Halloween is near. The holiday, which can and should be acknowledged if not celebrated every day, serves as a reminder of a few facts of reality and unreality.
First, that that which haunts and troubles us are often just creations of the mind—paper ghouls and bats with wings made of trash bag and wire that remind us that our fears are protecting us.
Second, that beauty and depth lie in both darkness and in light.
Third, that the strange and bizarre, the haunting and wild, can be welcomed to the table.
This year, celebrate Halloween by throwing the table with black tablecloth, some artificial moss and bud vase, trickled with drippy, black tapered candles with eternal flames, will do the trick.
Next, incorporate natural and supernatural elements—think elements like whole black garlic cloves, black branches haunted with hot glue spider webs, spiders, black calla lilies, open pomegranates, whole uni, moss, odd varieties of lichens, seaweeds, and mushrooms, juniper branches, and fish bones. Place these items—along with any of your choosing, and warn your loved ones to beware a dinner party for guests who you love, guests who you fear, and, of, course, a few souls, ghouls, and ghosts for good measure.
Whether you're hosting the neighborhood Halloween party or just having folks over...
The perfect menu would include the Crawling Hand....
INGREDIENTS:
CRAWLING HANDS
1 large egg yolk
Red Icing Color
1 package frozen puff pastry
You will need: A hand-shaped cookie cutter
CHICKEN POTPIE
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 c. chicken broth
2 package frozen mixed vegetables
3 c. shredded roasted or rotisserie chicken
1 tbsp. garlic salt pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
To make Crawling Hands:
Heat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk egg yolk and 2 drops red icing color in a small cup until blended; set aside.
Roll out one sheet of puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface.
Using cutter, cut out 6 hands.
Place on prepared baking sheet.
Using a small paintbrush, paint egg yolk mixture onto tips of fingers to resemble fingernails.
Bake pastry 15 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire rack to cool.
Repeat with remaining sheet of puff pastry dough.
To make Chicken Potpie:
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk in flour; cook, whisking, until bubbling.
Gradually whisk in chicken broth.
Stir over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a rapid boil and thickens.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Return to a simmer; cook for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Pour mixture into serving bowls and garnish with Crawling Hands.
Dessert no better than Fudge Pumpkin...
INGREDIENTS :
1 box chocolate cake mix (such as a Moist Deluxe Devil's Food Mix)
2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
c. pumpkin
1/4 c. unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 c. finely ground pecans
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly butter and flour either one 10-cup Great Pumpkin Pan(available from or 3 round cake pans -- 6, 8, and 10 inches.
(If making the tiered cake, plan also to double the recipe.)
Take care to cover all crevices and corners. Place all of the ingredients plus 3/4 cup water in a large mixing bowl and beat, using a mixer set on medium-high speed, until batter is smooth.
Fill the cake pan(s). (For Great Pumpkin Pan, divide batter evenly between the two halves; for round cake pans, divide batter evenly.)
Bake until a skewer inserted into the center tests clean -- about 35 minutes for the pumpkin cakes;
25 minutes for the 6-inch, 30 minutes for the 8-inch, and 35 minutes for the 10-inch layers of the tiered cake.
Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting or decorating.
Trim the pumpkin cake halves before stacking together to form the pumpkin-shaped cake.
Stack tiers, spreading frosting between layers.
To make the simple frosting shown above, whisk 1 cup confectioners' sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice until it's the consistency of molasses.
Drizzle over cake.
Eat and Enjoy!
You're Welcome!
Nana
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