Food & Flicks: Spooky Movie Night

By FPL_AmyG

Fire up the grill and preheat the oven! These movie and food pairings are sure to give you that spooky ooky Halloween feeling.

First up on the menu is inspired by Wednesday’s and Pugsley’s lemonade stand in The Addams Family. No worries, there’s no cyanide (or girl scouts) in this refreshing drink from Robert Schnakenberg’s Old Man Drinks: Recipes, Advice and Barstool Wisdom.

Arnie Palmer

Serves 1

Ingredients:

5 oz of iced tea

5 oz of lemonade

1 oz vodka

Preparation:

Combine ingredients in a tall glass filled with ice. Stir and enjoy.

Tip: Leave out the vodka for a non-alcoholic Arnold Palmer.

If you’re going to watch Beetlejuice, which is a MUST this Halloween season, then you need to eat some shrimp. Is there a more iconic scene in Beetlejuice than the disaster of a dinner party? While the shrimp in Beetlejuice looks a bit limp, this shrimp dish from Son of a Southern Chef will have your tastebuds singing, “Day-o, day-o…”

Habanero BBQ Shrimp Skewers

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup of apricot preserves

Juice of 2 limes, plus wedges for serving

1 habanero pepper, seeded and small diced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 small garlic cloves, finely grated

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 pounds extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Vegetable oil, for brushing

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix together the apricot preserves, lime juice, habanero, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Transfer half the sauce to a large zip-top bag and add the shrimp. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Heat a grill to high or heat a large grill pan over high heat. Brush the grates or the pan with oil. Soak bamboo skewers in water and a wedge of lime.
Thread 5 shrimp onto a bamboo or metal skewer (discard the sauce in the bag) and grill until charred on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Do not overcook, please.
Serve with the remaining sauce on the side for dipping and lime wedges.

Every main dish needs a side, like Pike to Buffy, in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. This grilled lemon, garlic butter infused orzo taken from Simple Pasta is a breeze to make and a perfect side dish to the habanero BBQ shrimp skewers. Side note, if you’ve never seen the original movie, take the time to watch it this Halloween. It’s full of camp and more lighthearted than the TV series (and Kristy Swanson shines as the original Buffy).

Grilled Lemon, Garlic Butter & Herbed Orzo

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound of dried orzo

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, quartered

2 lemons, halved

2/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves

3 tablespoons finely chopped chives

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the orzo and cook until al dente, according to package instructions, then drain in a colander, return to the still warm pot, and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to stop it from sticking.
While the orzo is cooking, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and warm gently for about 5 minutes.
In a small cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the lemon halves, cut-side down, and sear until the flesh has charred, about 5 minutes. Remove the lemons, squeeze their juice through a fine-mesh strainer into the pasta, and stir to combine.
Remove the garlic from the butter and discard. Stir the parsley, basil, chives, salt, and generous cranks of pepper into the infused garlic butter.
Pour the garlic butter over the orzo, stir well, and serve.

Tasting History’s Pumpkin Tourte recipe may take a little more work than your average dessert, but it’s worth it. Making a historical pumpkin dish seems fitting for the headless apparition in Sleepy Hollow. Finish out your spooky feast with this timeless, crustless pumpkin pie-like dessert from 1570.

Pumpkin Tourte

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

For the pumpkin puree:

2 quarts (2 liters) beef broth or 2 quarts (2 liters) of water

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 (3 to 5 pound) (1.25 to 2.25 kg) pumpkin or squash*

*Cook’s Note: The pumpkin will be used to make 2 cups of puree. Alternatively, use 2 cups (450 g) canned pumpkin.

For the filling:

1 cup (240 g) ricotta cheese

1 cup (225 g) mascarpone or cream cheese

6 large eggs

1 ¼ cups (250 g) light brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk

4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons (30 g) salted butter

For the topping:

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C
Make the pumpkin puree: Heat the beef broth or water with the butter and salt in a large pot over high heat. Chop the stem and bottom off the pumpkin, then slice the pumpkin in two. Peel each half and remove the seeds and any stringy bits. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces 1 to 1 ½ inches (2.5 to 3.5 cm) square. Once the broth or water is boiling, add the pumpkin and boil for 20 minutes or until easily skewered.
Strain the pumpkin into a colander, then mash or blend the pumpkin into a smooth puree. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a large pot and transfer the puree to the sieve and let the liquid drain from the puree to release more liquid, but do not press the puree through the sieve.
Make the filling: Once the puree is drained, put it in a medium bowl and mix in the ricotta and mascarpone until smooth. Whisk the eggs separately, then add them to the bow with the pumpkin and mix until fully incorporated. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt then mix. Finally, pour in the milk and the 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and beat the mixture until smooth.
Melt the salted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then pour it into a deep pie pan or cake pan and roll it around the pan to coat the bottom and sides. Pour the pumpkin filling into the pan. Mix the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle it on top of the tourte.
Set the tourte on the middle rack of the oven and bake until the filling has puffed up and there is a slight wobble in the center, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to stay in the oven to slowly cool for another 45 minutes. Then remove it from the oven and set it on a cooling rack to cool completely, about 4 hours. Do not cut the tourte until it is fully cooled. If it is to be served warm, reheat it in a low oven for 15 minutes.