The four Pevensie children share a few hours with the Beavers in their snug little home on top of a well-managed dam (“Merely a trifle!”). There’s beer, bread, and butter, “hams and strings of onions hanging from the roof,” and Peter and Mr. Beaver manage to catch some fish. You know from my last post that they have a sticky marmalade roll for dessert. I’m going to assume that Mrs. Beaver made PLENTY of food and probably had lots leftover, so I’ve come up with a savory recipe to use up some of those goodies.

After discovering that Edmund had snuck out to rendezvous with the White Witch, Mrs. Beaver really goes into action, packing supplies for their own escape—”You didn’t think we’d set out on a journey with nothing to eat, did you?” Ham, tea, sugar, breads; let’s say she took some of those boiled potatoes and inevitably some onions as well. Perhaps some fish was leftover? I always thought it was so amusing that she wanted to bring her sewing machine along; if her machine is anything like mine, they’d need a crane to carry it. Undoubtedly, she brought a heavy skillet instead (also handy as a weapon, if necessary…).

“Mrs. Beaver’s Leftover Fry”

About 1 pound cold, cooked small red potatoes (unpeeled; cut into about ¾” chunks)
2 tablespoons salted butter
About ¾ pound diced onion
About ½ pound diced cooked ham
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup heavy cream

Coat a 5-quart deep skillet with cooking spray. Melt the butter over very high heat. Over fairly high heat, sauté the onion, ham, and seasonings for 10 minutes, shaking pan often. You’ll want to get some golden brown potatoes going here. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Then cook all over the lowest heat possible for 3-5 minutes until it’s nice and saucy; stir a few times. Season, if desired. Cover and chill leftovers. Serves 4.

Need some garnish? A few tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley or other herbs would be nice. Want to use up some leftover cooked fish? Add this with the cream addition, instead of the ham.

Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Astrid Tuttle Winegar is the author of Cooking for Halflings & Monsters: 111 Comfy, Cozy Recipes for Fantasy-Loving Souls, which is currently available exclusively in e-book form on the Amazon Kindle, but will soon be released by Oloris Publishing! Stay tuned for details. For now, she is mostly telling a culinary Middle-earth story here on Legendarium. Astrid has loved C. S. Lewis since childhood, J. R. R. Tolkien since middle and high school, all Star things, both Trek and Wars, all things Whedon, and many other things besides… She lives in the enchanted city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and dog. She blogs occasionally at http://halflingsandmonsters.wordpress.com. You can check out (and like!) her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/astridtuttlewinegar or visit her Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/astridwinegar.

The post Narnia Menu: “Mrs. Beaver’s Leftover Fry” appeared first on The Fantasy Network News.

After Edmund had his treacherous encounter with the White Witch and returned through the wardrobe, all four children eventually end up returning to Narnia. They meet up with the Beavers. Mr. Beaver and Peter catch some fish; Mrs. Beaver boils up some potatoes. My next post will take care of the dinner (leftover) portion of this meal, but for now, let’s serve up dessert. Mrs. Beaver “brought unexpectedly out of the oven a great and gloriously sticky marmalade roll, steaming hot.” I can tell Mr. Lewis was not a baker, for nobody can just suddenly whip up a raised bread product as he implies here. Well, maybe yeast rises in five minutes in Narnia, but certainly not in our own world. Surely, people would have noticed something deliciously fragrant baking in the oven, don’t you think? But I suppose Mrs. Beaver was apparently expecting the Pevensie children and had already started her baking earlier in the day…

If you would like to make these in advance, start the night before you want to serve them. After you have cut the rolls and placed them in the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Take the dish out about 30 minutes before you want to bake them, then remove plastic and cover with a towel while you preheat your oven.

“The Great and Gloriously Sticky Marmalade Roll”

1 cup 1% milk
¼ cup salted butter
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope regular yeast
1 extra large egg
8 ounces light cream cheese (Neufchâtel)
¼ cup packed golden brown sugar
¾ cup orange marmalade
2 ounces finely chopped pecans
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon 1% milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar

Place the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a 1-quart saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the butter has melted, whisking to combine. Let stand until the temperature reaches about 120°. Combine the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg and milk mixture to the bowl and mix on medium speed for a minute. Scrape down sides, then switch to a dough hook and mix on lowest speed for 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl; cover with a towel and let rise for an hour. Punch down the risen dough and place on a floured surface. Cover with the same towel and let it rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the cream cheese in a medium-sized glass bowl. Microwave to soften it, but not to the melting point; it should be very creamy. Add the brown sugar, marmalade, pecans, cinnamon, and vanilla to the cheese and whisk to combine well. Coat a 13″ by 9″ glass baking dish with cooking spray. Roll the dough out to a 12″ square (lightly flour your surface only if it seems to need it). Spread the cheese mixture all over the dough, leaving about ½” at the top. Carefully roll up and pinch the seam. Cut 12 portions, using an 18″ piece of waxed dental floss to assist you (place floss under the roll, cross strands on top, and slice through the dough quickly). Place each roll in dish; collect any stray filling and spread it on top. Cover with a towel and let rise until the rolls are puffy, about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°. Bake rolls 25 minutes, until they are lightly golden brown. Place on rack 15 minutes. While they are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl. Drizzle over the rolls in a zigzag pattern. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over all evenly. Cover and keep at room temperature; microwave for a fresh-baked taste.

Astrid Tuttle Winegar

Astrid Tuttle Winegar is the author of Cooking for Halflings & Monsters: 111 Comfy, Cozy Recipes for Fantasy-Loving Souls, which is currently available exclusively in e-book form on the Amazon Kindle, but will soon be released by Oloris Publishing! Stay tuned for details. For now, she is mostly telling a culinary Middle-earth story here on Legendarium. Astrid has loved C. S. Lewis since childhood, J. R. R. Tolkien since middle and high school, all Star things, both Trek and Wars, all things Whedon, and many other things besides… She lives in the enchanted city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and dog. She blogs occasionally at http://halflingsandmonsters.wordpress.com. You can check out (and like!) her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/astridtuttlewinegar or visit her Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/astridwinegar.

The post Narnia Menu: “The Great and Gloriously Sticky Marmalade Roll” appeared first on The Fantasy Network News.