A Halloween Quickie!

I'm referring to a meal quickie, you ghastly ghoul! LOL!  After making a "Creepy Crawly Cake" for church and finishing up decorating for Halloween, I had not given much thought to tonight's ghostly repast.  I'd quickly perused different recipes all month  but had made no decision.  Then posting on FaceBook it came to me! Tonight's to-die-for Haunted House menu: Putrid Poultry encased in Dragon Epidermis, Screaming Green Stakes, "Boo" Spuds with Ghoulish toxic waste, Decomposed Baker's Fingers...and then a creepy cocktail..Dracutini's with gorged out eyeballs! Dessert??? Jack O'Lantern's Brew-Ha-Ha & Black Widow Grave Plots!  

Putrid Poultry encased in Dragon Epidermis = roasted turkey breasts wrapped in bacon, sort of like the old filet mignon trick.  Screaming Green Stakes = fresh green beans tossed with crumbled bacon, olive oil & wakame sprinkles. "Boo" Spuds with Ghoulish toxic waste = hot mashed potatoes piped in ghostly forms (more like the Michelin Tire Man!)with black peppercorn eyes. Decomposed Baker's Fingers = refrigerated pack of bread sticks shaped into long fingers, pressed red painted (food coloring) silvered almond "nail" and then a tinted green egg wash with parsley sprinkles.  The results were quick, easy and spooktacular.  Dracutinis were simply black vodka and pomegranate juice and black olives.  Jack O'Lantern's Brew Ha-Ha = A hearty Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale and Black Widow Grave Plots = spider decorated devils food cupcakes.  The Count, Mummy and the Werewolf were happily sated and no need to feed on the Trick or Treaters was necessary!

Comfort Food = Diner Fare

So as the iguanas go into a stupor and fall out of the trees due to the 40 degrees and below temperatures in Miami, I started thinking of winter “comfort” foods. You know, those dishes that make you feel safe, warm and so unstressed that it also puts you into that iguana stupor mentioned above! Having grown up in New England, most of my comfort foods are from the menus of diners. Those wonderful creamy, heavy and filling dishes from the plethora of stainless steel facade diners in southern Connecticut.  I remember sitting in long Naugahyde-covered booths and gray formica tables covered with paper placemats printed with Connecticut maps. There were mini juke boxes where you could for a quarter, listen to Michael Jackson’s sweet falsetto voice singing “Got to Be There” or “Rockin Robin” and simultaneously nosh on gravy-full tender pot roast with a ton of creamy mashed potatoes or the best grilled-to-order hamburger with the works and fries.  Then came time to pick dessert from glass display cases (some even rotated!) or from the many covered pie stands with giant portions of bakery bliss. These cake and pies  were usually topped with at least 3 inches of frosting and/or a mountain of whipped cream.  Heaven, I’m in heaven!!  Eating at diners certainly opened up my palate to different ethnic cuisines including Greek, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Slovak, Irish and even Soul Food. One of my most favorite dishes was the Beef Stroganoff.  This entrée consisted of beef strips cooked in a sour cream sauce with onions and mushrooms and then served over hot buttered egg noodles or rice. Even the name “Straw-go-noff” still brings to mind a huge castle in Russia with Czars sitting at a lavish table feasting on this delicious recipe.
The origin of Beef Stroganoff has many legends. Many cuisine historians insist the dish by this specific name, was the creation of chef Charles Briere who worked for the Russian diplomat Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov, a member of one of Russia's grandest noble families. Chef Briere, while working for the Stroganov family in St. Petersburg, decided to submit his Beef Stroganoff recipe to L 'Art Culinaire competition in 1891, and won first prize award. This original recipe had beef, mushrooms and sour cream much like our present version. Legend has it that Beef Stroganoff was invented by the chef as a special dish to accommodate Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov’s misfortunate of having lost all his teeth!  Beef Stroganoff did not appear in English cookbooks until the early 1930’s and it was not until the late 1940s & 1950s that it became a popular American dinner party entrée. This was probably due to the fact that it was an elegant dish that could be prepared easily and in large quantities fairly inexpensively. Recipes varied from classic cuisine to “quickie” versions using hamburger meat and canned mushroom soups. The “red” Stroganoff seems to be an American version from the 1960s where tomatoes soup, paste or ketchup was added to the sauce tinting it pink. 
Beef Stroganoff is a classic Russian dish that has proved its delicious worth over centuries. Serve it with a nice Merlot or an American Cabernet Sauvignon wine. In today’s world where everyone is so fixated on caloric and fat content, eating a serving of Beef Stroganoff now and then is not a bad thing. Moderation is the key along with a healthy lifestyle so that once in awhile you can splurge. Remember that home cooking is healthier than eating fast or processed foods since you are in control of the ingredients and their preparation. You only live once, so enjoy one of life's pleasures such as Beef Stroganoff and К хорошей пище и хорошим временам! (Russian for “To good food and good times!”) Following is my kick butt recipe for Beef Stroganoff: