Recipe fic Challenge
Title: Going Away Meal
Author: Surgical Steel
Summary: A newly married Halbarad prepares to go back out into the Wild, and his wife cooks a going away meal
Characters: Aragorn, Halbarad, Serindё (OFC, a healer in Bree), Thalguron (OMC, borrowed with permission from Shirebound’s Quarantined-AU)
Rating: PG for some suggestive talk at the end
Warnings: Mildly suggestive talk at the end
GOING AWAY MEAL
They hadn’t been married for even a week, yet Aragorn had announced quite firmly that he really did need Halbarad back on patrol. Apologetically, but firmly. Serindё had gone into a flurry of domestic activity, and had called favors in from half of Bree to help make certain he'd be well-equipped, it seemed. Socks were darned. Boots were cleaned. Battered clothing was patched or replaced. And this morning?
She’d crept out of bed early, and was down in the kitchen. He could hear her singing to herself, crept downstairs himself intending to try and surprise her - but was surprised at the scene in front of him. Several bowls were arrayed neatly on the table, a few containing chopped vegetables, one containing some sort of sliced sausage, another containing what appeared to be cooked, shredded chicken meat. Two long loaves of bread were rising in the heat of the kitchen - a stockpot burbled cheerfully - and there she was, a skillet on the stove and what was she doing?
Only one way to find out. “Serindё, what are you doing?” he asked
“What does it look like I’m doing, silly? I’m cooking. Last night here for you for some time, I want you to have a good meal. Had to get up early to get the chicken from the Pony - their cook had it ready for me, killed that chicken just this morning, saved it for me to make the stock. Lucky they still had some reasonably fresh vegetables, too…”
Those vegetables had been chopped with a fair amount of precision - and he really didn’t want to irritate her. But that skillet… “What’s in the skillet, Serindё-love?”
“Little flour, little oil,” she replied.
“Are you trying to burn that flour?”
“Oh, stars, no,” she laughed. “Cook it to a nice dark brown, just this side of burnt, but not quite burnt. Crucial ingredient, this is, a properly made roux.”
“Serindё-love, you really don’t need to go to all this trouble…”
“Oh, it’s no trouble,” she said cheerfully. “This is fun. Why don’t you go amuse yourself with Aragorn and Thalguron for a bit, this’ll be a little while. In fact, there’ll be enough for them; make sure they know to come over for supper.” And she reached up and kissed him - and what could he say?
He had his doubts, though, about any dish which featured burnt flour as a key ingredient. But, following instructions, he walked over to the Pony, sat down with Aragorn and Thalguron planning out patrol routes, arranging rendezvous dates. Plans finally settled, Aragorn finally asked, “How’s your bride?”
Halbarad shrugged. “Unexpectedly domestic. My socks have never been in such good repair - and she’s cooking. Wants you both over for dinner.”
Aragorn smiled at that. “She was widely regarded by the Ithilien Rangers as one of the best camp-cooks they’d had - refused to acknowledge that certain foods shouldn’t be camp-food. Tried to figure out ways to make them work - often successfully. What’s she cooking?”
“I’m not sure - but it somehow involved burnt flour,” Halbarad answered.
“Burnt flour?” Thalguron asked, wrinkling his nose.
Aragorn looked unexpectedly pleased at that news. “She did tell you she wasn’t trying to burn it, though?”
Halbarad nodded slowly.
“Perhaps she called it a roux?”
Halbarad was perplexed. “How did you know that?”
“Oh, my friend, we are in for a treat if she’s making what I think she’s making,” Aragorn said, rubbing his hands together. “If it's what I’m thinking, she made a pot of that in Dol Amroth shortly after her father’s funeral - for a bit of a planning session as we were getting ready to go after the Corsairs of Umbar. It was like nothing else I’ve ever tasted.”
“If you say so,” Halbarad said skeptically.
“She’s using chicken?” Aragorn asked.
“Freshly killed this morning,” Halbarad answered.
