It's hard to beat a meal in a halfling home, as long as you don't crack your head on the ceiling—good food and good stories in front of a nice, warm fire. If halflings had a shred of ambition, they might really amount to something.
Halflings are creatures of comfort, with an intense love of peace, quiet, hearth, home, and, most of all, food. In stark contrast to humans, these simple pleasures are the sole ambition of this uniquely unambitious bunch. Whether living in the luxury of their halfling holes set in lush, pastoral landscapes or on the rocky road of adventure, halflings constantly alternate between two sentiments toward food: savoring and longing. When they are not doing one, they are undoubtedly doing the other. Unsurprisingly, food and drink are at the center of any halfling community, often providing the forum for their other favorite pastimes: fine conversation and storytelling. Add a pipe, some tea, and a comfortable chair, and a halfling has everything needed for lifelong fulfillment.
Small and Practical
Standing roughly three feet tall, halflings are small and down-to-Oerth creatures, and so is their food—consisting of modest portions of delicious, unpretentious fare. But don't be fooled by the small plates, for halflings make up for it in quantity and variety of dishes. It is common for an ordinary halfling meal to consist of several courses, while a lavish feast may contain dozens of plates of fresh, simple foods bursting with earthy garden colors. However, halflings always favor taste and practicality over pomp and presentation.
When their lives are not in danger, halflings do nothing quickly—nothing except eat that is. While their meals can stretch for hours, often with one meal running right into another, their rate of consumption is something to behold, often outpacing their usually larger non-halfling companions more than two to one. Remarkably, they are not messy eaters, rather they use their extraordinary agility to eat stealthily, quickly, and cleanly, for they hate to see a crumb of anything go to waste. Need that lock picked now? Tell your halfling companions that a buffet waits immediately beyond and you'll marvel at the speed and precision at which they can work.
The concept of sharing is deeply rooted in halfling culture, whether it be imparting (sometimes hard-to-believe) stories of adventure or doling out that pot of stew they put on the stove. While they are largely unconcerned with formality and dining etiquette, they do strictly adhere to certain unwritten rules of hosting. The most notable of these is that, in a halfling dwelling, guests come first. This means the first serving of cheese, the first cut of meat, and seemingly unlimited portions of coffee, tea, biscuits, cake, and jams are made available to their guests, on demand. Unfortunately, this strong sense of hospitality sometimes goes unappreciated and unrewarded when boorish guests come by and deplete the larders of an overly polite halfling before the host can even sit or sample the meal for themselves.
Kind and Curious
Adventuring is not the true calling of most halflings—the typical variety usually referred to as "stouts" or "stronghearts"—but when it comes to food, they are as brave and adventurous as they come. Halflings will try virtually anything, from the new and experimental to the downright risky. They are not picky eaters, and their kind disposition shapes a nonjudgmental and forgiving, although not entirely undiscerning, palate. Can they find room for improvement? Sure, but is it really worth a trip all the way to the kitchen for the salt? They crave warm, rich flavors, both savory and sweet, such as cheddar, salted pork, vanilla, maple, walnuts, smoked almonds, butterscotch, and the like, usually served with a smooth, malty beverage. In a halfling household, just about anything can be enhanced by adding butter, eggs, and salt. It might be remarked that the diet of the average halfling will not result in an adventurer's waistline.
Pastoral Pleasantries
Most halflings, sometimes referred to as "hin," live in peaceful agrarian communities, which focus largely on farming, grove maintenance, and tending to private gardens—the pride and joy of any halfling home. A halfling garden is indeed something to behold as every square inch is optimized to produce a tasty herb, vegetable, or fruit that will enhance their next meal—farming and eating, longing and savoring. Halflings also raise livestock to assist with labor, transportation, and, of course, food. Pigs, chickens, cows, goats, and sheep are among the animals that often show up on the halfling table, but often in small quantities and with a high monetary, and sometimes emotional, price. With a few notable exceptions, such as the nomadic, dinosaur-riding Talenta Plains halflings of Khorvaire and the cannibalistic jungle variety of Athas, halflings tend to be a particularly cheerful and compassionate lot and hate to see any creature suffer. As such, it is not uncommon for a halfling farmer to befriend his livestock and end up buying his meat from one of his less merciful neighbors.
