Feast Week, Day 1: Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday

Happy Hobbit Day! Otherwise known as September 22, it’s a grand day and holds a lot of meaning for Tolkien fans around the world as both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins share their birthday today. Is is also the day Frodo set out towards Rivendell with The One Ring. What is not commonly known, is that this day also starts off another celebratory event, Feast Week.

Never heard of Feast Week? This fantastically yummy way to celebrate the life of Tolkien was begun by Anna Maria Polidori, an Italian member of the Tolkien Society. Starting on Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthday, participants “celebrate with an evening meal similar to the one the hobbits ate […] and/or engage in some activity described.” The official meal schedule includes Baggins’ Birthday, The Feast of Gildor, The Feast of Farmer Maggot, The Feast of Tom Bombadil, Prisoners of a barrow-wight, and The Prancing Pony.

As soon as the Middle-earth News staff found out about this celebration, we had to participate! Starting today, September 22, and continuing through the 29, each member of the staff will be posting the designated meal for that day and sharing their process, recipes, and photos with you. Our hope is to inspire each of you to cook your own meal and join in the tasty fun of Feast Week.

Feast Week, Day 1: Bilbo and Frodo’s Birthday

While the only requirements for today’s meal are wine and toast, I wanted to really go all out and celebrate the date Hobbit style. At the same time, I wanted to make sure the recipes I chose would be easy enough for anyone to put together on their own. So, without further ado, I present my Hobbit Day celebration meal:

Starter: Home-baked country white bread spread with creamed butter

If you find yourself unable to pull off an entire meal but still wish to partake in Feast Week, my suggestion would be to try this starter. Remember, the only requirements for today’s meal are wine and toast, so this is just a small step up. Plus, is there anything better than the smell of freshly-baked bread wafting through one’s house?

Making homemade bread can take quite some time, so my recommendation is to try something like Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade No Knead Bread Mix. Simply add water, let it rise, pop it in the oven, and voila! Freshly-baked bread. (Note: I chose a chardonnay that paired well with my roasted chicken, however, if you are skipping the main meal and serving on the requirements, feel free to pair it with whatever wine your taste buds fancy.)

Main Course: Roasted herb-topped chicken, mushrooms, and potatoes paired with a crisp chardonnay

What’s more “Hobbity” than mushrooms and po-ta-toes, precious?? I chose this recipe because it uses herbs you can grow at home, something I’m sure Samwise Gamgee would approve of. While I do grow my own rosemary, I haven’t tried sage or thyme, so I “gathered” them from my local grocery store. The best part about this recipe is that the herb mixture you use to coat your chicken with is the same you coat your mushrooms and potatoes with, which means a smaller amount of preparation time is needed.

Roasted Herb-topped Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lb Whole Chicken
• 2-3 whole lemons
• 2-3 gloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 2-3 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 Tbl. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1-2 Tbl. chopped rosemary, thyme, and sage

Roasted Mushrooms and Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 Tbl. Kosher salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1-2 Tbl. chopped rosemary, thyme, and sage
• 1-2 lb red potatoes (scrubbed clean)
• 1 lb fresh white mushrooms (cleaned)

Chardonnay

For my wine selection, I chose a crisp chardonnay, which was suggested to me by the wonderful staff at my local Trader Joe’s. Thanks!

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Dessert: Berry-delicious 4 Layer Vanilla Birthday Cake

Fondant can make cakes look ridiculously cool, as is proved by a recent post on Middle-earth News. But, in keeping with my “any Hobbit could make this at home” train of thought, I wanted to keep my birthday cake simple.

For the actual cake, you can whip up your own cake mix or simply buy a box at the store (I went for the latter to save on time). I used two 8” round pans and, once the cakes had baked and cooled, I went to work carving them. Basically, I made one round smaller than the other, as I don’t have a small professional small cake pan to bake with.

Berry-delicious 4 Layer Vanilla Birthday Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix or mix up your own batter
• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 cup of fresh blueberries
• 1 cup of fresh blackberries
• 1 cup of fresh rasberries

The frosting recipe is by far my personal favorite. It’s not heavy like most homemade frosting recipes you come across. It’s “light” on the sugar, which is exactly what you want so it doesn’t over-power the sweet taste of the berries.

Whipped Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 cup of room temperature butter
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 2 Tbl. of whipping cream (add or subtract, depending on how stiff you want your frosting)

I went all out on berry buying: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and of course, strawberries. However, if berries aren’t in season where you live, get creative! Try rolling the sides of the cake in chocolate shavings, or decorative the tiers with flowers – whatever your little Hobbit heart desires.

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And that concludes Feast Week’s Day 1 meal. Hope it inspired you to celebrate and try your hand at cooking a meal. Happy Hobbit Day, everyone!

Feast Week, Day 2: Sleeping Outdoors

Feast Week, Day 3: The Feast of Gildor

Feast Week, Day 4: Farmer Maggot’s Feast

Feast Week, Day 5: The Feast of Tom Bombadil

Feast Week, Day 6: The Feast of Tom Bombadil, Part Deux

Feast Week, Day 7: Prisoners of a Barrow-wight

Feast Week, Day 8: The Prancing Pony