Samhain is a Celtic pagan holiday marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter, when the work of growing food and maintaining livestock would answer the question of whether there would be enough to last through the darkest times of the year. “Samhain was on the one hand a time of propitiation, divination and communion with the dead, and on the other, an uninhibited feast of eating, drinking and the defiant affirmation of life and fertility in the very face of the closing dark,” says A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar (what, you don’t have one?).
So if this is supposed to be a time of feasting in defiance of death, why the hell aren’t there any great Halloween recipes? Halloween, which has morphed out of Samhain and a handful of other autumnal and death festivals, certainly is an eating holiday. Everyone gorges on candy. But aside from peeling a bunch of grapes and convincing children they’re eyeballs, there aren’t really any savory Halloween means to get excited about. There should be!
What better way to mark the descent into darkness, to buttress ourselves against winter, than with a meal that reminds us we’ll survive to see the spring again? So in an effort to help redefine Halloween food, we’ve rounded up some recipes we use to mark the season.
Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup - Cookie + Kate
When grocery stores put out the pumpkins for decoration, I start looking at them to figure out how they'll look roasted in my oven. I love to set out a decorative gourd and then make it into a beautiful, creamy soup. It's surprisingly easy and makes me feel like I'm one of those people who doesn't waste food. Plus, it lasts at least a week. — CES
Spiked Apple Cider Punch - Food52
When I think about Halloween, I’m thinking about a party, because my friend and I throw a joint shindig for Halloween and our respective birthdays every year. Usually the food is more on the snacky side, but we tend to make sure there is a festive punch for everyone. I’ve made this apple cider version a few times, and added an ice ring full of orange slices and cranberries to the middle. Usually, it does not last more than an hour. — JS
Gumbo 101 - Leah Chase
It was blistering hot in Texas this summer, and it took a really long time for fall to arrive. Practically the second that first cool breeze hit, I had my Magnalite on the stove stirring together a deep, dark roux for gumbo. That first bowl, with a big scoop of rice in the middle and potato salad on the side, healed my soul after months of sweating it out even indoors. I am terminally unable to stick to a gumbo recipe, but if you're looking for a place to start, legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase's recipe is what you're looking for. — AM
Stovetop Popcorn - America’s Test Kitchen
I don't really repeat many recipes. I return to ingredients like Jimmy Nardello peppers from Seedling Farms because they are pretty, sweet, and I can fry them or sauté them without Avi complaining about any heat. But honestly, the recipe that I keep on coming back to is my stress snack, popping my own popcorn on the stove using ATK's recipe. It's nothing novel. I can control the salt and butter (I can also make use of my overpriced Fantastic Four collectors bucket!). It's easy. It feels more special than stuffing a bag in a microwave, and it's kind of fun for an after-school pick me up. I can also use up the kernels I bought from Nichols Farms in Marengo, Illinois, and that feels a cathartic way to wave goodbye to summer in the Midwest. — AS
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🐦⬛ Bird Droppings
- Sara Vilkomerson, aka "Evelyn Everlady," speaks about her iconic "Negroni Season" essay from The Awl. And how she accidentally made Negroni Season an actual thing.
- Courtney was on NPR's It's Been a Minute talking about private equity in food, and why it makes everything feel so soulless.
- Calley Means quit his role as an adviser to RFK Jr., saying the Trump administration wasn't doing enough to promote "healthy eating." For an idea of what he means by health, he's also an investor in LA restaurant Talo Organic, which boasts that it's "seed oil free" and doesn't use plastic cutting boards.
- Orion magazine asks an important question about Hannibal Lecter: "What does taste have to do with the taboo drives that would lead a person to kill, and eat, other people?"
- Some good insight from beer reporter Dave Infante about why "anti-woke" beer brands are almost always scams.
