Halloween Of Times Gone By...For Adults Only

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I am sure most of you have not seen this post as it was one of my first when I started this blog.  I will be celebrating Halloween this year, not exactly in this fashion, but greeting kids at the door and later going up to a neighbor's house who also knows how to celebrate it in style.  For those of you who, like me, have doorbells to answer, here's a recipe for an easy, hearty and enjoyable dinner.  Some of us aren't kids anymore and we just can't survive on candy!



Halloween has always been, after Christmas, my most favorite holiday to entertain.  In years past, I did a lot of entertaining and prided myself in setting a beautiful table.  I think I thought of myself as the next Carolyne Roehm, my hero.

 I don't know how I packed so much stuff in my apartment.  There were plates and glasses and tablecloths and flower arrangements hidden all over the place!  I had quite a large archive in my brain of where everything was.  Now, as I unpack in a much larger house, I wonder how I ever did it. I don't entertain like that anymore, just don't have the stamina, or the money, for that matter.  Maybe now that I live with my daughter, the artist, I will get a second wind, but for the time being, here are some of the memories:

For the pumpkin, I usually called a kid, a nephew, a niece, a neighbor, anybody to carve the pumpkin.  Then I started to build from that. On that particular year, I was gaga over my black candles, and I was debuting my new china in orange tones I had literally carried from Gien, France.  Some raffia ribbons, lots of goodies from Marshall's, some old silver, and orange and black M&Ms  in little Halloween clay pots and poof! magic!

The menu was French (my idea of being quirky), and every year I invited only 8 people.  Small, intimate, sit down and easy to cook for. No costumes or funny drinks!  But yes, place cards, and  menu cards staggered around the table.  Champagne with cocktails for those who liked it and a good French wine with the main course.  In those days, with the dollar almost at par with the euro, it was affordable to do so.  Nowadays, it's prohibitive and a little ostentatious, if not politically incorrect!

HALLOWEEN 1998

Creme de Potiron

(Creamy Butternut Squash Soup)

Breast of Duck with Corn Cake

And Spinach Puree

Munster Avec Confiture d' Eglantine

Warm Chocolate Tart Jean Georges

That year I had gone to Alsace and come back loaded with confiture d'eglantine, a jam typical and only found in Alsace..  I really can't describe or translate eglantine, nobody, for that matter, can!.  It;s a small red fruit, not terribly sweet, loaded in vitamin C.  The taste is very hard to descibe, the only thing I can compare it to is guava...same color, but a totally different fuit.  At the hotel where we stayed, they served it with the cheese course which, in that region HAD to be Munster.  Here is a clip of eglantine confiture, in French but easy to follow.

Another year, 2002, I had just come back from Normandy and Brittany so Halloween was spent "in Normandy"

HALLOWEEN 2002

Terrine de Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Sauce Pernod

Soupe au Marrons

Creme Fraiche

Cailles Aux Figues Fraiches et Au Miel 

Puree de Poireaux

Tarte Chaude aux Pommes

Have fun this Halloween, and remember...

Fair Is Fair...Halloween In the Country

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A few days ago I posted on some beautiful Halloween decorations on Madison Avenue in New York City.  Whilst my new neck of the woods might not be as chic or sophisticated, I am happy to say we get to enjoy other aspects of  Halloween that maybe the kids in the city miss out on...like cows, and goats, and rides and a fun dinner with frosted green cupcakes at Nani Lindaraxa's house on the lake.

Usually we do this a couple of weekends earlier, but now with two babies in tow,  it  gets difficult sometimes to stick to a schedule.  We were late this year, but we did manage to sneak in an hour before closing and enjoy some of the fun things the Kinsey Family Farm in Gainesville Georgia has to offer right before Halloween.  This is where we buy our pumpkins and our Christmas tree.

Second place winner at the office pumpkin carving contest!

The Kinsey Family Farm

He was patiently waiting for us all along

Like the dogs of Madison Avenue, these goats come in all colors

...like black

and grey

...and white and brown

He definitely knew he was good looking

This is the funniest cow...she even mooos on cue!

Two handsome dudes!

That goat thinks he's already part of the family!

Riding through the farm

Checking out potential Xmas trees!

Green cupcakes with you-know-who trying to get in the act! 

 

 Check out my other blog, My Kitchen By The Lake, where I  share my new country life and lots of easy recipes and decorating ideas.

I do miss the city, terribly sometimes; but if I can't live there, this is definitely not bad for second best!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!



Halloween On Madison Avenue

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I had never thought Halloween could be so cool in a city until I visited New York this past week.  I guess it all depends on the neighborhood and the people who live there and boy was I in the right place at the right time!

