Hot Chocolate

Hunger Games Week:

Every day this week, I'm going to post a recipe that was inspired by food mentioned in The Hunger Games  trilogy.  In anticipation of the the movie, Cleveland's Plain Dealer hosted a Hunger Games recipe contest.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo. 

Today is the last day of my Hunger Games recipes.  If you missed any of them, let's recap: Creamy Mushroom Soup, Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil, District 12 Ration Grain Biscuits, the contest winning Roast Groosling with Sweet Roots (check out the other winning recipes here) and Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies.  The recipe below is what I submitted for Hot Chocolate (contest category: Capitol Fare). 

      When you think of the hot chocolate served in the Capitol, what do you think of?  Chocolatey, rich, smooth, and thick enough for dipping rolls or cookies into it.  That's exactly what this recipe delivers.
Hot Chocolate Original Recipe Yield:  2 mugs, or 4 tea cups
2 cups milk 3 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped (can substitute mini chocolate chips) 1 Tbsp cocoa powder 1 Tbsp sugar 1/8 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the milk.   Heat for 5 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients except the vanilla.  Whisk until the chocolate melts completely, the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes).  Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Ladle into tea cups and serve with rolls for dipping.

Brown Sugar Shortbread

 

Hunger Games Week:

Every day this week, I'm going to post a recipe that was inspired by food mentioned in The Hunger Games  trilogy.  In anticipation of the the movie, Cleveland's Plain Dealer hosted a Hunger Games recipe contest.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo. 

I submitted six recipes, I've already revealed Creamy Mushroom Soup, Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil, District 12 Ration Grain Biscuits and the contest winning Roast Groosling with Sweet Roots.  (Check out the other winning recipes here.)  The recipe below is what I submitted for Shortbread Cookies (contest category: Wild Card Dishes). 

 

Mr. Mellark gave Katniss some cookies before leaving.  I imagined that they were something that would travel well, a sturdy cookie like shortbread.  It's really too bad Katniss threw them away because for such a simple looking cookie, the brown sugar lends a nice flavor.

Mr. Mellark's Shortbread Cookies

Original Recipe

Yield:  about 18 cookies

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened

1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream the brown sugar and butter on medium-high for 2 minutes.  Slowly add the flour and mix on low until combined.  Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Flatten the dough so they are about 1/4 inch thick.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove cookies from the baking sheets and place on a cooling rack.

Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Hunger Games Week: Every day this week, I'm going to post a recipe that was inspired by food mentioned in The Hunger Games  trilogy.  In anticipation of the movie, Cleveland's Plain Dealer hosted a Hunger Games recipe contest.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo. 
I submitted six recipes, and I've already revealed Creamy Mushroom Soup, Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil, and District 12 Ration Grain Biscuits. 
The winners of the recipe contest were announced in the Taste section of today's paper and the Roast Groosling with Sweet Roots WON!  Check out the paper's web version here.  The recipe below is what I submitted, you'll notice it's a little different than the one in the paper because they adapted the recipes.  

Side Note:  I don't agree with their choice of winner for the Breads of Panem category.  The winning bread is not at all like the District 12 bread described in the book (flat and dense).  However, it's a great fit for District 11 (crescent shaped and sprinkled with seeds), so maybe it was just a typo.  If that's what happened, then I think it was a good choice.

Groosling shows up quite a bit as a source of food, especially in the Arena.  An important alliance between Rue and Katniss was developed while sharing a meal of groosling.  Foraged root vegetables make a great accompaniment to the roasted meat.

Roast Groosling with Sweet Roots (aka Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables)

Original Recipe

Yield:  6 servings

3 lbs various root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, katniss roots, etc.), chopped into similar sized pieces (~ 1 1/2 inches)

2 onions, peeled and quartered, root ends removed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 (~4 lb) groosling (chicken can be substituted), plucked, head, feet and innards removed and cleaned

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a large bowl, place the chopped vegetables.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with dried herbs.  Mix until everything is thoroughly coated.  Distribute evenly around the pan leaving space in the center for the groosling.

Rinse the groosling with water and pat it dry.  Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place in the prepared roasting pan.

Place the pan in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.  Turn the oven down to 375 F and cook for 80 minutes or until juices run clear and thigh meat registers 165 F.  

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.  If the vegetables aren't done, put them back into the oven while the chicken rests.  When the vegetables are done cooking, mix them around with the pan juices.  Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted root vegetables.