“They use all sorts of fresh seafood in Dol Amroth - fish and shellfish both - and I heard she used rabbit a time or two in Ithilien. And you should watch her chop vegetables,” Aragorn added. “Between helping in her mother's kitchen when she was small and knife skills learned as a surgeon, she’s one of the most efficient choppers I’ve ever seen. Not one wasted move.”
Thalguron was looking at Aragorn quizzically. “Odd thing to admire about the woman,” he noted.
Aragorn shrugged. “Her efficiency and her skill with a knife - the things that made her an effective battle surgeon also make her a fairly good cook.”
The two brothers still seemed skeptical, but all three men headed across the street. Something certainly smelled good - and Serindё was singing in the kitchen. “Serindё, is that gumbo I smell?” Aragorn called.
She poked her head out of the kitchen door. “It is. Galdor got a few little Dol Amroth treats up here for me so that I could serve it up properly.” And she swung the kitchen door open wide, allowing them to enter.
Four places were set at the table. At each place, a steaming bowl - a somewhat strange stewish looking concoction filled each bowl, topped with rice, and that bread she’d been making earlier was cut into chunks perfectly sized for dunking or for wiping a bowl. She was seating herself, shaking a reddish liquid from a small bottle onto her portion, and then offered the bottle to the others. Aragorn shook a somewhat smaller amount onto his portion; then passed the bottle on with a muttered, “I’d be careful with that.”
“What is it?” Thalguron asked.
“A sort of sauce made from red peppers, salt, and vinegar. Many of the people in Dol Amroth love it, but it’s rather spicy.”
Halbarad was eyeing his bowl with deep suspicion. It truly looked odd. Still, it would make Serindё happy if he at least sampled it - and Aragorn seemed to be relishing his portion. Cautiously, he dipped his spoon in. He became aware that Serindё was staring at him, a pleading look in her eyes. I really hope I like this, he thought. She seemed to enjoy making it for us so much. He blew on his spoon, then slowly took his first taste.
The flavors. Some sort of combination of spices, something almost dark in flavor - the vegetables - were those wild mushrooms? He took another spoonful - and that was truly excellent smoked sausage. Another spoonful - chicken and mushroom and… he found himself reaching for a piece of bread to simply sop up some of the broth. “This is amazing, Serindё!” he stated.
“Do you really think so?” she asked.
“Mmm-hmm,” he said around another bite. Shook some of the sauce cautiously into his dish, sampled again. “Wow. That adds just a bit of…”
“Just the right bit of heat to the dish, doesn’t it?” she said.
He finished his bowl, wiped every bit of the broth out of the bowl with that delicious bread. “Is there more?”
Her delight clear on her face, she snatched up his bowl and served another portion for him - then for both of the other men. “Do you think Galdor would send more of that sauce up to us? I’ll bet that would taste good on eggs in the morning,” Halbarad said.
Serindё looked even more delighted. “It is good with eggs, and with all sorts of other things - maybe I can find a way to grow the peppers up here…” While both other men looked on in amusement, the two discussed the other things that the hot sauce would undoubtedly complement.
Oh, will I miss my wife’s fresh-cooked food and freshly baked bread when I’m back out in the Wild. To say nothing of the soft warm bed with her body against mine and the fresh clean scent of lavender in her hair…
She stood as everyone had finished their dinner, starting to clear the table, and Halbarad was shocked at Aragorn’s next words. “We’ll take care of the washing up. The two of you should spend the rest of the evening together.”
Halbarad didn’t need to be told twice. Snatching the dishes out of his wife’s hands, he pulled her out of the kitchen and up the stairs after him. “Lovely going away meal, Serindё-love,” he breathed in her ear, closing the bedroom door behind him. “Anything on the menu for afters?”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
SERINDЁ’S GUMBO WITH CHICKEN, WILD MUSHROOMS, AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE
For the stock:
One 3.5 to 4 pound chicken, rinsed well and cut up into pieces.
One cup each coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and celery
Two or three cloves of garlic, peeled
And wrap the following herbs in cheesecloth to make a little sachet: 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black peppercorns, 1 tsp parsley
Place the above in a stockpot, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 6 hours, skimming the top periodically to remove fat and other impurities. Once done, strain the vegetables and chicken out of the stock - save the chicken and shred it up to use in gumbo or chicken salad or for whatever use you might have for it.
