Come Thou Long Expected Fox-fare

Come Thou Long Expected Fox-fare

Posted by SusannaMMMerrill

Every evening as soon as it got dark, Mr Fox would say to Mrs Fox, "Well, my darling, what shall it be this time? A plump chicken from Boggis? A duck or a goose from Bunce? Or a nice turkey from Bean?" And when Mrs Fox had told him what she wanted, Mr Fox would creep down into the valley in the darkness of the night and help himself.






The Book: The Fantastic Mr. Fox, by Roald Dahl
The Fare: Turkey, Chicken, Carrots, and Cider 

Thanksgiving (yes, it's been a while...) with the Rose family was fox-themed this year, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine the existing fox decorations with the poultry-heavy menu and highlight The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

I don't have a lot to say about the recipes involved, because I imagine the Foxes and their guests did not cook their birds, and also I did not do such an awesome job with the cooking: the chickens, especially, are a little embarrassing to even post pictures of. But the book and the foxes are so fun, I can't not do a quick post.

We had carrots for the rabbit guests:

"And carrots, Dad!" said the smallest of the three Small Foxes. "We must take some of those carrots."
"Don’t be a twerp," said Mr Fox. "You know we never eat things like that."
"It’s not for us, Dad. It’s for the Rabbits. They only eat vegetables."

"My goodness me, you’re right!" cried Mr Fox. "What a thoughtful little fellow you are! Take ten bunches of carrots! 

And cider and a turkey from Farmer Bean, the turkey-and-apple farmer-- even though in the actual feast at the end of the book they only have Bean's cider, I'm sure that on subsequent feasts they ate his turkey too. Our turkey had a missing wing, and had to have a little ramekin-crutch:

Notice how the turkey lists to one side...

And then two weird little chickens, in the cooking of which I seem to have left out some major step, from the chicken houses of Farmer Boggis. Nothing, alas from the goose and duck stores of Farmer Bunce.

And a fine feast it was!

They were still singing as they rounded the final corner and burst in upon the most wonderful and amazing sight any of them had ever seen. The feast was just beginning. A large dining-room had been hollowed out of the earth, and in the middle of it, seated around a huge table, were no less than twenty-nine animals. They were:

Mrs Fox and three Small Foxes.

Mrs Badger and three Small Badgers.

Mole and Mrs Mole and four Small Moles.

Rabbit and Mrs Rabbit and five Small Rabbits.

Weasel and Mrs Weasel and six Small Weasels.

The table was covered with chickens and ducks and geese and hams and bacon, and everyone was tucking into the lovely food.

"My darling!" cried Mrs Fox, jumping up and hugging Mr Fox. "We couldn’t wait! Please forgive us!" Then she hugged the Smallest Fox of all, and Mrs Badger hugged Badger, and everyone hugged everyone else. Amid shouts of joy, the great jars of cider were placed upon the table, and Mr Fox and Badger and the Smallest Fox sat down with the others.

You must remember no one had eaten a thing for several days. They were ravenous. So for a while there was no conversation at all. There was only the sound of crunching and chewing as the animals attacked the succulent food.