Once upon a time there was an AMAZING dinner ...
The Foodies are a group of friends who love to cook, eat, drink, and laugh together at themed dinner parties. Our friends and family tell us they enjoy living vicariously through tales of our feasts so we’ll share the stories, pictures, and recipes here on the blog from time to time. Click here for previous Foodie Group posts, and here for the group’s origin story.
One evening not long ago, in a land not so very far away, Ellyn selected our dinner party theme – Fairy Tales – and inspired the rest of us to pay a visit to the old favorites residing in the “Once Upon a Time” sections of our bookshelves. Yes, we mingled with familiar friends Rapunzel and Jack (of the Beanstalk Jacks, doncha know), took a trip down memory lane with three porcine pals, and were introduced to fairy tale heroes and villains from other cultures.
One evening not long ago, in a land not so very far away, Ellyn selected our dinner party theme – Fairy Tales – and inspired the rest of us to pay a visit to the old favorites residing in the “Once Upon a Time” sections of our bookshelves. Yes, we mingled with familiar friends Rapunzel and Jack (of the Beanstalk Jacks, doncha know), took a trip down memory lane with three porcine pals, and were introduced to fairy tale heroes and villains from other cultures.
Once you skip past the shiny-sweet Disney versions and delve into the original Grimm Brothers fairy tales and old stories from around the world you enter a weird, dark, somewhat scary place where many, many people die. I was a little shocked to discover how many tales conclude abruptly with the statement, “… and then everyone died. The end.”
Sure, I get that these were often used as cautionary tales for children to learn the do’s and don’ts of survival in their communities, but sheesh! That’s a lot of dead people.
Sure, I get that these were often used as cautionary tales for children to learn the do’s and don’ts of survival in their communities, but sheesh! That’s a lot of dead people.
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Okay, now that I’ve dragged us down to a very goth place, let’s lighten the mood.
How about a thematically correct playlist for a bit of musical ambiance while reading onward? Hit the Play arrow and enjoy. Now let’s take a look at the cast of characters and overall menu. We’ll settle in for storytime about each course after that. |
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- Drinks – Kathleen & Karen: Giant Feller (a vegan rye sour) and Corpse Reviver No. 2 cocktails; assorted wine
- Appetizers – Dan & Greg: Sausage Balls; Bacon Wrapped Dates; Prosciutto Wrapped Melon
- Main Course – Ellyn: Rapunzel Salad; Grilled Citrus Chicken; Baked Beans
- Dessert – Ilise & Ann: Plum Cake with Black Pepper and Candied Ginger Ice Creams
Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we? Take a seat, children, and lean in close. There once was a cocktail. Well, actually, there were two. Here’s the narrative as told by Kathleen.
We have been experimenting with aquafaba (garbanzo bean juice) as a substitute for raw egg white, which is verboten to vegans and isn’t terribly appealing to a lot of people. The vegan rye sour we made, with its use of chickpea juice, was a natural fit for the fairy tale theme. We’re certain that the beans that Jack exchanged for his mother’s cow, her only source of income, were garbanzo beans, thus named our drink the Giant Feller (feller as in felling trees, not as in guy). The recipe for one drink is as follows:
3/4 oz. simple syrup (we prefer a 2:1 water-to-sugar ratio)
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. rye
1/2 oz. aquafaba (chickpea liquid) - we strained it straight from the can, though many recommend other methods, which may be found through an online search.
This is how to build it:
Add all of the ingredients to a large shaker. Dry-shake the mix first before adding ice (once ice is added the cold mix won’t foam up as well). Shake the hell out of it for 10-12 seconds, longer than an egg-white shake. Add ice, and shake thoroughly a second time for about 10-15 seconds. Strain the mix into a frosted glass of choice. Top with Angostura bitters.
We could not resist making a Corpse Reviver No. 2 – we thought mainly of Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora, Briar Rose) for the connection but many others were suggested. The recipe we followed is from The Spruce Eats.