(Or you can just use canned stock - there are several decent brands available)
For the gumbo:
1 cup vegetable oil (olive oil works, so does canola - you can use butter, too, but it burns easily)
1 cup flour
Diced vegetables: 1 green bell pepper, 1 medium to large onion, and a roughly equal amount of diced celery
The chicken from the stock
About 2 cups of chopped Andouille sausage (I use two links of whatever brand I can find - other smoked sausage will work, too)
A cup to a cup and a half of sliced assorted wild mushrooms
Bay leaf
Cajun seasoning (I use Emeril’s Essence, but other brands will work)
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
First, you make a roux. Actually, first, you should make certain that you’ve got a cold beverage readily available and either a good book or a good friend to chat with. To make the roux, your combine the oil and flour in your pan and cook slowly over low heat until it’s reached a chocolate brown color. This may take a couple of hours - hence the nick-name ‘two-beer roux.’ It takes about the same amount of time to savor a couple of beers as it does to make the roux.
Once the roux’s made, add in the celery, bell pepper, and onion (this is known in Cajun cooking as ‘the Trinity’ and is a very common component of Cajun dishes). Cook about 4-5 minutes, until they’ve gotten a bit soft. Add in the mushrooms and Andouille sausage, cooking until the sausage has released a little bit of its fat. Add in the chicken, seasoned with a bit of Cajun seasoning (really, the amount is to taste - I probably use about a tablespoon to start). Cover with the stock, add a bay leaf, and salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmering.
I generally let this cook for 3 or 4 hours, although you could probably serve it up after about an hour and it’d be fine. Taste periodically during the cooking process so that you can adjust the seasoning as needed.
Serve with rice, Tabasco sauce (to spice it up a bit more if you like), file gumbo (optional, made from powdered sassafras) - and I like serving it with warm French bread to wipe the last yummy bits of broth out of the bowl.
Author: Surgical Steel
Summary: A newly married Halbarad prepares to go back out into the Wild, and his wife cooks a going away meal
Characters: Aragorn, Halbarad, Serindё (OFC, a healer in Bree), Thalguron (OMC, borrowed with permission from Shirebound’s Quarantined-AU)
Rating: PG for some suggestive talk at the end
Warnings: Mildly suggestive talk at the end
GOING AWAY MEAL
They hadn’t been married for even a week, yet Aragorn had announced quite firmly that he really did need Halbarad back on patrol. Apologetically, but firmly. Serindё had gone into a flurry of domestic activity, and had called favors in from half of Bree to help make certain he'd be well-equipped, it seemed. Socks were darned. Boots were cleaned. Battered clothing was patched or replaced. And this morning?
She’d crept out of bed early, and was down in the kitchen. He could hear her singing to herself, crept downstairs himself intending to try and surprise her - but was surprised at the scene in front of him. Several bowls were arrayed neatly on the table, a few containing chopped vegetables, one containing some sort of sliced sausage, another containing what appeared to be cooked, shredded chicken meat. Two long loaves of bread were rising in the heat of the kitchen - a stockpot burbled cheerfully - and there she was, a skillet on the stove and what was she doing?
Only one way to find out. “Serindё, what are you doing?” he asked
“What does it look like I’m doing, silly? I’m cooking. Last night here for you for some time, I want you to have a good meal. Had to get up early to get the chicken from the Pony - their cook had it ready for me, killed that chicken just this morning, saved it for me to make the stock. Lucky they still had some reasonably fresh vegetables, too…”
Those vegetables had been chopped with a fair amount of precision - and he really didn’t want to irritate her. But that skillet… “What’s in the skillet, Serindё-love?”
“Little flour, little oil,” she replied.
“Are you trying to burn that flour?”
“Oh, stars, no,” she laughed. “Cook it to a nice dark brown, just this side of burnt, but not quite burnt. Crucial ingredient, this is, a properly made roux.”
