Create Your Own Middle-earth Feast For THE HOBBIT

photo credit: Cory Ryan

The below was written by Alamo Drafthouse head chef Trish Eichelberger for the December issue of Birth.Movies.Death. See The Hobbit at the Alamo Drafthouse this month! -mb

There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

Hobbits eat a lot. A LOT. They value food more than gold, and in that, we are very alike. At the Alamo Drafthouse, we have hosted many a feast for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films -- a feast entailing all seven courses (breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper, of course) and lembas bread, and it’s a joyous way to enjoy Peter Jackson’s films in the very spirit Tolkien himself intended.

And this is certainly an endeavor you can try at home -- the Internet has many suggestions for Hobbit-style recipes like Bilbo’s Tea Cake or lembas bread. But today I’m going to share one of my feast recipes with you, a real crowd-pleaser that even the most particular Hobbit could enjoy.

One of my favorite recipes from the Lord of the Rings Feast is the galettes. The dough itself is very versatile and can be used for everything from savory canapés to sweet rustic tarts. For the feast, we fill this dough with a simple mixture of herbed goat cheese and some thinly sliced prosciutto. It’s a winning combination, but feel free to be as creative as you want here. Almost anything wrapped in this slightly crispy, slightly sweet, touch of salty dough is going to be a hit at your holiday party or movie-and-meal marathon.

Galette Dough:

2 cups All-purpose flour
½ cup yellow corn meal
½ lb butter, cold cut on small pieces
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1. In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt.

2. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture.

3. Once the butter is evenly distributed but still in pieces the size of a pea, add the water until the dough begins to come together. You don’t have to add it all, but it will be close.

4. Roll into 2 balls and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour. You can also freeze this dough.

Herbed Goat Cheese Filling:

1- lb Goat Cheese
½ cup basil, chiffonade ( very thinly sliced strips)
2 tsp Black Pepper, ground
Thinly sliced Prosciutto as needed or desired (Make them as meaty as you want!)

How to assemble the galettes:

Take the galette dough and portion into small balls, approximately 1 oz.

On a floured surface, roll out into as even a circle as you can.

Spread the filling in the middle, leaving about a ½ inch of dough without filling on the edge; lay some prosciutto across the filling.

Fold the edges over the filling leaving some exposed; depending on the size of your galettes, you will need to fold over 6- 10 times.

Place the galettes in a 350 degree oven and bake for about 12- 18 minutes or until golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly.

Allow to cool for few moments before enjoying. These are great right out of the oven or later at room temperature.

We serve the galettes with baby greens topped with a garlic blackberry vinaigrette, shortbread and gingersnaps for Afternoon Tea, but you could eat them on the side of any course. If you’d like to mimic our feast exactly, here’s the menu:

First Breakfast
Fresh Hens eggs, nice crispy bacon, grilled mushrooms and rosemary seared orange Canella
Blood Orange Mimosa

Second Breakfast
Strawberries and Cream with Round Rock honey
Chaucer's Mead

Elevenses
House made garlic, herb, and pork sausage and tomatoes with cheeses, ale-braised cabbage and pickles
Dogfish Raison D'etre

Luncheon
Grilled New Zealand lamb t-bone chops, cherry pepper cabernet reduction, with mashed potatoes, roast baby carrots
Guinness Stout

Afternoon Tea
Baby greens with garlic blackberry vinaigrette, salted pork-cheese galette, shortbread and gingersnaps
Hot Tea

Dinner
Stewed Coney with taters, carrot, and leek, fresh garden herbs with crusty bread
Woodchuck Amber Cider

Supper
Swirl of tomato and spinach soups wild mushroom crouton, summer berry turnover with cream
NV Charles Bove Sparkling Brut

Lembas bread as needed