Gourmet Goblins

For millennia (or so it seems) Halloween has been the playground of the rugrats. Children swarm into our neighborhoods one night each year, demanding treats in lieu of a dreaded trick. The little ones can’t claim the holiday as their own anymore. Halloween has grown up. It’s even gotten gourmet.

Sure, kids still seek out the houses giving away the best candy. But when a high-toned Web site such as epicurious.com features Halloween advice from home furnishings purveyor Douglas Little and actress-writer-entertaining goddess Amy Sedaris, you know the holiday has arrived.

The parties can be simple (think spiked apple cider from Green Bluff, chili and popcorn balls) or elaborate (festive cocktails, multiple courses, lavish desserts). For chef Deb Green of Shake, Rattle and Boil Catering and Café MAC, a Halloween party will have a certain elegance.

She also thinks hearty, to match the weather. Osso buco served with polenta and a little gremolata – that’s minced parsley, lemon peel and garlic – will take the chill off a cold Halloween night. Or try veal bocconcini, veal shoulder braised with rosemary, porcini mushrooms and wine.

“I think the veal dishes look nice on a table with some more adult-based Halloween decorations,” she said, suggesting a bouquet of fall leaves atop a table decked out in orange and black. “It’s rich and decedent and can be made a day or two ahead of time so you’re not cooking all day the day of the party. Bocconcini means ‘little bites’ so it’s easy to eat, whether your guests are sitting or standing.”

If veal doesn’t fit your budget or your taste, Green suggests something like pumpkin ravioli or gnocchi, served with pancetta and asparagus in a sage cream sauce.

“I like to mix in a good solid entree like that with some appetizer-type food,” she added. “Maybe a nice fall salad of mixed greens with roasted pears, candied pecans and goat cheese. I’d probably do a champagne vinaigrette.”

She’s catered many Halloween parties over the years – many for an all-ages crowd. But she sees “All Hallow’s Eve” as a night that’s coming of age.

“I think it’s becoming more grown up,” she said. “It’s kind of a fun night to let your hair down, be anonymous. It’s an occasion to get together and step outside of yourself. It’s a fun night.”

Chef Romeo Herrera of Catered for You says usually every year someone will ask them to help put together a Halloween party.

“Some people get really elaborate,” he added. “It’s not just little candies any more.”

Like Green, Herrera sees Halloween as a holiday that is growing up. “I think it’s definitely the direction it’s going.”

What the night does is give people another opportunity to come together and celebrate with friends. Hosts also tend to incorporate local, seasonal flavors. In the Northwest, that means apples, pears, pumpkins and other varieties of squash.

In a recent cooking class he offered at the Catered for You kitchen, Herrera did a coconut pumpkin soup served cappuccino style, in little cups topped with coconut milk and nutmeg shavings.

“That’s a cool idea for a nice party,” he said. It also keeps with fall tradition, using pumpkin as the soup base.

Another fun thing he does is what he calls Frost on the Pumpkin. He takes profiteroles, which are little puff pastries, and fills them with pumpkin ice cream. A dusting of powdered sugar finishes the effect. “This is another cute idea for a more grown-up party,” he said.

So what if you need to feed your inner juvenile delinquent on Halloween?

Look no further than the Internet for inspiration.

Take, for example, the Amy Sedaris section on epicurious.com. Sedaris, star of Comedy Central’s “Strangers With Candy” and author of the new entertaining guide “I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence,” turns her home into a discount movie house on Halloween. She picks an old horror movie, serves food you can eat in the dark and begins vacuuming before the credits roll. She offers ideas on menu planning, drink selection, decorations and the works.

Then there’s the mad scientist behind the imakeprojects.com site. The “Project Maker” posted a complete rundown of his 2005 Halloween party. The menu? Icy Hands Punch, Chilled Brain Spread, Peppered People Pate, Alien Autopsy Shooters, Eyes in Blood Sauce, Brain on a Plate and Roasted Long Pig, served from a skeleton.

Dessert was a Chilled Bloody Heart, crafted using a lifelike heart mold, strawberry gelatin and evaporated milk. A packet of “blood” – grenadine, light corn syrup and red food coloring – was placed in the middle before the gelatin set. Stab the heart and “blood” comes squirting out. He even supplied video of his first test runs. You can check out his menu, recipes and photos at imakeprojects.com/projects/halloween-supper/.

Looks cool, but maybe we’ll stick with chef Herrera’s profiteroles and pumpkin soup.

Frost on the Pumpkin

Chocolate-Dipped Profiteroles with Pumpkin Ice Cream from Chef Romeo Herrera, Catered For You

2 cups water

5 ounces unsalted butter

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

8 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour, weighed, then sifted

5 to 7 large eggs

Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted

Pumpkin ice cream

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place water, butter, sugar and salt in a 4-quart sauce pan. Bring to a good boil. All at once add sifted flour, stirring constantly. Cook dough for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly (dough will come together and not attach to pan when ready). Remove dough to bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until dough no longer gives off steam and is just warm when touched. Begin adding eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Add eggs until dough is just stretchy.

(Test after 3 or 4 additions. Take a small amount of dough between your fingers and thumb and gently pull. You’ll know it’s ready when the stretched dough will hold a thread to about 1 inch before breaking. When you have achieved the stretch do not add any more eggs. Too much egg will make your profiteroles taste too eggy and will prevent them from rising nicely.)

