Peter Jackson: The Hobbit--An Unexpected Journey

I'll admit that I have not seen any of these Hobbit films.  It, of course, made total sense to make three full films out The Lord Of The Rings--the book was written that way, and we saw all of them in the theater--even if they did get progressively indulgent and the quality, in my opinion, suffered for it.  But to turn a rather wonderful little tale of more child-like adventure from a single volume book into 3 films just seemed so over the top, that it has taken this long to warm up to the idea of beginning to tackle them.  We'll see...

Theme Recipe: Brace Of Coneys

This is another of those from a movie or television series recipes that has been done to death on the web...but I'm adding my two cents worth anyway.  In one of the more famous food moments from the LOTR trilogy, Gollum catches two rabbits and starts to eat one raw, fur and all.  Of course, Sam being the herb gardener that he is quickly takes from him and promptly puts them into a stew.  Where by Gollum declares "it ruins them."  Sam also gives Gollum a little treatise on potatoes, which he would have loved to have some on hand to put into said stew.  

Sam's Brace Of Coney's

2 wild rabbits or 1 large domestic rabbit, dressed
Wild onions, or green onions
Any other wild vegetables and/or wild edible greens & Herbs
A pinch of salt.

Modern Kitchen Version (the version Sam really wants!)

2 wild rabbits or 1 domestic 
Season flour
Oil or grease for browning
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
Whole baby potatoes
Salt, to taste
Lots of black pepper
Herbs of choice (preferably from an herb garden, that's the hobbit way!)
1 cup rabbit or brown chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine

1.  Heat the oil or greases.  Cut the rabbits into serving pieces.  And coat in the seasoned flour, brown in hot fat.  

2.  Add the onion, toss and cook for 2 minutes.  Add in the rest of the vegetables and stir well.  Drop in whole herbs, then add the stock and wine, bring to boil, stirring.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes covered.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and then cook until meat is fork tender.  Serve with lots of crusty bread and some ale.  Note:  this can be made with chicken.

The Fellowship Of The Ring: The Return Of The King (2003)

As far as Oscar blockbusters go, this is one of the all time big boys on the block!!  Nominated for a very impressive 11 Oscars.....it won ALL of them!!  Here's a rundown of the goodies this cast and crew came away with.

Won For Best Makeup:  Richard Taylor & Peter King

Won For Best Art Direction--Set Decoration:  Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Alan Lee

Won For Best Sound Mixing:  Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges & Hammond Peek

Won For Best Film Editing:  Jamie Selkirk

Won For Best Costume Design:  Ngila Dickson & Richard Taylor

Won For Best Visual Effects:  Jim Rygiel,  Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook & Alex Funke

Best Adapted Screenplay:  Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, & Peter Jackson

Won For Best Music, Original Scor:  Howard Shore

Won For Best Music, Original Song:  Howard Shore, Fran Walsh & Annie Lennox

Won For Best Direction:  Peter Jackson

Won For Best Motion Picture:  Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson & Fran Walsh

The Lord Of The Rings Blu Ray

Screening the new blu-ray of the extended editions of the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy--it provides a good opportunity to get some pre-holiday stuff done and looks great too!  So far, (and we just started The Two Towers) the blu rays are providing a much more in-depth look at the true intricacies of the production work; showing off just how completely detailed the set designs were!

Some Images From LOTR