These Culinary Thymes

Remember when you were a kid and you looked foreward to dressing up for halloween? The clock was ticking and you didn’t know what you wanted to be. Mom wanted you to be in a “cute” costume while you fought tooth and nail to be scary. Times have changed and it seems that halloween isn’t what it used to be. Back in the 70′ and 80’s your biggest concern was to get through a night of trick or treating witout being egged or shaving creamed. Mom was very adamant about checking your candy before you devoured it. Remember those times?? It seems too that the luster of this holiday has dimmed. Being the big kid that I am I loved it…so much that I endured 15 years of going to Salem Mass to celebrate. Salem is quite a cool town, even beyond October. There is a lot of history there…but this isn’t about Nathanial Hawthorn…it is about ghosts and goblins.
If you pick up any number of magazine around this time of year…someone including Martha will focus on helping you to enjoy the “spirit” of things. Some of the things they might suggest to you are “luminaries” made from paper bags with faces painted on them. Pumpkin carving too is a big thing. All in all they try to stir your creative imagination so that you have a successful party and holiday. I too am one of those bastians of culinary info.
Using a festive paper bag is one of many things to set the mood…using ideas you might have gotten from your favorite horror movie could be another. Try if you will to avoid the sudo cobwebs you buy in a bag at party city. They might be fun going up…but a horror coming down. One thing I have done in the past was to take a piece of cardboard and wrap it with tin foil shiny side out. Then mount it in a picture frame and in red paint write “REDRUM” on it. The effect is cooler if some of the paint runs down. If you have seen the movie “the Shining” you will understand the mirror thing. Another thing you can do is the fog thing. Very simple…place chunks of dry ice into a bucket with water and voila…fog. Dry ice is easy enough to get. Usually sold by companies that supply ice cream trucks. Be careful though…dry ice is like 168 degrees below zero. The bottom line is that you can go to the nines or keep it as simple as pie…just do it your way.
Halloween is no exception to the rule, so I am going to supply yet another recipe. Chocolate Raspberry Tombstones in Dirt are a really great thing to serve at your next spooky dinner party.
The first thing you need to do is go to the candy supply store and get some chocolate molds in the shape of head stones. You will also need to get some dark chocolate covertures…which are sold in bags at the same store. Follow the directions for melting and mold as many “headstones” as needed. The dirt is ground up chocolate cookies and the raspberry “blood” is raspberry syrup. On plates spread out the dirt. Place a headstone into the dirt (write on them if you like with white frosting) and drizzle the blood down them. Be as creative and creepy as you like.
Thats it for today. Have a great holiday and I will see you next time. Bye.