Bonfire Night

A neat way to spend the 5th of November...  at the annual Guy Fawkes Dinner at a favorite restaurant.

Cool menu:

Appetizers
Scotch  Egg with Hot Sauce
or
Ploughman's Platter

Entrees
Chicken, Bacon & Mushroom Pie
or
Sunday Roast with Bubble & Squeak

Desserts
Sticky Toffee Pudding
or
Pear Trifle 

They also do a Halloween event each Halloween that I'll never be able to attend, nor would be brave enough to try:

Grilled Jamison lamb kidney skewer, oregano, preserved lemon, and roasted garlic dressing

Cricket "fried" rice

Beef heart tartare, griggstown eggyolk, sea salt, ketchup chips

Crisp veal brains, celery root puree, celery leaf and heirloom apple, brown butter-cider vinaigrette

Braised lengua, mole verde, red onion, queso fresco, radish with home made huitlacoche tortillas

Uni carbonara, squid ink spaghetti, pancetta, onions, bottarga

Halloween Menu

At a favorite restaurant.
I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to order something like this, but I applaud them for being so bold and for not doing the usual kid-friendly offerings.  Though I've never had anything that I didn't love at this place, so I'm betting this was all rather good.

Halloween Specials

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Blood sausage, sesame leaves, pickled vegetables

Veal brains in black butter with toast and preserved lemon

Braised ox tongue sandwich on rye

Stewed chicken feet

Fish head stew

Grilled chicken heart skewers, chimichurri

Other Holiday menus here.

Candy Apples And Candles

Image source.

Party Of The Century

Spoiled kids.


Image source.

Rusty Nails

I always liked the idea of an elaborate Halloween feast. Many courses of peculiar foods and atypical flavors. Not talking about stuff you'd see on Martha Stewart where things are shaped like witch fingers or eyeballs, and certainly not like the banquet meal in TEMPLE OF DOOM. Just something that a fine chef would prepare if tasked with making something dark and different for All Hallows Eve. And I certainly wouldn't want to be the one whipping something like that up... I'd rather just get a mysterious invitation sealed with a drop of black wax.

I can help with the wine part. Pinotage. A while back, I bought a bottle based on a creative write-up at the end of an aisle in a Wine & Spirits shop. Really peculiar taste. Almost smoky. And darn good. Did a little research and found that it's had a bit of a time getting to the U. S. and has had its share of criticism - the best being that it's "hot and horrible" and that it tastes like "rusty nails."

It now has quite a following, even sporting Pinotage Clubs and Societies.

I'm thinking it should probably be served at elaborate Halloween Feasts everywhere.

Some information.

Here's the one I buy.


Image source.