THE LONGEST
HALLOWEEN

Longest Halloween Book Two and Three Recipes:

 

Here’s the Shepherd's Pie recipe that took the beast out of the Shepherd of the Hills. Enjoy this soul-warming dish on a crisp autumn day.

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 pounds of ground round beef

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1-2 cups vegetables: chopped carrots, corn and peas (Make sure there are no werewolves about who might want to fight you for them.)

• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds potatoes (two to three big ones)

• 8 tbs butter

• 1/2 cup beef broth

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• Salt, pepper

 

STEPS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Peel and quarter the potatoes, boil in salted water until tender.

3. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan.

4. Saute onions in butter until tender over medium heat. Add carrots, then corn, then peas when the onions are almost done or after the meat starts to brown.

5. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink.

6. Add salt and pepper.

7. Add Worcestershire sauce.

8. Add beef broth and cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more broth as necessary to keep the meat moist.

9. Mash potatoes in a bowl with the rest of the butter, season to taste.

10. Place beef and vegetable mix in a baking dish. Smear mashed potatoes on top. Draw faces or designs into the potatoes if you want.

11. Cook until bubbling and brown, approximately 20-30 minutes.

12. Yields four.

 

 

Pap knew how to keep the Sugar Hill Gang satisfied during long nights on the Adeline May. This Gumbo recipe will keep your heart and spirit adrift and afloat for many leagues to come.

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs vegetable oil

• 1 pound sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces

• 2 large onions, chopped

• 2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

• 4 medium celery ribs, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 2-1/2 cups water

• 1 pound fresh okra, trimmed, cut into 1/4" pieces

• 1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes

• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth

• 2 tsp dried thyme leaves

• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 tsp salt plus more to taste

• 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, washed, patted dry and cut in bite-size bits1 pound crab, canned or chunked

• 1 pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 2 cups shucked oysters

• 1 pound of tilapia fillets, cut into bite-size pieces

• Hot cooked rice

 

STEPS:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add sausage, onions, green pepper, celery and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are tender.

2. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. Add the remainder of the vegetable oil to the pot. Stir or whisk in the flour. Reduce heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture turns light brown and smells toasty. Don’t let it burn!

4. Stir in the water until mixture is smooth.

5. Stir in the veggies and sausage.

6. Add okra, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt and pepper.

7. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat.

8. Reduce heat to medium and cook for one hour, uncovered. Stir very often to keep mixture from sticking to the bottom.

9. Add chicken and cook for 20 minutes.

10. Add crab meat, shrimp, oysters and tilapia.

11. Cook until shrimp is firm and pink, about 3 to 5 minutes.

12. Remove from heat, let stand for five minutes.

13. Take out the bay leaves.

14. Adjust seasoning to taste.

15. Serve with rice on the side or underneath

16. Makes 16 cups, plenty for your own Sugar Hill Gang of 5-7 people.

 

It won’t take magic to enchant your guests with this version of Mrs. McClafferty’s delicious Pumpkin Swirl Roll.

 

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp of baking powder

• 1/2 tsp of baking soda

• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• Pinch of nutmeg

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2/3 cup mashed pumpkin

 

STEPS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Grease 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan.

3. Line with waxed paper.

4. Grease and flour the paper.

5. Sprinkle a thin cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar (and lots of it!) to keep the cake mixture from sticking on itself. Set aside.

6. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in a large mixer bowl until thick.

7. Add pumpkin to egg mixture.

8. Stir pumpkin and egg mixture into the flour mixture.

9. Spread evenly in the pan.

10. Bake for 15 minutes or so or until top of the cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn the cake onto the prepared towel.

11. Peel off paper carefully.

12. Roll up the cake and towel together, starting with the narrow end.

13. Cool on a wire rack.

 

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pkg cream cheese, room temperature

• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

• 6 tbs butter, softened

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

STEPS:

1. Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in small mixer bowl until smooth.

2. Carefully unroll the cake (see above).

3. Gently spread cream cheese mixture over the cake.

4. Reroll the cake (without the towel).

5. Wrap in plastic wrap.

6. Refrigerate for one hour.

7. Cut nice thick slices, sprinkling with more powdered sugar if desired.

 

Don't blame me if hungry wolves come a-running.

 

Aunt Margery’s Wake Me Up Cinnamon Rolls

This sinfully sweet way to start your day is what got our Neville on his way to flying high again

Step One: Assemble your ingredients for the Sweet Roll:

          1 package of dry yeast

          ½ cup of warm water

          ½ cup milk, lukewarm and then cooled

          1/3  cup sugar

          1/3  softened butter

          1 teaspoon of salt

          1 egg

          3 1/2 to 4 cups of all-purpose flour

          1 teaspoon of vanilla

 

Step Two: Make your dough:

          Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl

          Add a pinch of sugar to the mixture

          Prove the yeast by waiting for foam to form

          Stir in cooled milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg, vanilla and 3 cups of flour

Beat with a dough hook until smooth and pulls easily away from the side of the bowl

If you didn’t use a dough hook, remove dough from the bowl and knead it onto a lightly floured surface for about five minutes

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm space until it is double the size

(You can also cover and refrigerate it for completion later; max time is four days)

 

Step Three: Assemble ingredients for and make your the magic filling:

          2 tablespoons of butter, melted

          ¼ teaspoon of butter rum flavoring

          ¼ cup of sugar

          ¼ cup of brown sugar

          2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

          1 teaspoon of nutmeg

          ½ cup pecan halves, ground

Roll now risen dough into a rectangle, about 16 by 9 inches on a lightly floured surface

Add the rum to the melted butter, stir and generously paint the entire surface of the floured rectangle

Mix together the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and sprinkle it over the buttered rectangular surface. (You can also add the pecan mixture here if desired)

Roll the dough tightly beginning at the longer edge. You are trying to make a long tube

At the end of the roll pinch the edges tightly to seal it

Shape the roll along the length

Cut the roll with a knife or a clean strand of dental floss into 9 or so 1 to 1 ½ inch slices

Place the slices slightly apart in a greased pan, 9 by 9 vy 2 inches or in individual muffin cups 2 ½ by 1 ¼ inches

Let the morsels rise in a warm spot—near your hearth for example—until double in size for about 40 minutes

Heat your cauldron or oven to 375 degrees

Bake your rolls until they are golden brown for about 25 to 30 minutes

 

Step Four: Assemble the ingredients for and make your magic frosting:

          8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature

          3 cups of powdered confectioners’ sugar

          ½ cup of butter also at room temperature

          1 teaspoon of vanilla

          Milk, added as needed for a more creamy spread

Combine cream cheese, sugar, butter, vanilla  to the desired consistency

Add in milk for a more creamy frosting

Spread frosting over the cinnamon rolls while they are still warm

Serve to all of your high flying witches and warlocks!

Yield is about 9 to 12 rolls

 

ZELDABUB’S GHOSTLY GOODNESS FROST

“Have some of our Ghostly Frost; it’s the perfect complement to the meal that you all just consumed.”

--Zeldabub to Joel, Jasper, Dreyfuss and Ellis, The Longest Halloween Book Two

 

Ingredients:

• Any flavor sherbet—rainbow, pineapple, lime are all good choices

• 2 liters of any lemon lime flavored carbonated beverage

• Food coloring for the season: green, orange, yellow or blue

• Dry ice can complete the presentation. See the precautions below.

• Gummy worms can also be draped off of the sides of the drink if desired.

Directions:

Place the sherbet in a punch bowl. Pour in the carbonated beverage and a few drops of the food coloring to eerily color. Swath the display table and bowl with dry ice to complete the perfect ghostly goodness look.