Place dough in a pastry/piping tube fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, pipe dough into mounds about the size of a golf ball, using a circular motion to build mounds one layer atop the previous layer. Profiteroles will expand to about 33 percent more than their unbaked size, so leave room between each for expansion.

Bake profiteroles at 375 degrees until golden. After they have reached a golden color, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and allow to finish baking until golden brown. Timing will be determined by the size of your profiteroles. Herrera suggests baking one “tester” to determine baking time for the size that you are making.

When cooled to room temperature, dip bottoms of the profiteroles into melted semisweet chocolate, set onto a tray lined with parchment paper and refrigerate.

Your profiteroles can be frozen in an airtight container at this point for several days.

A few hours before serving, place frozen profiteroles in a refrigerator to thaw. At the time of service, slice off the top, place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom half, and replace top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

Yield: 12 to 15 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate due to recipe variables.

Pumpkin and Coconut Soup Cappuccinos with a Thai Twist

From Chef Romeo Herrera, Catered For You

1 (2-pound) pumpkin

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 small hot chili, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon dried shrimp (optional)

1/4 cup coconut milk

Halve the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Cut away the skin and dice the flesh.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the mustard seeds until they begin to pop. Stir in the garlic, onion, celery, chili and carrots. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the pumpkin with the stock and dried shrimp and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, until the ingredients are very tender.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth, doing so in batches if necessary.

Return to pan and stir in half of the coconut milk. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot in cappuccino cups. Drizzle with the rest of coconut milk and sprinkle with a little nutmeg or serve in a bowl as a first course.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 143 calories, 7.5 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 44 percent fat calories), 4 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrate, 7 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 902 milligrams sodium.

In addition to recipes for the veal dish and pumpkin tart, Shake, Rattle and Boil’s chef Green also sent along a couple cocktail recipes to match the season. For your guests who don’t imbibe, keep some fresh local apple cider on hand.

Blood Bath

4 ounces blood orange juice

2 ounces Montecristo rum

1/4 ounce Myer’s dark rum

1/4 ounce grenadine

Shake over ice and strain into martini glass. Garnish with blood orange segments.

Yield: 1 serving

Approximate nutrition per serving: 226 calories, no fat, no saturated fat, less than 1 gram protein, 20 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, no dietary fiber, 7 milligrams sodium.

Hennessy Halloween

1 1/2 ounces Hennessy VS Cognac

1/4 ounce grenadine

2 1/2 ounces apricot juice

2 1/2 ounces orange juice

Shake and serve in a highball glass over ice.

Yield: 1 serving

Approximate nutrition per serving: 190 calories, less than 1 gram fat, no saturated fat, less than 1 gram protein, 21 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, no dietary fiber, 7 milligrams sodium.

Veal Bocconcini with Porcini and Rosemary

1 1/4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (1 1/2 cups), rinsed

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 3/4 pounds boneless veal shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

8 ounces soft dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), cut crosswise into 1/8-inch thick slices

1 (1 1/2 inch) fresh red or green Thai or serrano chili, halved crosswise

2 (4-inch long) fresh rosemary sprigs

3/4 teaspoon salt

Soak porcini mushrooms in warm water in a small bowl until softened, about 20 minutes. Lift them out, squeezing liquid back into bowl. Cut mushrooms into small pieces. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a coffee filter into another small bowl.

Pat veal dry. Toss with flour. Heat oil in a large, heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown veal in batches, turning until golden brown. Transfer with slotted spoon to a bowl.

Add wine to pot and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Stir in veal with any juices accumulated in bowl, porcini and soaking liquid, cream, milk, tomatoes, chili and rosemary sprigs and simmer, partially covered, until veal is very tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Discard rosemary sprigs and chilies, then stir in salt.

Serve over orecchiette pasta or garlic mashed potatoes. This recipe can be made two to three days ahead of time.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 598 calories, 37 grams fat (13.8 grams saturated, 57 percent fat calories), 42 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 206 milligrams cholesterol, 1.7 grams dietary fiber, 564 milligrams sodium.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Tart

For the crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

4 ounces best quality semisweet chocolate, chopped

For the filling:

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

8 ounces crème fraîche (or sour cream)

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate

To make the crust: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Add butter, mix on low speed until butter is the size of small peas. Add egg and mix until ingredients come together to form a dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough until just thicker than 1/8 inch. Transfer dough to a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan. Trim excess dough. Lightly prick bottom of dough all over with fork. Chill until firm. Bake shell until firm, about 15 minutes. Immediately sprinkle chocolate over bottom of shell. Smooth with spatula.

For the filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, brown sugar, crème fraîche, eggs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool at least 30 minutes.

Set heat proof bowl, or the top of a double boiler, over pan of barely simmering water. Melt chocolate in bowl, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Dip a spoon in chocolate, then drizzle chocolate over tart, forming decorative stripes. Refrigerate until well set, at least one hour and up to one day.

To form a spider web with chocolate, drizzle chocolate in three or four circles, starting with a small circle in the center of the tart and working your way out. With the tip of a knife, gently run straight lines through the chocolate circles from the outer edge in to form the web.

Yield: 1 (10-inch) tart, 10 to 12 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving, based on 12: 325 calories, 18 grams fat (11 grams saturated, 48 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, 100 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 187 milligrams sodium.