreshments, have lots of types of ale and beer to drink. (Pipe)weed while you're sitting through FOTR would be fun; you'll be sobered up by ROTK.

By the way, my friends and I are doing the exact same thing on Saturday, only I plan on making brisket, which has no relation to the films/books AFAIK, but it takes a long time to slowly cook and smells great and thus is perfect.

By: j.edwards

j.edwards — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:38:42 -0800

To get through all three with your minds intact, you'll need something that comes in pints (JPG link).

By: melissa may

melissa may — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:44:24 -0800

Seed cakes.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:51:36 -0800

Heh, while the pipeweed would be fun...

1) No, trust me, I wouldn't be sobered up by ROTK. See, sobering up is why you smoke more...

2) My friend doesn't indulge, and I've drastically cut down anyway. It'll likely just be beer for us, and possibly a bottle of mead for after dinner, to toast the victorious armies.

I think the beer will have to be a selection. Something nice and light earlier in the marathon, and gradually shift to heartier beers as the night wears on. Being on a quest like this, well, one requires strength!

On preview: Oh yes, those seed cakes would be lovely for a midmorning snack, I think.

Hmm.. bacon for breakfast seems appropriate, and I have a fabulous (selflink) recipe for mushrooms. Perhaps instead of lunch, a high tea with lembas instead of scones would be good. I think the brace of conies would be a bit much... as much as I love to cook, I find whole rabbits somewhat... challenging to deal with. Not to mention bruisingly expensive.

Of course, we're going to eat like Hobbits. Breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, supper, dinner... well, on second thought (he says, patting his recently more-than-ample waistline), perhaps not quite like Hobbits. Probably just Hobbit-on-a-diet: brekkie, elevenses, late-ish lunch, afternoon tea, dinner.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:54:46 -0800

Oh, Ent-draught! Will need some of that, for sure.

By: red cell

red cell — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 01:56:38 -0800

Deep-fried hobbit. (Dark meat is tasty...but...oh, the carbs!)

By: tomble

tomble — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 02:58:36 -0800

I don't know about the lembas... One mouthful and everyone's done eating for the day.

By: adampsyche

adampsyche — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 05:23:21 -0800

Turkey drumsticks.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 05:48:36 -0800

Other alternatives - sushi (fishiesss!) - and cold chicken and tomatoes to be eaten a la Denethor.

This person did a whole Tolkien feast but apparently she can't read. Her lembas are sweet and fried and the entdraught glows green. But she's hawking a Middle Earth cookbook and will probably soon be a gazillionaire so what do I know?

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 06:18:15 -0800

POH-TAYE-TOHS!

By: redfoxtail

redfoxtail — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 06:54:11 -0800

Mushrooms -- the movies may not mention it, but they're a particular favorite of all hobbits.

By: zadcat

zadcat — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 07:32:37 -0800

The farmer's wife serves up a "mighty dish of mushrooms and bacon" so there's that. Tolkien was not a gourmet (specifically, not a fan of the French) so he seems to have abstained from trying to describe dinners in places more elegant than the Shire.

Would the Rohirrim have eaten horsemeat, or would it have been taboo to them?

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 07:51:09 -0800

I suspect that the Rohirrim would have rather chewed off their own legs than slaughter and eat a horse.

By: bonehead

bonehead — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 09:01:05 -0800

If you don't serve sashimi during the "fresh fish" scenes (the recap of Bilbo getting the ring, meeting Faramir), you've missed the boat, in my opinion.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 09:04:42 -0800

mead

By: Ryvar

Ryvar — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 09:42:14 -0800

My own feeling here is that the best path when it's just a friend - rather than someone you're specifically trying to woo - is not to deny your geekdom but rather to revel, even wallow in it. My wife and I, both geeks, will be doing this when we get our copies.

Put out a spread that would make any stoner weep big THC-flavored tears - Munchies, Jax, Pringles, Sourdough pretzels and those little Handisnack things. A large order of hotwings or chinese takeout, maybe some stuffed-crust pizza. Go nuts and indulge yourself because you're already doing that with the movies - you might as well complete the experience with your palate, too. Set fun goals for yourself like trying to get your sodium intake to 5000% of the USRDA, etc. Enjoy!

By: freudianslipper

freudianslipper — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:00:34 -0800

mono blanco, you are a genious. I am attending a LOTR marathon this Sunday and I just requested Lembas bread for the part.

woo! geeks unite!

By: frenetic

frenetic — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:26:42 -0800

I say go for the raw, still-wriggling fish. Gollum represent! \m/

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 20:29:04 -0800

Ah, Ryvar... even if it were someone I were trying to woo, I'd revel in the geekdom. If they can't handle the geekness, there'd not be much point in dating them, y'see :)

By: freudianslipper

freudianslipper — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 20:44:53 -0800

for the record...I did make Lembas bread from that recipe on theonering.net. It was pretty good. We used a pizzelle iron but it was nothing like pizzelles (an italian cookie; my family makes them all the time).

this was different. Although I was still a bit hungry afterwards...so it wasn't really an authentic elven treat.