By Luci
Isn’t Halloween wonderful? Funky-scary decorations; costumes that release inhibitions, the spirits and spirituality that penetrate our inner souls while all about the vibrant colors of trees, bushes and chrysanthemums bring joy.
See the October chapter in The Dish on Dazzling Dinners (https://editor.wix.com/html/editor/web/renderer/edit/3b31d056-82a9-475a-9ed9-317556846093?metaSiteId=51b7df7d-41df-4eac-8a08-4d274fe699eb) for a super Halloween dinner along with, digging deep, a meaty and meaningful discourse on the day.
Halloween is my favorite fun holiday and doing a dazzling dinner one of my favorite undertakings. So l do a Halloween dinner every year. The front of my house displays one happy ghost along with sets of unusual pumpkins and colorful squash. Guests are greeted inside by a scary tableau on the staircase.
Here is the menu for dinner done a week ago. It is modeled on the Halloween dinner in The Dish with some significant changes.
The Menu
COCKTAIL
Bloody Brew
(Sparkling Wine with Pomegranate Liqueur)
Sorry to say - I had to do a bloody brew from a creature with not enough red blood cells. Ordinarily, I would add pomegranate liqueur but, to my chagrin, at D-Day {Day of Dinner}, I discovered that the pom liqueur had disappeared into the ether.) But, the sparkling rosé prosecco was just fine with the guests.
Preparation with pomegranate liqueur
Into an appropriate glass, place about 1/2 ounce of pomegranate liqueur and fill with a sparkling wine. A sparkling red wine would be best but they are hard to find. Sparkling rosés are readily available.
APPETIZERS
Pumpkin Puss
(Cheddar Cheese, Green Pepper Garnish)
Every appetizer course must have cheese. And what could be cuter than this pumpkin puss made of cheese with green pepper stem and face? As I had white pumpkins outside and for table decor, I made this one white-ish, using a white cheddar.
Preparation (plenty for 8)
This cheese (8 ounces) was medium hard so to mold it into a pumpkin shape, cut it into chunks and processed it into bits that are easy to shape. Use the stem of a green pepper for the pumpkin’s stem. Cut eyes and mouth from the green pepper. To make them stick, use the flat of a knife to make depressions in the cheese, then push the eyes and mouth into the depressions.
Gory Goblins
(Shrimp with Cognac Sauce)
Shrimp with cocktail sauce is always a pleasing appetizer. For a trick, put a face with peppercorns on the front end and serve with a cocktail sauce, its taste boosted with cognac.
For the goblins
Make or buy cooked, shelled shrimp with their colorful tails on. Place two black peppercorns where eyes would be and one for the nose. Serve with the cognac sauce which is always a hit.
Cognac Sauce (enough for 8)
Ingredients
¾ cup homemade or prepared cocktail sauce
1 - 2 (as preferred) tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon Tabasco or other red pepper sauce
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons cognac
Preparation
Combine all ingredients.
Batty Beans
(Black Bean Spread)
I’ve been playing with beans a lot recently (see my blog on beans:( https://manage.wix.com/dashboard/51b7df7d-41df-4eac-8a08-4d274fe699eb/blog/ae4d4dcd-ed1a-4da2-bcd0-ba1afbbdf06b/edit). So, of course, this dinner had to include a bean dish shaped in bat form.
Ingredients (plenty for 8)
3 tablespoons sunflower* or other oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
3 medium garlic cloves, grated or chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can black beans, rinsed
2-4 tablespoons chicken broth
Preparation
Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, cardamom, chili powder and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.
Add beans, stir to mix and then add 2 tablespoons chicken broth. Stir and add more broth if necessary. The mixture should be softened but not runny. Cook for about 5 more minutes.
Cool beans and shape into a bat form.
* Sunflower oil has a nutty taste, perfect for a nutty Halloween dinner.
MAIN
Pork Loin Roast with Two Sauces, Wild Rice, Candy Corn (carrots & parsnips)
Unfortunately, I neglected to take a photo of a dinner plate as served to the guests. It was colorful with a pork chop in the center bottom of a rectangular plate, showing the two sauces, one dark, one light, at the top. The sides were, of course, placed on the sides.
Roast Pork Loin
A heritage pork loin roast, bone in, from Pastosa on Forest Ave. always garners high praise. Not only is it delicious but it is also fun to create different sauces to accompany the meat. I chose a creamy mustard sauce and one that was Asian-inspired. As usual, my guests loved the roast and, happily for these experiments, both sauces. Many people like to have their roasts Frenched (meat and fat scraped away from the top of the bones). However, there is general agreement that meat cooked with bone and meat close to bone is the tastiest. Indeed, all my guests and me, too, gnawed happily on the bones of our chops.
For the Pork
Ingredients
Allow 1 chop per guest. A roast with 4 chops provides 2 chops with crispy outer edges and 2 inner chops, less done. For 8 people, use 2 4-chop roasts.
Marinate with your choice of herbs, garlic and olive oil.
Preparation
At least three hours before roasting and as much as overnight, rub the pork loin roast all over with a mixture of olive oil, garlic and herbs. I chose thyme to match the Dijon mustard sauce.
Have pork at room temperature. Roast for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 450F. Reduce the heat to 350F and continue roasting for about one hour until the roast reaches 145F. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.
