In honor of Friday the 13th, Dracula, and the upcoming premiere of Season 4 of the incredible HBO series True Blood, these summer book club party recipes (or, as the case may be, a True Blood viewing party… or even a binge watch of The Vampire Diaries) are blood-curdlingly good and totally vampire-themed.
(This image is from Food Network’s article “Bite Night.”)
A little more about True Blood: “…one character’s fate is so jaw-dropping that you’ll spend the rest of the episode wondering if what you just watched was a dream,” states a report about the new season. (The True to the End Marathon on HBO2 starts Monday, June 16, and the season premiere is June 22.)
Can’t wait!
VAMPIRE’S KISS MARTINI (from JSOnline’s article “Sink your teeth into a vampire themed party”)
MAKES 1
One part pomegranate juice
Three parts vodka
Lemon twist
In a shaker filled with ice, combine vodka and juice. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with lemon twist.
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Merlotte’s is a rockin’ roadhouse, where the waitress outfits can be described only as “Southern Hooters” and patrons consume more alcohol than food. Who can blame them, being at the front line of the vampire-rights movement in Bon Temps, La.?
We turn to Paul Prudhomme’s 1986 cookbook, “Louisiana Kitchen,” for a classic gumbo recipe. During your party, keep this gumbo hot in a crockpot.
And if vodka’s not your flavor of choice, here’s another recipe (you can keep it virgin or spike it). This mouth-watering recipe is from Food Network’s article “Bite Night.”
Welcome your guests with a cup of “blood”: Stir one 64-ounce bottle cherry or cranberry-cherry juice, 1 liter ginger ale, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon grenadine in a large punch bowl. Add 2 cups frozen cherries and 1 orange, cut into chunks. (To spike it, add 2 cups bourbon or rye and 3 dashes orange bitters. )
But what to eat? You’ll need something to soak up all that liquid energy. YumSugar’s article “Come With Me: Vampire Party Menu” suggests tomato soup served in TEST TUBES! Right? Incredibly creepy and fun. Now you just have to make little grilled cheese sandwiches cut in the shape of band-aids.
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 fennel bulb, chopped, about 2 1/2 cups
1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 cups homemade vegetable broth or low-sodium canned
2 cups tomato juice
6 basil leaves, torn
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Fresh ground black pepper, to tasteDIRECTIONS
- Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat.
- Add fennel, onion, garlic, salt, fennel seed and crushed pepper, if using, and cook until vegetables soften and brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Drain and reserve juice from the tomatoes, then crush tomatoes gently with your hands. Add the tomatoes, increase heat to high, and cook until they begin to brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the reserved tomato juice, vegetable broth, tomato juice, and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook until vegetables are cooked through and soup reduces and thickens, about 30 minutes.
- Remove pot from stove and puree the soup in batches, with an immersion, regular blender, or food processor. Stir in lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Serve.
Finally, you can’t subside on liquids alone since you’re a mere mortal. Here is a tasty recipe. There’s one major takeaway here: strawberry jam is the goriest of all foods. If you put it out as a dip, or use it as a topping, you can instantly make any food look vampiric. This recipe and photo are from the blog Vampire Craftin.
Red Jelly Cream cheese dip ( take a block of cream cheese and top it with jelly. I love using a mango chipotle jelly, red pepper jelly, or raspberry chipotle jelly. Impress your friends. Make your own jam or jelly. I then had a bowl of crackers in a blow on the side or I have seen some specialized plates. Don’t use corny cut bat plates. Use a simple crystal plate. They sell disposable clear plates. This is soooo addictive you will find yourself unable to stop eating. It is also a great way to gather folks to mingle at the appetizer table. You can also top each cracker individually. It is a lot of work and you will need alot of storage but it can be done.
Lastly, don’t forget the super simple but incredibly ghoulish prosciutto or rare beef on skewers! This inspirational picture of Korean Beef Skewers is from The Little Kitchen.
If you’re looking to make your party a little classier—maybe a little less cheesy—just order a Knickerbocker Classics edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a door prize or the winner of the True Blood drinking game (thanks Flavorpill!).
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