“Serindё-love, you really don’t need to go to all this trouble…”
“Oh, it’s no trouble,” she said cheerfully. “This is fun. Why don’t you go amuse yourself with Aragorn and Thalguron for a bit, this’ll be a little while. In fact, there’ll be enough for them; make sure they know to come over for supper.” And she reached up and kissed him - and what could he say?
He had his doubts, though, about any dish which featured burnt flour as a key ingredient. But, following instructions, he walked over to the Pony, sat down with Aragorn and Thalguron planning out patrol routes, arranging rendezvous dates. Plans finally settled, Aragorn finally asked, “How’s your bride?”
Halbarad shrugged. “Unexpectedly domestic. My socks have never been in such good repair - and she’s cooking. Wants you both over for dinner.”
Aragorn smiled at that. “She was widely regarded by the Ithilien Rangers as one of the best camp-cooks they’d had - refused to acknowledge that certain foods shouldn’t be camp-food. Tried to figure out ways to make them work - often successfully. What’s she cooking?”
“I’m not sure - but it somehow involved burnt flour,” Halbarad answered.
“Burnt flour?” Thalguron asked, wrinkling his nose.
Aragorn looked unexpectedly pleased at that news. “She did tell you she wasn’t trying to burn it, though?”
Halbarad nodded slowly.
“Perhaps she called it a roux?”
Halbarad was perplexed. “How did you know that?”
“Oh, my friend, we are in for a treat if she’s making what I think she’s making,” Aragorn said, rubbing his hands together. “If it's what I’m thinking, she made a pot of that in Dol Amroth shortly after her father’s funeral - for a bit of a planning session as we were getting ready to go after the Corsairs of Umbar. It was like nothing else I’ve ever tasted.”
“If you say so,” Halbarad said skeptically.
“She’s using chicken?” Aragorn asked.
“Freshly killed this morning,” Halbarad answered.
“They use all sorts of fresh seafood in Dol Amroth - fish and shellfish both - and I heard she used rabbit a time or two in Ithilien. And you should watch her chop vegetables,” Aragorn added. “Between helping in her mother's kitchen when she was small and knife skills learned as a surgeon, she’s one of the most efficient choppers I’ve ever seen. Not one wasted move.”
Thalguron was looking at Aragorn quizzically. “Odd thing to admire about the woman,” he noted.
Aragorn shrugged. “Her efficiency and her skill with a knife - the things that made her an effective battle surgeon also make her a fairly good cook.”
The two brothers still seemed skeptical, but all three men headed across the street. Something certainly smelled good - and Serindё was singing in the kitchen. “Serindё, is that gumbo I smell?” Aragorn called.
She poked her head out of the kitchen door. “It is. Galdor got a few little Dol Amroth treats up here for me so that I could serve it up properly.” And she swung the kitchen door open wide, allowing them to enter.
Four places were set at the table. At each place, a steaming bowl - a somewhat strange stewish looking concoction filled each bowl, topped with rice, and that bread she’d been making earlier was cut into chunks perfectly sized for dunking or for wiping a bowl. She was seating herself, shaking a reddish liquid from a small bottle onto her portion, and then offered the bottle to the others. Aragorn shook a somewhat smaller amount onto his portion; then passed the bottle on with a muttered, “I’d be careful with that.”
“What is it?” Thalguron asked.
“A sort of sauce made from red peppers, salt, and vinegar. Many of the people in Dol Amroth love it, but it’s rather spicy.”
Halbarad was eyeing his bowl with deep suspicion. It truly looked odd. Still, it would make Serindё happy if he at least sampled it - and Aragorn seemed to be relishing his portion. Cautiously, he dipped his spoon in. He became aware that Serindё was staring at him, a pleading look in her eyes. I really hope I like this, he thought. She seemed to enjoy making it for us so much. He blew on his spoon, then slowly took his first taste.
The flavors. Some sort of combination of spices, something almost dark in flavor - the vegetables - were those wild mushrooms? He took another spoonful - and that was truly excellent smoked sausage. Another spoonful - chicken and mushroom and… he found himself reaching for a piece of bread to simply sop up some of the broth. “This is amazing, Serindё!” he stated.