For the Asian Sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/4 cup finely minced onion
3 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
2 1-inch slices of fresh ginger
3 tablespoons rice vinegar or 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or more to taste)
Preparation
Heat oil to medium in a 10-inch skillet. Add onion and stir for 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook, stirring for about 4 minutes, until the ginger has softened a bit.
Add vinegar, soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, fennel and cayenne. Stir, then lower heat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Strain and serve warm.
For the Dijon Sauce
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
1 tablespoon veal demi-glace (optional)
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt to taste
Preparation
Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet. Sauté the shallots for about 2 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, stir and add the thyme. Continue to sauté the vegetables for another 2 minutes.
Add the veal demi-glace, if using, and the wine. Stir and add the heavy cream, mustard and salt. Stir until well combined and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.
Wild Rice with Cranberries and Walnuts
Wild rice has a rich, nutty taste and crunchy texture. For a superb side, add butter, cranberries and walnuts.
Preparation
Follow package directions to cook rice. Meanwhile, heat a generous amount of butter in a large skillet and then add a generous amount of dried cranberries and walnuts. Cook until they have softened, then add the cooked wild rice and mix thoroughly. Serve warm.
Candy Corn
(Carrots and Parsnips Glazed with Sambuca)
Not only kids, adults love candy corn, too. So indulge your guests with a healthy version of candy corn. Use carrots and parsnips glazed with Sambuca for a look-alike that’s moderately sweet with a touch of licorice.
Ingredients (8 servings)
8 large broad carrots
4 medium large parsnips
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Sambuca Romana or other licorice-flavored liqueur
Preparation
Peel, then slice each carrot to a 5-inch length from top. Cut a thin slice lengthwise to ensure that the carrots will stay firmly in place. Trim the bottom of each piece to a triangular shape.
Peel, then slice parsnips crosswise to form circles for the top of the candy corn.
Steam carrots and parsnips until just turning tender. Carrots will take about 10 minutes, parsnips about 6-7. Do not over cook or vegetables will break when sautéed later.
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook gently until soft. Add carrots and parsnips and stir. Add sugar and liqueur and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are nicely glazed
Match each carrot piece to a parsnip circle. Trim as necessary so that the parsnip slice fits snugly against the carrot slice.
To attach the carrot and parsnip slices together, insert one end of a toothpick into the top of a carrot slice. Insert the other end of the toothpick into the matching parsnip slice. Slide the two slices together.
Serve warm. Warn your guests that a toothpick is present.
Cemetery Salad with Deadly Drizzle
(Sprouts and Apple with Pumpkin Vinaigrette)
Ingredients (enough for 8)
For the Cemetery Ground
3 4-ounce packages of broccoli or other small green sprouts that resemble grass
For the Gravestones
2 large crisp apples
For the Vinaigrette
1 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
½ cup pumpkin oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation
Cemetery ground. Spread the sprouts over a large platter.
Loosen up the sprouts and cut though the sprouts to make one “plot” for each guest.
Gravestones. Several hours or a day ahead, peel apples and cut vertical slices to look like gravestones, each about 1/4-inch thick, one for each guest. Let the slices sit until they darken. Using the point of a sharp knife, carefully carve into the “gravestones” the initials R.I.P. On others, carve a year, a cross, a crescent moon or a star of David.
Vinaigrette. Boil apple juice until reduced to ¼ cup. Whisk the apple reduction with remaining ingredients.
Finishing the cemetery. Insert close to the top of each “plot”one “headstone.” Just before serving, drizzle with vinaigrette.
Show off the full “cemetery” to each guest, then use a spatula to place each “plot” onto an individual plate.
Poltergeist Pears
(Almond-Flavored Poached Pears)
No matter how many times I’ve made them, even grown men say, “Oh, so cute.” There are two things that guarantee a delicious dish. First, the pears must be ripe and flavorful. Unfortunately, the pears I purchased for this dinner were neither and the dish was less than it might have been.. Second, the poaching liquid must be flavorful. I often use pear nectar which deepens the “peariness” of the fruit. Adding a complementary flavor is a good idea, too. A nutty flavor is right for Halloween, so use almond extract and almond liqueur.
Ingredients (for 8)
10 ripe but firm pears, your choice pf variety
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 cups pear nectar
2-3 cups water
2 tablespoons sugar or more to taste
1 tablespoon Amaretto or other almond-flavored liqueur
Preparation
Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each pear so that they will stand upright.
Peel pears and rub with lemon to prevent darkening
In a pot large enough to fit pears, combine pear nectar, water and sugar. Bring to boil. Add almond extract.
Lower pears into liquid, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, occasionally spooning the poaching liquid over pears, until pears are barely tender.
Remove pears from pot and boil the poaching liquid down to a thin syrup.
Make the “poltergeist. For the “head,” use the large end of a melon baller to scoop out a ball. For the “body,” use a complete pear after cutting and discarding a thin horizontal slice from the top of the pear. Make a “face” on the “head.” For eyes, use the point of a sharp knife to make 2 small holes. Insert two small pieces of raisins or green pepper. For a mouth, make a small line with the knifepoint and insert a thin strip of dried cranberry.
To join “head” to “body,” insert one end of a toothpick into the middle of the “head” and the other end into the middle of the top of the “body.” Slide the “head” down until it rests on the “body.”
To serve, put a generous amount of poaching liquid in the bottom of a shallow bowl or plate. Gently lower the “poltergeist” onto the bowl or plate. You may spoon some poaching liquid over the body.
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