Good Food
Pumpkins, Turkeys, and Other Spooky Food
Clare Crespo creeps us out with spaghetti and eyeballs and other fun Halloween treats. We'll follow striped bass with David DiBenedetto, a fishing-obsessed writer down the eastern coast of the US plus hear how veal is being raised humanely from meat expert Bruce Aidells. Then we'll hear about America's farmstead cheese movement from Robert LaValva of Slow Food USA.
By Evan Kleiman • • 1h 0m ListenThe annual All-You-Can-Carry Pumpkin Patch takes place Wednesday, October 29 from 9am until pumpkins are gone at the at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, 2nd St and Arizona Ave in downtown Santa Monica. All-you-can-carry pumpkins for $5.
During the Thanksgiving season, you can taste Heritage Turkeys at:
Josie Restaurant, 2424 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica (310) 581-9888
Campanile, 624 S LA Brea Ave, Los Angeles (323) 938-1447
Angeli Caffe, 7274 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles (323) 936-9086
You can order your own to cook at home from Bristol Farms. Go to their website to find a location near you.
Clare Crespo is the author of The Secret Life of Food, published by Hyperion Books.
Check out her website at www.yummyfun.com
Clare spoke about "Monster Head Potatoes" - a "head" made from mashed potatoes with partially peeled radishes as its bloodshot eyes and broccoli as its hair.
Hand Punch
Desired punch
Gummy worms (optional)
Clear plastic or latex gloves
Twist ties
Scissors
Fruit-flavored drink mix
1. If the gloves have a powdery residue inside, turn them inside out and soak in warm water or wipe with soapy water and rinse. Allow gloves to dry, or turn gloves inside out, leaving the powdery side to the outside.
Tarantula Cookies
Makes about 25-30 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine the flower, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well blended. Gradually add the flour mixture and cocoa powder. Beat to form a smooth dough.
Roll a tablespoon-sized ball of dough, and place it on a baking sheet. Arrange 8 pretzel sticks firmly into the dough ball. Continue with the rest of the pretzels and dough.
Bake until the cookies start to brown around the edges, about 7-10 minutes. Lift the cookies from the baking sheets with a spatula, and place on wire cooling racks. Cool completely. Place the racks on sheets of aluminum foil or waxed paper.
In a double boiler (or the microwave), melt the chocolate chips with vegetable oil. Pour the melted chocolate over each cookie, and coat with sprinkles. Press in 2 red candy eyes on the front of the head.
Red Velvet Cake
2 oz. red food coloring
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cocoa and red food coloring until a paste forms. Cream sugar and butter, add eggs and mix well. Add cocoa paste and mix. Add flour and buttermilk alternately (starting and finishing with the flour). Add vanilla. Mix soda with vinegar and add to batter. Pour into 2 greased 9-inch pie pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Icing:
3 Tablespoons flour
Cook milk and flour over medium heat until thick. Let cool. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat together with milk mixture until creamy. Spread over cake. Write "Velvet" in script on the top of the cake with black icing. This is the most dramatic and delicious cake.
David D'Bennedetto is the author of On the Run: An Angler's Journey Down the Striper Coast, published by Houghton Mifflin.
Bruce Aidells is the author of The Complete Meat Cookbook. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with any veal recipes at this time.
Robert LaValva, from Slow Food USA, talked about Farmstead Cheese month. To find out more, go to the Slow Food website or the American Cheese Society.