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
I was delighted by Karen and Kathleen’s cocktail offerings for several reasons. First, both drinks were DG, or as Karen often proclaims, “Damn good!” Initially skeptical about bean juice as a viable cocktail ingredient, I was happy to be proven wrong. Yum, I say, and dare I add “Yum to the yumth degree.”
Another reason for surprise and delight with this course – it proves the exception to the rule. In the stories which inspired these beverages no one died. In fact, the Ks served a Corpse Reviver No. 2 which brings one back to life – heads up to Sleeping Beauty, Rip Van Winkle, etc.
Huzzah to Kathleen and Karen on a job very well done!
Another reason for surprise and delight with this course – it proves the exception to the rule. In the stories which inspired these beverages no one died. In fact, the Ks served a Corpse Reviver No. 2 which brings one back to life – heads up to Sleeping Beauty, Rip Van Winkle, etc.
Huzzah to Kathleen and Karen on a job very well done!
Next up, Greg and Dan chose the Three Little Pigs as inspiration for their appetizers. The three little appetizers were tasty pork treats representing the piggies’ building materials: straw, sticks, and bricks.
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I could not resist including a special musical track for this course, even though there's a full playlist linked above. It was just too perfect a match. Please enjoy Pigs (Three Different Ones) by Pink Floyd.
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I’ve always thought of the 3 Little Pigs as a nursery rhyme rather than a fairy tale, not that it matters, but writing this post caused me to wonder about the differences, if any, between the different story types. Turns out there are many smart people with opinions galore about what makes a fairy tale vs nursery rhyme vs folk tale vs myth etcetera etc. If you’re interested, check out these articles.
Now back to the pigs. First, please squeal with delight at the cute serving dishes shaped like sweet piggies. SQUEEEEE
Now back to the pigs. First, please squeal with delight at the cute serving dishes shaped like sweet piggies. SQUEEEEE
Cute dishes and delicious appetizers!
Inside those adorable dishes we have: Sausage Balls, for the pig who built his house of straw; Bacon Wrapped Dates, which look a bit like logs or sticks; and Prosciutto Wrapped Melon. Please note, these are bricks, not mere chunks. The Guys are nothing if not detail-oriented in their food prep. Not only adorable, all of the apps were delicious as well. Thank you, Dan and Greg!
Note: In case you’re wondering, in this story the pigs turn out just fine but the wolf dies. He huffs, puffs, and blows down the first two houses before tumbling down the chimney of the brick house into a pot of boiling water. Too bad, so sad!
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Note: In case you’re wondering, in this story the pigs turn out just fine but the wolf dies. He huffs, puffs, and blows down the first two houses before tumbling down the chimney of the brick house into a pot of boiling water. Too bad, so sad!
Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
For the main course, Ellyn delved into the famous collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. They were an interesting pair, known for curating rather than writing the folklore and old wives’ tales that were originally published for adults, not children. Learn more about them here.
Rapunzel Salad Photo: Karen Wollins
We began the meal with a Rapunzel Salad, named for the young lady with the looooong hair, held captive in a tower.
In the story we learn that the reason she was incarcerated is that her father stole lettuce from a neighbor's garden for his pregnant wife (Rapunzel’s mother) and the child was snatched by the witch-neighbor as payback.
Later the prince rescues her by climbing the tower using her hair as a ladder, but there’s also a great deal of shocking, gory stuff in this grim tale (ha! Grimm).
In the story we learn that the reason she was incarcerated is that her father stole lettuce from a neighbor's garden for his pregnant wife (Rapunzel’s mother) and the child was snatched by the witch-neighbor as payback.
Later the prince rescues her by climbing the tower using her hair as a ladder, but there’s also a great deal of shocking, gory stuff in this grim tale (ha! Grimm).