Halflings are also famed for their proficiency at cheesemaking. Be it hard, soft, sharp, or mild, halflings excel at the fine art of artisanal dairy preservation...and consumption. Any respectable halfling gathering is sure to boast an assortment of uniquely crafted cheeses. Moreover, halflings are proud bakers—skilled in all types of dough-making, ranging from fluffy morning buns to hearty loaves to delicately scrumptious desserts—who bake in quantities with their community in mind. For these small folk, desserts are a way of life.
Some particularly motivated or curious halflings do manage to leave the municipal boundaries of their villages and even hit the road of adventure. These wandering halflings, sometimes called "lightfoots" or "tallfellows," tend to do so in groups, journeying from hamlets to Hommlet by wagon or boat, usually in search of various curiosities, unfamiliar foods being first among them. It is said, "You can pull the halfling out of their shires, but you can't pull the shires out of the halfling." Such is the case with the adventuring types, carrying a strong sense of home with them wherever they go. And if you check their packs, you're bound to find more than a few effects of sentiment along with a disproportionate amount of food and ingredients from their hometowns.
Community Cheeses
It wouldn't be a halfling jamboree without a cauldron of community cheeses on the table for all to enjoy! This multi-cheese concoction is composed of two types, slowly melted with a spritz of wine in a fondue pot over an even, low heat. The key is to not overcook nor let the unique cheese flavors homogenize, which ensures that each bite is streaked with a surprising new taste combination. Usually presented with fruits, meat chunks, or cubed breads, this fondue is perfect for dagger-dipping. Just be sure to clean the blood off first!
Stuffed Egg-Battered Toast
There's nothing more comforting to a comfort-obsessed halfling than the warm intermingling scents of vanilla, maple, and walnuts filling their home. Thick slices of fresh-cut, fluffy bread are stuffed with cream cheese or mascarpone before getting egg-battered and pan-fried. The final touch is a drizzle of homemade marmalade or apricot syrup. This popular second morningfeast treat is customarily served after tea and satiates a halfling's cravings right up until the first midday meal.
Chicken-Something Dumplings
Wouldn't you like to know the secret halfling ingredient that makes these magically delicious dough dollops melt in your mouth? Well, now you will! From the famed Hungry Halfling in Faerûn's Corm Orp to nearly every halfling suppertime table across the land, this hearty, velvety concoction laden with homemade drop dumplings is the coziest of comfort foods. There are countless variants of this dish, with each halfling household claiming to serve the finest, but nothing beats the thick-and-stewy classic—a robust poultry stock base, emboldened with the tastes of freshly picked veggies, parsley, and garlic all comingled with creamy dough.
Hogs in Bedrolls
Few things put a spring in a halfling's step quite like the buttery-sausage scent of freshly baked hogs in bedrolls wafting through the village. As curious as they are resourceful, halflings have a knack for creating new culinary combinations of things they love to eat—in this case, savory sausages and flaky pastries. Diminutive, smoked pork-and-beef bangers are snugly rolled up into salty dough "bedrolls" until only their "heads" are poking out. The expert maneuver is to brush these little snacks with a thin egg wash before popping them in the oven, ensuring a glossy shine and a boost of color. And slathering them with butter once they are cooked is a truly tasty touch. Hogs in bedrolls might just be the perfect finger food for any size halfling gathering.
Melted Cheeses with Chunky Tomato Broth
Halflings not only know their cheese, they also boast innumerable ways to prepare it. Bread, buttered on the outside, is layered with strips of cheese, sprinkled with seasoning, and pan-fried, before being sliced into strips, or "dippers," for soup dunking. The recipe itself is quite simple (and really just an excuse to eat more cheese)! Sometimes served spicy, these sandwiches are often dashed with dill, nutmeg, basil, or the like, depending on the mood of the chef. The same goes for the accompanying soup, commonly a chunky tomato but occasionally a smooth red pepper puree. It's always served warm, more as a sort of dipping sauce that can be guzzled once the cheeses have disappeared. One of the simplest midday recipes in the halfling repertoire, melted cheeses have also been heavily adopted by humans across the land, with the dish adorning countless tavern menus.
