"J" went as Guy Feiri from Diners Drive-in's and Dives. He not only looked the part, he sounded (and smelled) the part. Wish this blog had a place for audio. Hilarious!
"A" went as Facebook. She had the word "book" written on her face. Clever. We are dealing with a drama teacher here, and someone who has her masters degree in theater. Neither her nor "J" know this, but I do realize (you two) that you were both making fun of me. See friends, I am obsessed (in their eyes) with social media. :) I came as a doctor. My name tag, which you can't see, said "JAK....Just what the doctor ordered.". ha! "J", by far, kicked our butts. :)
The main entree had a costume of its own. Tonight's feature: Porchetta. This is a pork loin wrapped in the skin of a pig, which has been curing for 2 days. Get it? The skin is it's costume (under the circumstances of this evening, of course). This is a photo of the loin getting ready to be "wrapped" up with the skin.
Before that happens, a ton of fresh herbs (all from the garden) get sprinkled on the inside (thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.). Yes, it's the end of October but we still have plenty of fresh herbs growing in the garden. Oklahoma's summer/fall has been an interesting one. Makes me worried for what our winter is going to be like!
Fresh orange gets laid on top as well.
Such beautiful colors.
The beginning of the wrapping process.
Getting tied up! Gosh, I love all the "spoofs" to Halloween.
One last look before it goes into the oven. You can notice how the skin has browned (continual curing), from even sitting out a while before cooking.
The appetizer, or "witches eyes". Spicy red peppers stuffed with goat cheese and topped with caviar. Delish! Had such a nice spicy bite, the goat cheese gave a creamy texture and pallet pleaser to the spiciness and the caviar gave a nice crunch and saltiness.
The drinks for the evening? "Witches tit". Ha! Great vodka drink, "A" concocted.
Fun table for the evening, full with spiders, webs and eyeballs!
1st course was a homemade butternut squash and pumpkin soup.
Squash gets roasted in the oven.
A great can of pumpkin is included.
Broth and onions start it off.
And a blender mixes it all together.
Slices of a great goat cheese was added.
And wonderful homemade croutons and fresh chives finished the presentation. This soup was unreal. It just "screamed" Fall.
Yummo!
Back to the Porchetto. This is it after cooking for several hours. Notice how brown and crispy the skin has gotten. It's still not done though. At this point, it went back in the oven for another hour.
Now, it's done. The outside was hard as a rock, but crazy good. It tasted almost exactly like a pork rind chip. If you are a reader from Oklahoma, you've had to have experienced a pork rind, at least once in your life.
Lot's going on here. A layer of skin, fat, meat, herbs, oranges.
Best way to eat this? Pull it apart, and place the pieces in-between two pieces of bread. Best sandwich you'll ever eat!
Dessert? Starts with some cherries.
Then some crushed cookies and chocolate mixture.
Wrap the cookie/truffle mixture around the cherry, leaving the stem out.
See where this is going?
Slivered almonds worked as the ears, and red icing (from the tube) as the eyes and outline of the ear. So clever, cute, AND scrumptious!
I had to post this gory picture. One of the mice lost it's ear in battle. Oh, "J" has such a good sense of humor.
Happy Halloween, Ya'll!
Until next time.....A la cuisine!
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