 

Hunger Games: District 12 Drop Biscuits

Hunger Games Week: Every day this week, I'm going to post a recipe that was inspired by food mentioned in The Hunger Games  trilogy.  Cleveland's Plain Dealer hosted a Hunger Games recipe contest.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo.  They'll post the winning recipes in the Taste section of the paper tomorrow.
I submitted six recipes, I've already revealed Creamy Mushroom Soup and Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil.  The recipe below is what I submitted for District 12's bread (contest category: Breads of Panem). 



  The people of District 12 were constantly battling starvation so it makes sense that their district bread wasn't anything special, just a flat, dense biscuit.  Katniss mentioned that the Capitol's version looked much nicer.  They were probably made with luxury ingredients like butter or leavening that most District 12 residents couldn't afford.
District 12 Ration Grain Biscuits Original Recipe Yield: 6 biscuits
1 cup rye flour (or other dark grain) 2/3 cup milk (or water if milk is not available) 1/8 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 425 F.  Mix all ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes to let the milk work into the flour.  Drop large spoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.  Transfer biscuits to a cooling rack.

Hunger Games: Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil

Hunger Games Week: Every day this week, I'm going to post a recipe that was inspired by food mentioned in The Hunger Games  trilogy.  Cleveland's Plain Dealer hosted a Hunger Games recipe contest.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo.  They'll post the winning recipes in the Taste section of the paper on Wednesday March 21.
I submitted six recipes, I revealed Creamy Mushroom Soup on Friday.  The recipe below is what I submitted for Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil (contest category: Wild Card).  Thinking back, I wish I had done it differently.  I should have taken a 4 oz log of goat cheese and wrapped it with a few large basil leaves, then sliced it to be spread on fresh bread.  The recipe below was too much basil, not enough goat cheese.
  Prim's goat, Lady, supplied the Everdeen's with milk and cheese which could be eaten or sold/traded for other goods at the Hob.  Prim made these treats of goat cheese wrapped in basil for Katniss as a gift on Reaping Day.
Goat Cheese Wrapped in Basil Original Recipe Yield: 5-10 servings
2 oz goat cheese, softened Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 5-10 large basil leaves
In a small bowl, mix the goat cheese, salt and pepper.  Place the basil leaves, vein side up (dark green side down), on a plate.  Put a spoonful of goat cheese on each leaf.  To wrap, start at the leaf's tip and fold it down so it sticks to the goat cheese.  Then wrap the two sides to the middle of the package, overlapping slightly if possible.  Chill until ready to serve.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

The Hunger Games movie comes out next week and I'm so excited!  I really loved the book!

The Plain Dealer held a recipe contest for food inspired by The Hunger Games trilogy.  Entries were due on Monday and they'll post the winning recipes in the Taste section of the paper on Wednesday March 21.  The recipes had to be original, and we were allowed 50 words of description and one photo.  I submitted six recipes, I was hoping for more, but ran out of time.  I'm going to be sharing them today and all next week to celebrate the movie opening.

This is what I submitted for Creamy Mushroom Soup (contest category:  Capitol Fare).

Capitol food is so rich and luxurious that Katniss had problems eating it because she was accustomed to a bland diet.  This creamy mushroom soup is a far cry from District 12 food, it's rich, velvety and full of flavor.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Original Recipe

Yield:  4 servings

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

1 small (~1 cup) onion, diced

4 Tbsp butter, divided

1 tsp dried thyme

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Balsamic vinegar (optional)

In a stockpot on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then add the onions.  Cook until they are softened (about 5 minutes).  Turn the heat up to high, add the remaining butter and the mushrooms.  Stirring occasionally, cook the mushrooms until they brown.  Lower the temperature and add the thyme and chicken stock.  Simmer for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat.  

Puree the soup until it's smooth.  If using a blender, work in batches and have a large bowl ready for the pureed portion of the soup.  Don't fill the blender more than 1/3 to 1/2 full.  Remove the cap from the hole in the blender lid.  Put the blender lid on tight and cover the hole with a towel while pureeing.  Repeat until all of the soup is smooth.

Return the pureed soup to the pot on medium-low heat.  Stir in the heavy cream.  Reheat the soup slowly, and do not boil (lower the heat if needed).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately and drizzle each serving with balsamic vinegar (if using).  This soup goes great with a salad of bitter greens and pea-sized tomatoes, thin-sliced, rare roast beef, and noodles in a green sauce.