The area of New York called Carnegie Hill in the Upper Eat Side is home to more kids, dogs, nannies and Ladies Who Lunch than I have ever seen in my lifetime.  I loved it.  I never thought New York could possibly be a fun place to be a kid until I stayed at my BFF's new apartment in this part of the city.  If you want to see kids of every age and dogs of every breed, stroll along the avenue north of 79th Street at around 4:00 in the afternoon on a weekday.  Here is where you will find all the chic moms, and the best behaved kids and dogs in the world.  Here is where the children of the Masters of the Universe go to school, play in the park and have ice cream cones in places like Ciao Bella and Yura while moms sip their lattes and cappuccinos and dogs wait patiently on the sidewalk.  Now tell me, ice cream cones from Ciao Bella, when you were a kid?!

It is also amazing to see the concentration of stores catering to children, from clothes to school supplies with prices to match.  Oh, and these children are fed from the likes of  Dean & DeLuca, Gourmet Garage and Food Emporium all within a 5 block walk from each other.  Need a place to get your nails done? your clothes dry cleaned? There are two on every block.  Mommy heaven! Grooming must be at the top of the list with this group... But can you imagine going trick or treating in this neighborhood?  To die for!

All photos by S. Suarez And Lindaraxa

Halloween Table and Menus Of Times Gone By

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Lindaraxa Photo

Halloween has always been, after Christmas, my most favorite holiday to entertain.  In years past, I did a lot of entertaining and prided myself in setting a beautiful table.  I think I thought of myself as the next Carolyne Roehm, my hero!

 I don't know how I packed so much stuff in my apartment.  There were plates and glasses and tablecloths and flower arrangements hidden all over the place!  I had quite a large archive in my brain of where everything was.  Now, as I unpack in a much larger house, I wonder how I ever did it. I don't entertain like that anymore, just don't have the stamina, or the money, for that matter.  Maybe now that I live with my daughter, the artist, I will get a second wind, but for the time being, here are some of the memories:

For the pumpkin, I usually called a kid, a nephew, a niece, a neighbor, anybody to carve the pumpkin.  Then I started to build from that. On that particular year, I was gaga over my black candles, and I was debuting my new china in orange tones I had literally carried from Gien, France.  Some raffia ribbons, lots of goodies from Marshall's, some old silver, and orange and black M&Ms  in little Halloween clay pots and poof! magic!

The menu was French (my idea of being quirky), and every year I invited only 8 people.  Small, intimate, sit down and easy to cook for. No costumes or funny drinks!  But yes, place cards, and  menu cards staggered around the table.  Champagne with cocktails for those who liked it and a good French wine with the main course.  In those days, with the dollar almost at par with the euro, it was affordable to do so.  Nowadays, it's prohibitive and a little ostentatious, if not politically incorrect!

HALLOWEEN 1998

Creme de Potiron

(Creamy Butternut Squash Soup)

Breast of Duck with Corn Cake

And Spinach Puree

Munster Avec Confiture d' Eglantine

Warm Chocolate Tart Jean Georges

That year I had gone to Alsace and come back loaded with confiture d'eglantine, a jam typical and only found in Alsace..  I really can't describe or translate eglantine, nobody, for that matter, can!.  It;s a small red fruit, not terribly sweet, loaded in vitamin C.  The taste is very hard to descibe, the only thing I can compare it to is guava...same color, but a totally different fuit.  At the hotel where we stayed, they served it with the cheese course which, in that region HAD to be Munster.  Here is a clip of eglantine confiture, in French but easy to follow.

Another year, 2002, I had just come back from Normandy and Brittany so Halloween was spent "in Normandy"

HALLOWEEN 2002

Terrine de Coquilles Saint-Jacques

Sauce Pernod

Soupe au Marrons

Creme Fraiche

Cailles Aux Figues Fraiches et Au Miel 

Puree de Poireaux

Tarte Chaude aux Pommes

Once I get settled in I will try to post some of these recipes, if I can remember the source!

Creamy Polenta With Parmigiano, Parsley and Rosemary Leaves

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This is the basic polenta recipe I make except when I serve it with the Braised Short Ribs.  In that case, I omit the rosemary. The ribs already have it, so why gild the lily. You can substitute other cheeses, such as Gorgonzola, and other herbs, such as Herbes de Provence. I try to make enough to have lefovers so I can refrigerate them and make fried polenta the next day, usually with the leftover ribs. It also freezes beautifully for future meals.


Ingredients

6 cups light beef bouillon
1 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the cheese, milk, butter, parsley, rosemary, and pepper, and stir until the butter and cheese melt. Transfer the polenta to a bowl and serve.

A Casual Halloween Dinner Party by the Lake

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Obviously, this year with the move and all the unpacking still going on, there will not be a Halloween dinner party! I have, though put one together for you in case you decide to bite the bullet and invite a few friends.  Very casual, no fuss, enjoy!  The recipes have been posted recently on the blog.

A Casual Halloween Dinner Party

Kentucky Beer Cheese

Braised Short Ribs

Creamy Polenta With Parmigiano
Rosemary and Parsley

Pear Crisp With Star Anise

Serve a hearty cabernet with the meal.