Halloween

Halloween is right around the corner and it seems there are a lot of people who really get into this holiday. In the ancient days, when I was young, this was strictly a kid’s holiday; but that was so long ago that I didn’t even have to have parents along for trick-or-treating. It isn’t just for kids anymore.


In the “spirit” of things, the Grub club, of which we are members, met a few years ago and the theme of our “gourmet” dinner ws Spirits. Knowing the imaginations and personalities of the other three couples in the group, this turned out to be a very interesting dinner.

No other clues were given as to the foods we should bring, so I pondered if spirits were as in alcoholic spirits, or Halloween-style spirits or, perhaps, as our pastor is a member of the club, “spiritual” food. So off to the dictionary

1. Spirit/ from the Latin, literally meaning “breath”; a life-giving force 2. God; esp. in the third person of the Trinity. 3. specter, ghost 4. person 5. mood 6. vivacity, ardor 7. loyalty 8. intent 9. distilled alcoholic liquor. This is quite a list from which to choose.

The hosts had reminded us when they delivered the theme, that the end of October and beginning of November has Halloween, All Saints Day and the Day of the Dead bunched together and that would give us some ideas.

I wasn’t sure which meaning or meanings to use for the appetizer course and thought I would call the others and get some inspiration. Here is the menu for that night’s meal:

A Spirited Dinner for 8

Deviled Eggs
Golden puff Angel wings
Dem Rattlin’ Bones
Pumpkin Brandy Soup
Coq au Vin in Hades Flames
Shrouded vegetable
Brandied Cherries
Angelica

I feared that the underworld was a little over-represented, so I added the Angelica liqueur at the end of the meal to make sure we appease the spirit world in the right direction.

Everyone was understandably a little reluctant to part with their exact recipes, so I came up with some I thought would work. My husband and I were the appetizers, so those are definite.

Golden Puff Angel Wings
Makes 32

2 Tbsp. butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ tsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. rye breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. whipping cream
One-third cup canned solid pack pumpkin
½ tsp. caraway seeds
One-fourth tsp. mixed dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary), crumbled
1 egg yolk
1 17-oz. package frozen puff pastry, thawed
Three-fourths cup grated Peccorino-Reggiano cheese (or use Parmesan)
1 egg white, beaten with ½ tsp. water

Melt butter in skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and stir 2 minutes. Add cream and stir until mixture is almost dry. Mix in pumpkin, caraway, herbs, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and blend in yolk. Refrigerate until well chilled.

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Cut each pastry sheet into sixteen 2-inch squares. Spoon 1 teaspoon pumpkin mixture into center of each. Sprinkle with scant teaspoon Peccorino-Reggiano cheese. Brush edges of pastry with egg white glaze. Fold into triangles, sealing edges with fork tines and gently shaping into wings. Arrange pastries on baking sheets. Bake until crisp and golden, about 20 minutes.

Dem Rattlin’ Bones

One-fourth cup vegetable oil
½ onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups chili sauce
1 cup beer
1 cup water
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
3-1/2 pounds pork baby back rib racks

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add chili sauce, beer, water, sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool.

Place ribs in a large baking dish. Brush with half of sauce. Cover ribs and remaining sauce separately and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Transfer ribs to heavy large baking sheet. Roast ribs until tender, basting frequently with some of remaining sauce, about 1 hour. Place remaining sauce in small saucepan and bring to simmer. Cut pork into individual ribs and place on platter. Serve pork ribs immediately, passing chili-garlic sauce separately.

The Coq au Vin recipe is a standard one, you can find in any really good recipe book, but the chicken should be flambéed in Brandy before adding the wine.

The guy who is bringing the cherries told me that he had been soaking fresh Bing cherries in Brandy, orange peel, cinnamon and Kirsch (a clear cherry liqueur) for a month. I could hardly wait to taste them resurrected.

This dinner should give you some ideas for a spirited dinner of your own. As always, I really enjoy hearing about your own adventures with these or other spirited recipes.