Halfling Oatmeal Sweet Nibbles
Dense with oats, chocolate chips, and butterscotch, these diminutive cookies are perfect for halfling hands...and the stomachs of everyone. The secret is to pull each batch from the oven a minute before they are done cooking and allow them to finish on the tray to ensure a golden outside and an extra-gooey core. Indeed, these nibbles are everything a halfling looks for at the dinner table: rich, delicious flavors and speedy preparation (just in time for tea!).
Lluirwood Salad
Located along the northern border of the former halfling nation of Luiren was the Lluirwood of southeast Faerûn. Sometimes called "the Longforest," due to its lengthy expanse, this dense woodland was the native homeland of three groups of halfling who once foraged the thick foliage in search of delectable forest treats. After the Hin Ghostwars, the Lluirwood was mostly abandoned by halflings and subsequently inhabited by ill-tempered monsters that wandered in from the Toadsquat Mountains to the north. But even after generations, hungry hin from the coastal cities of Luiren still craved those tasty forest flavors and paid adventurers handsomely to extract its ingredients. Prior to the Spellplague, which submerged all of Luiren, this sweet and savory salad, made up of whole-leaf spinach, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and spring cheese, topped with a tangy vinaigrette dressing, would anchor the menus of taverns from Beluir to Shoun—a perfect starter to first or second evenfeast.
Everything Soup
This hearty soup was named for the halfling tradition of frantically raiding their pantries and gardens in nervous anticipation of hosting guests. Sometimes referred to as "Welcome Soup," this stew is a meal in itself, brimming with a colorful medley of vegetables (including up to four different colors of carrots!), green beans, peas, sweet flint corn, red bell peppers, and pulled poultry in a flavorful broth. It should be noted that some adventuresome halflings boldly mix chicken and turkey stock for extra oomph. This substantial soup will warm you to the core. And it cures curses, or so it's been rumored.
Honeyed Ham with Pineapple Gravy
When it's time for a holiday feast, honeyed ham is the first dish in a halfling's oven. A large ham is brushed with layer upon layer of a local honey, brown sugar, and pineapple juice glaze for maximum sweetness before being set in the oven. And while the simmering scent of slow-cooking pork fills the homestead, a halfling gets to work on the accompanying pineapple gravy, a chunky and tangy sauce to drown your beast and starches in. It should be noted that this recipe goes just as well with wild boar, if you are inclined to catch one.
Heartlands Rose Apple and Blackberry Pie
As the story goes, a hungry halfling returned from her hillside stroll with a heavy basket of crisp rose apples and plump blackberries. In typical indecisive halfling fashion, she couldn't decide which to fill her pie with...so she chose both, and thus this legendary halfling dessert pie was born. A thick handmade crust and a flaky, buttery top blanket a tart and tasty rose apple (nearly any apple suffices, season pending, of course) and blackberry filling with spiced ground accents. Some halflings even dust their crust with a white Cheddar that melts for a unique flavor, but all of them agree that it would be a sin to serve this without a scoop of freshly whipped sweet cream.
Honey-Drizzled Cream Puffs
Stuffed with vanilla custard, these delectable treats deservedly grace every halfling dessert spread from Amn up to Neverwinter and beyond. The crispy hollow pastry puffs, which can be prepared days in advance, are a treat alone, but not enough can be said about the custard filling—a dense, velvety blend of cream, vanilla, and honey. While this custard is a wonderful filling or topping for any dessert, best applied with a straight-tipped pastry bag, it's perfectly normal to eat it by the spoonful as well (or so it's been reported). If you don't drizzle these puffs with a fine local honey, you are doing it wrong.