“Do you really think so?” she asked.
“Mmm-hmm,” he said around another bite. Shook some of the sauce cautiously into his dish, sampled again. “Wow. That adds just a bit of…”
“Just the right bit of heat to the dish, doesn’t it?” she said.
He finished his bowl, wiped every bit of the broth out of the bowl with that delicious bread. “Is there more?”
Her delight clear on her face, she snatched up his bowl and served another portion for him - then for both of the other men. “Do you think Galdor would send more of that sauce up to us? I’ll bet that would taste good on eggs in the morning,” Halbarad said.
Serindё looked even more delighted. “It is good with eggs, and with all sorts of other things - maybe I can find a way to grow the peppers up here…” While both other men looked on in amusement, the two discussed the other things that the hot sauce would undoubtedly complement.
Oh, will I miss my wife’s fresh-cooked food and freshly baked bread when I’m back out in the Wild. To say nothing of the soft warm bed with her body against mine and the fresh clean scent of lavender in her hair…
She stood as everyone had finished their dinner, starting to clear the table, and Halbarad was shocked at Aragorn’s next words. “We’ll take care of the washing up. The two of you should spend the rest of the evening together.”
Halbarad didn’t need to be told twice. Snatching the dishes out of his wife’s hands, he pulled her out of the kitchen and up the stairs after him. “Lovely going away meal, Serindё-love,” he breathed in her ear, closing the bedroom door behind him. “Anything on the menu for afters?”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
SERINDЁ’S GUMBO WITH CHICKEN, WILD MUSHROOMS, AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE
For the stock:
One 3.5 to 4 pound chicken, rinsed well and cut up into pieces.
One cup each coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and celery
Two or three cloves of garlic, peeled
And wrap the following herbs in cheesecloth to make a little sachet: 2 bay leaves, ¼ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black peppercorns, 1 tsp parsley
Place the above in a stockpot, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 6 hours, skimming the top periodically to remove fat and other impurities. Once done, strain the vegetables and chicken out of the stock - save the chicken and shred it up to use in gumbo or chicken salad or for whatever use you might have for it.
(Or you can just use canned stock - there are several decent brands available)
For the gumbo:
1 cup vegetable oil (olive oil works, so does canola - you can use butter, too, but it burns easily)
1 cup flour
Diced vegetables: 1 green bell pepper, 1 medium to large onion, and a roughly equal amount of diced celery
The chicken from the stock
About 2 cups of chopped Andouille sausage (I use two links of whatever brand I can find - other smoked sausage will work, too)
A cup to a cup and a half of sliced assorted wild mushrooms
Bay leaf
Cajun seasoning (I use Emeril’s Essence, but other brands will work)
Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
First, you make a roux. Actually, first, you should make certain that you’ve got a cold beverage readily available and either a good book or a good friend to chat with. To make the roux, your combine the oil and flour in your pan and cook slowly over low heat until it’s reached a chocolate brown color. This may take a couple of hours - hence the nick-name ‘two-beer roux.’ It takes about the same amount of time to savor a couple of beers as it does to make the roux.
Once the roux’s made, add in the celery, bell pepper, and onion (this is known in Cajun cooking as ‘the Trinity’ and is a very common component of Cajun dishes). Cook about 4-5 minutes, until they’ve gotten a bit soft. Add in the mushrooms and Andouille sausage, cooking until the sausage has released a little bit of its fat. Add in the chicken, seasoned with a bit of Cajun seasoning (really, the amount is to taste - I probably use about a tablespoon to start). Cover with the stock, add a bay leaf, and salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmering.
I generally let this cook for 3 or 4 hours, although you could probably serve it up after about an hour and it’d be fine. Taste periodically during the cooking process so that you can adjust the seasoning as needed.
Serve with rice, Tabasco sauce (to spice it up a bit more if you like), file gumbo (optional, made from powdered sassafras) - and I like serving it with warm French bread to wipe the last yummy bits of broth out of the bowl.