Twilight befalls my Eastside garden, and a haunting is afoot. The gnarled vine-covered garden arch is aglow with heirloom pumpkin-colored bulb lights. Gothic garden vessels rise through the fog like tombstones along the wickedly winding path to the mysterious manor house below. You’ve arrived at a brooding, black and white Halloween affair, with a guest list of curious creatures and a roasted squash soup that’s, well, to die for. Join us for the October Invite, if you dare.
Set the Scene
This October Invite draws inspiration from the beautifully illustrated picture book “The Ink House” by Rory Dobner, about a mysterious manor house and the lavish party that attracts creatures every year when the artist is away.
With that in mind, I called on crows and owls as decorative elements and adorned a mantelside metal horse head with a handmade smoke bush wreath using clipped branches from my garden. Dried giant garden allium stems add a bit more botany, and a working broom is studded with dried garden calendula blooms. The fireside table is draped in black linen and set with tall, twisted tapers and cool, quirky riding-boot plates.
The Elixir
Satisfy your Halloween thirst with a classic French hard cider. Give pause by adding a frozen skeleton head and pomegranate seeds to the glass.
Monica Hart
The Goth Garden
This October, add a little natural magic and intrigue to your garden with dark plant varieties:
• Red pitcher plant is a carnivorous species with deep blooms where bugs go to die.
• The ghost fern is strikingly silver and seems to glow in shadows.
• Viola Heartthrob is a charming plant with heart-shaped leaves and deep blood-red centers.
• Corokia cotoneaster ‘Little Prince’ is a shrub with bony skeleton-like branches. • Pitch-black mondo grass — enough said.
• Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’ is a low-growing ground cover with moody, dark foliage.
The Appetizer
The All-Seeing Eye-Noshing Book Board
Set out unexpected spooky serving pieces, like this carved hardcover book featuring a creepy all-seeing eye.
Artfully arrange a selection of cheeses — from drunken goat cheese to black truffle — with massive blackberries, dried blueberries, French radishes, and Marcona and chocolate-dusted almonds. Then bring on a thriller of a main course.
Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Gruyere
This insanely delicious and creamy pumpkin soup base is layered with grated cheese and steamed inside a lidded, foil-wrapped squash (seeds removed).
Serve it ceremoniously by removing the lid tableside. Guests can scrape the flesh of the squash into their soup bowls with the creamy base. Customize the soup base to your liking. Here’s what I concocted:
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, whisk together enough equal parts heavy cream and half-and-half to fill each pumpkin well about three-quarters of the way full.
Fold in about 2 roasted garlic cloves; 5 crispy pancetta bits; 1 tablespoon chopped shallots caramelized in pancetta fat; 1 chopped sage leaf also crisped in the fat; ¼ teaspoon sauteed, chopped chili pepper; a few fresh thyme leaves; half of a smashed truffle bouillon cube; a glug
of Armagnac; a dash of ground nutmeg; and a tablespoon of honey and salt and pepper to taste.
Grate about a cup of your favorite cheese. I used Gruyere.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour a 1/3 of the soup base into the well. Top with a 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat this step twice. Pop on the lid, and “mummify” the squash in foil.
Bake until tender and the soup is steaming. This can be anywhere from 1 hour and 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the size of your squash. Check the interior flesh tenderness with a fork after 1 hour. Remove the lid once the squash is tender, and run the base of the squash under the broiler for 5 minutes to caramelize. Return the lid, and rest the squash for 5 minutes. Serve hot with sourdough bread.
I served the soup alongside radicchio cups filled with matchstick slices of apple and fennel, and drizzled with a quick lemon and honey vinaigrette.
(Makes 4 8-ounce servings)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Our espalier apples went bonkers this year, so I’m making this quick, yummy dessert on repeat.
Filling6–7 small apples, peeled, cored, and thinly slicedJuice and zest of 1/2 a lemon½ cup granulated sugar2 teaspoons ground cinnamon½ teaspoon cardamom1 tablespoon flourDash of saltTopping 1 1/4 cups oats¼ cup sliced almonds1 cup flour1 cup brown sugarDash of cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg1 pat of butter per jarMethod
Toss together the filling, and spoon it into jars. Mix the topping, and heap onto apples, adding a pat of butter. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until the apples are very tender and the oats are golden brown. Serve with Armagnac or your favorite brandy.
Dining and Cooking