I've often lamented about Halloween party food recipes being too geared towards children, or for people who like hot dogs wrapped up like mummies in dough bandages with small goobly eyes. That stuff is always fun, but where are the spooky, dark meals that could be served at a classy Halloween dinner party?
Enter Hog Maw.
According to Wikipedia:
Hog maw, sometimes called Pig's Stomach, Susquehanna Turkey or Pennsylvania Dutch Goose is a Pennsylvania Dutch dish. In the Pennsylvania German language, it is known as Seimaage (sigh-maw-guh), originating from its German name Saumagen. It is made from a cleaned pig's stomach traditionally stuffed with cubed potatoes and loose pork sausage meat. Other ingredients may include cabbage, onions, and spices. It was traditionally boiled in a large pot covered in water, not unlike Scottish haggis, but it can also be baked or broiled until browned or split, then it is often drizzled with butter, sometimes browned, before serving. It is usually served hot on a platter, cut into slices, and topped with horseradish or stewed tomatoes. It can also be served cold as a sandwich. Often served in the winter, it was made on hog butchering days on the farms of Lancaster and Berks Counties and elsewhere in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
Jenna's wonderful version of this unique dish is the sausage and potato varietal, baked in the oven to a crispy golden brown. It's visually shocking (and probably disturbing to some), but the house filled with a terrific scent similar to that of a Thanksgiving turkey. She serves her Hog Maw in slices with roasted brussels sprouts and a baked three-bean casserole. It made for an absolutely perfect birthday dinner but could very well be the main course at the aforementioned Dark Halloween Dinner party.
