Enticing apparitions and alluring specters indulge their decadence to feast freely at Halloween.
Fresh-caught tuna and tomato tartare: lively, fleshy, raw.
Beet soup with chipotle: sweet, smoky velvet.
Blood-red bison roasted rare, luxurious and decadent.
Slippery couscous studded with bacon, red peppers and fennel.
Dream-inducing chocolate truffle harlequin cake, sparely decorated with powdered sugar and cocoa.
Pull up a chair, if you dare.
Bison Ribeye Roast
Bison is much leaner than beef, so it appears redder when raw, and stays redder at higher temperatures. Use your meat thermometer to gauge doneness. Serves 6 with leftovers.
Ingredients
1-6 pound bison ribeye roast
Kosher salt
A few thinly sliced strips of salt pork
Directions
Preheat oven to 500. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Using fingers, rub salt onto the roast, making sure to rub all surfaces well. Place roast on rack of roasting pan. Drape strips of salt pork over top of roast. Sear in oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350. For medium-rare, roast until internal temperature registers 125 on a meat thermometer, about 60 minutes. Remove from oven, brush off salt pork strips, and tent roast loosely with aluminum foil; internal temperature will increase to about 135 with residual cooking. Allow roast to rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Beet and Chipotle Soup
Adapted from “Cooking With Cafe Pasqual’s: Recipes From Santa Fe’s Renowned Corner Cafe,” by Katharine Kagel. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
2 pounds whole beets
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup full-bodied red wine
6 cups water
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 chipotle chiles en adobo
Directions
Trim leaves from beets, leaving 1 inch of the stem and entire root intact. Put beets, stock and wine into a large soup pot and add water. The liquid should cover the beets by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil and let simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Fork-test beets for tenderness before removing them from the pot. Remove beets with a slotted spoon and reserve the cooking liquid in the soup pot. When beets have cooled enough to handle, peel them and remove the stems and roots. Cut up 1/2 cup of 1/2-inch diced beets for garnish and set aside.
Heat butter in large saucepan over medium heat and, once melted, add onion and brown sugar. Sauté 2 minutes, stirring with wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Add onions, coarsely chopped beets, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and chiles en adobo to the beet liquid.
Whirl everything in the container of a blender until smooth, in batches if need be. The soup can be served hot or cold; if cold, chill in refrigerator, covered, for at least 6 hours. Garnish with reserved beets.
Note: The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, but we suggest starting with half that amount, then adjusting to taste. It also calls for 1/2 cup sour cream to be added when the soup is puréed.
Tuna Tomato Tartare
Adapted from “Happy in the Kitchen,” by Michel Richard. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
12 ounces center-cut tuna
1 cup diced Roma tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup peeled jicama, cut into 1/8-inch dice
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon minced chives
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Fine sea salt
A few drops of Tabasco
Pinch black sesame seeds
Directions
Trim any blood lines (dark portions) and any visible sinew from the tuna. Cut tuna into 1/4- 1/2 inch dice. If tuna is too soft to cut cleanly, place it on a tray in the freezer until just firm enough to slice neatly.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Couscous with Red Peppers and Fennel
Recipe by Daniel H. Tseng. Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 pound slab bacon
4 cups cooked pearl couscous
2 roasted red peppers, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
Salt to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sliced fennel with a little olive oil and place on cookie sheet. Roast fennel until edges are brown, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and set aside.
Cut bacon into 1/2-inch cubes and cook until edges are crispy. Drain and set aside on paper towels.
Prepare couscous according to package directions. Add all ingredients to couscous and season with salt to taste. Can be served hot or at room temperature.
Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Cake </h4
Adapted from “The Cake Bible,” by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Makes one cake.
Ingredients
1 pound bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 large eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the baking pan: Butter and line one 8-inch springform with buttered parchment or wax paper, then wrap outside of pan with heavy duty foil. (Later, you’ll be placing it inside a large roasting pan half-filled with water. Stay tuned.)
In a large metal bowl set over a pan of hot, not simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) combine the chocolate and butter and let stand, stirring occasionally, until smooth and melted. (The mixture can be melted in the microwave on high power, stirring every 15 seconds. Remove when there are still a few lumps in the chocolate and stir until fully melted.)
For stand mixer: In the bowl of a stand mixer set over a pan of simmering water, heat eggs, stirring constantly to prevent curdling, until just warm to the touch. Remove from heat and beat, using whisk attachment, until triple in volume and soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.
For hand mixer or manually with a whisk: To insure maximum volume, beat the eggs over simmering water until they are hot to the touch, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat until cool.
Using a large wire whisk or rubber spatula, fold half the eggs into the chocolate mixture until almost incorporated. Fold in the remaining eggs until just blended and no streaks remain. Finish by using a rubber spatula to ensure that the heavier mixture at the bottom is incorporated. Scrape into prepared springform pan and smooth with the spatula. Set pan in the larger roasting pan and surround it with 1 inch very hot water. Bake 5 minutes. Cover loosely with a piece of buttered foil and bake 10 minutes. (The cake will look soft, but this is as it should be.)
Let cake cool on a rack 45 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 3 hours.
To unmold: Have ready a serving plate and a flat plate at least 8 inches in diameter, covered with plastic wrap. Wrap sides of pan with a hot, damp towel.
Run a thin metal spatula around the sides of the cake and release the sides of the springform pan. Place the plastic-wrapped plate on top and invert. Wipe bottom of the pan with a hot, damp towel. Remove bottom of pan and parchment. Reinvert onto serving plate. Use a stencil to decorate with powdered sugar.
