Happy Hallowe’en — a recipe and a monster for you!

I saw this very imaginative pumpkin Ogopogo (or perhaps a Cadborosaurus) up the road while I was out on my run today, and I just had to go back with my camera, especially since we’ve got some glorious late-October sunshine at the moment.

Pater carved our own jack-o-lantern, and its very consistent with a long line of predecessors which, up ’til 8 or so years ago, we could also find some relatively young person to help out with. Now we carve in each other’s company only, but perhaps one of these Hallowe’ens we’ll be able to borrow Nola . . . It’s a bit odd, you know, altho’ pleasant enough, to do these things on our own after some 27 years of having kids in the house (yes, I know that for the last few years, the kids were bigger than me but they could still carve a mean pumpkin).

Before he carved the pumpkin, Pater also did some clever things with veggies and beef short ribs, so there’s a wonderfully rich and savoury aroma filling the house. Apparently, he just flours and browns off the short ribs in olive oil. Take the ribs out of the pan and in the remaining oil, sauté crushed garlic, a diced onion, chopped carrot, chopped eggplant, two or three chopped tomatoes. When the veg are softened, the onions golden, add salt and pepper, put the meat back in, add a cup of red wine, reduce, then add beef stock to cover, throw in a bay leaf and pop it into the oven (350) to braise for hours and hours. It’s done when the meat is falling off the bone, falling apart easily, ready to melt into the garlic mashed potatoes you’ll serve with.

We are going to have such a good meal this evening while we’re popping up and down to give out candies to little monsters! Pater even brought home a cheesy chick movie to keep me entertained — Jennifer Aniston in Management. I would speculate about Pater’s hopes, but my kids read my blog, and they’re already protesting “Yuck!”

He also bought Cheezies. This should all go a long way to mitigate against a stack of marking, another stack which feels like the same stack, a big stack, all stacked against me until I blow my stack . . .

’til then, though, Tricks and Treats to you!

7 Comments

  1. Susan B
    31 October 2009 / 11:34 pm

    That's some incredibly clever gourd sculpture! This year I waited until this afternoon to carve our pumpkins, so they're a bit more "phoned in" than in some previous years.

    That recipe sounds delicious! Have a lovely evening.

  2. Tiffany
    1 November 2009 / 2:57 am

    So mine is not the only spouse who tries to woo with chick flicks! That did make me giggle … And he cooked too – lucky you.

  3. Duchesse
    1 November 2009 / 1:31 pm

    Oooh, wonderful dinner! Our tradition is cheeses and breads so we can pop up without anything getting cold.

    Wee neighbour Findlay, age three, was out for his first Halloween, in a dinosaur costume. He preferred sitting on the porch with his parents to trudging. The scarier costumes, however, reduced him to tears, so he watched in his mother's arms.

  4. mette
    1 November 2009 / 5:30 pm

    Your pumpkin looks very special ; ) Last night must have been quite nice, just the two of you, oh so romantic !

  5. materfamilias
    2 November 2009 / 2:09 am

    Pseu: Your pumpkins are amazing — clearly, Haloween is another of your many talents!
    Tiffany: Yes, my man will do whatever it takes . . .
    Duchesse: With only 10 trick-or-treaters all evening, there wasn't much popping to do.
    Your story about wee Findlay reminded me of my eldest daughter in hysterics at 3 over her aunt's witch mask.
    Metscan: Thanks, it was a lovely evening — have to say I don't mind my empty nest much at all!

  6. Poppy
    2 November 2009 / 9:27 am

    Oh my, what an amazing effort, you put mine completely to shame, it looks lovely.

  7. materfamilias
    2 November 2009 / 2:34 pm

    Thanks, Poppy, and welcome! Of course, that effort isn't mine — the pumpkin monster resides up the road at a neighbour's.

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