Hooray for Halloween

October 28, 2009

by Frank Kourt The Richmond Register Wed Oct 28, 2009, 07:37 AM EDT

When I was growing up, Halloween used to be a decidedly “kids” holiday.

Oh, sure, there’d be the occasional adult Halloween party, but nothing on a major level.

Twelve was the point where, in our day, you didn’t really want to give up that wonderful ritual of dressing up and going from house to house in your best costume begging for candy, but you realized that next year you’d be a high school freshman and what high school kid would ever even dream of running around wearing funny masks and begging for candy?

I recall, upon raising our own children, that they never seemed to want to give up the ritual of trick or treating, forestalling that particular part of coming of age to the very last.

Maybe that’s why adults seem to have pre-empted Halloween celebrations in a big way. No longer just a “kid’s holiday,” Halloween has caught on with adults big time.

You’ll find Halloween themes at night clubs where they hold costume bashes. It’s not at all unusual to be invited to an adult Halloween party.

What is all this?

Well, partly, it’s probably a perfectly innocent way to cling to our youth. It’s also a non-threatening opportunity to dress up in the guise of your alter ego. The shy accountant-type can, for one night, can be Batman.

The retiring wallflower can unleash her alter ego and emerge as Elvira, the dark and sensual Mistress of the Dark!

The following suggestions run the gamut from the elegant — pumpkin soup served in the shell — to the fun, a pumpkin cheesecake appropriate for either a “grownup” dessert or one for a Halloween kid’s party.

We’ve even got a suggestion for a chicken paprikash entree based on what Dracula served his hapless guest, Jonathan Harker, during his stay at Castle Dracula.

So relax. Throw another log on the fire, rent a couple of Halloween videos and cook up a couple of Halloween specialties.

Pumpkin Soup In A Pumpkin

Ingredients:

1 medium to large sized pumpkin with a flat base

4 T butter or margarine

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 fresh leek, minced

3 ribs celery with leaves, minced

2 carrots, peeled, minced

4 oz. fresh mushrooms, minced

2 cups canned pumpkin

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp., white pepper

6 dashes Worcestershire sauce

hot red pepper sauce (optional, to pass)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup fresh chopped chives

Preparation:

Cut the top off your pumpkin and scoop out all the pulp and seeds. Discard the pulp and seeds and place the pumpkin on a serving platter. In a soup kettle, melt the butter. Add the onions, leek, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Stir constantly, until softened. Stir in the pumpkin and the chicken broth and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Transfer the contents to a blender or use a hand blender. Blend until smooth.

Turn contents back into the pan and stir in the half and half, the cream, salt, pepper and the orange juice. Heat to almost boiling, then simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Pour the soup into the pumpkin shell. Top with a dollop of the sour cream, allow the guests to add the remainder of the sour cream as they choose. Garnish with the chives and serve immediately.

Chicken Paprikash (Dracula’s favorite)

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes

2 T sweet paprika (Hungarian, if you can get it)

3 fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 cup chicken broth

1 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

salt to taste.

Preparation:

In a pot, heat the oil, then over low heat sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, about five minutes. Add paprika, chicken broth, vinegar and sugar. Blend well, then turn down the heart and simmer, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the sour cream, parsley and salt. Serve over rice and accompany with a substantial dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc or a young, fruity red, such as a red zinfandel.

Halloween Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 ready made graham cracker pie crust

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

dash ground cloves

dash nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg together until well blended. Blend in the two eggs. Stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Cool. With the remaining chocolate chips, make a pumpkin face (eyes, nose and mouth) on the surface of the pie. To make this even more effective, you may want to experiment with red and yellow food coloring to bring an orange, “pumpkin-like” tint to the final product!

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