However it’s the lettuce in the story that inspired the beginning of a delicious meal, and quite a tasty salad it was too. The recipe comes from Mount Palomar winery and calls for two kinds of lettuce – including Rapunzel or mache, if you can find it – apple slices, crumbled pancetta, and slivered almonds. Flavorful and refreshing.
The entrée was Citrus Chicken in tribute to the Italian fairy tale The Three Citrons in which a Moorish slave turns a fairy into a dove while attempting to deceive a marriageable prince. In true crazy-pants fairy tale fashion, the dove is cooked which causes it to transmogrify into an orange tree and the fairy springs out again, which somehow convinces the prince that the slave, Lucia, is bad news so he burns her alive. Another one dead. Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Ellyn’s chicken dish featured two types of citron (orange and lemon segments) and she added some grilled shishito peppers which gave a nice earthiness to the flavors, plus occasional bursts of heat. Really good! Check out the recipe from Bon Appetit for the details.
The side dish of yummy baked beans continued the Jack and the Beanstalk theme begun by the Ks. Follow the link to the recipe from Steve Raichlen’s Barbecue! Bible.
The side dish of yummy baked beans continued the Jack and the Beanstalk theme begun by the Ks. Follow the link to the recipe from Steve Raichlen’s Barbecue! Bible.
For the dessert course Ilise and I did a little reverse engineering. What I mean is we picked the dessert first and then searched to find a suitable fairy tale to support the decision.
Two years ago Ilise perfected an old family recipe for Aunt Sarah’s plum cake (which is more like a pie) but we did not have the chance to serve it to our friends at that time. This dinner party provided the perfect occasion to share the love. After checking to see which flavors pair well with plums, we opted to make two ice creams to serve alongside the cake/pie – black pepper and candied ginger. Happily (ever after), everything was delicious! Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Two years ago Ilise perfected an old family recipe for Aunt Sarah’s plum cake (which is more like a pie) but we did not have the chance to serve it to our friends at that time. This dinner party provided the perfect occasion to share the love. After checking to see which flavors pair well with plums, we opted to make two ice creams to serve alongside the cake/pie – black pepper and candied ginger. Happily (ever after), everything was delicious! Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
We chose a Japanese fairy tale with a complicated plot. Suffice to say, a quarrel between a greedy powerful man and a kind old gardener over ownership of a beloved plum tree turns deadly. (Of course.) The Spirit of the Plum Tree emerges from the tree but is killed while in the act of saving the gardener’s life. As the story notes, “The dead stump was venerated for many years.”
In the interest of thoroughness, we’ve also got a Hmong fairy tale about using pepper as a weapon against tigers (Death count = 2) and a nursery rhyme about ginger, by Alaghde Kelvin Terngu.
In the interest of thoroughness, we’ve also got a Hmong fairy tale about using pepper as a weapon against tigers (Death count = 2) and a nursery rhyme about ginger, by Alaghde Kelvin Terngu.
Here are the recipes we used, all highly recommended. (In case you’re wondering, the black pepper ice cream tastes like warm spices, not hot or bitter at all.)
Aunt Sarah’s Plum Cake/Pie – from Entertain The Possibilities
Black Pepper Ice Cream – from David Lebovitz as shared by NPR
Candied Ginger Ice Cream – from The Bojon Gourmet
Aunt Sarah’s Plum Cake/Pie – from Entertain The Possibilities
Black Pepper Ice Cream – from David Lebovitz as shared by NPR
Candied Ginger Ice Cream – from The Bojon Gourmet
And now, girls and boys, we come to the end of our fairy tale. Heroes and she-roes have vanquished the evil-doers, leaving a trail of dead behind them. Similarly the Foodies vanquished the succulent food and drink leaving no crumbs behind. Tummies are full and peace reigns in the valley once again. Thank you, Ellyn, for giving us such a fun theme to work with!
Want to read more about more Foodie dinners? Click here.
Want to read more about more Foodie dinners? Click here.
Just look at this little dude, clinging to the side of the glass for dear life. I feel ya, buddy. Photo: Karen Wollins
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