dinner 11 - the hidinger haunting

the hidinger haunting of 2009 was a frightening delight. guests arrived in suitable attire including: santa clause, "hog heaven" and a "holy cow", a butcher, a bottle of opus one, sarah palin and a vampire straight out of salem!

guests were treated to a surprise halloween menu. this was a first for staplehouse. thank you to all for trusting ryan to the creepy cuisine! for this special dinner we also brought in the KSUTellers, a professional storytelling group. 10 tellers came and told entertaining tales for our guests. some frightening, some true and some absolutely hilarious. thank you KSUTellers!!!

the menu

warm fungus
liver, beans and a nice chianti
night of the living duck
road kill
chocolate mouse, red wine blueberries and marcona almonds (ryan couldn't come up with anything "ghoulish" for chocolate mouse, so it is what it is!)

liver, beans and a nice chianti
pan roasted foie gras, lentils with homemade bacon and a chianti reduction
a group of deep dark red wines for the night.
night of the living duck
duck confit, celery root puree, beet and walnut relish

sweet "ma", ryan's mom, helped us out for the evening.
ryan's original outfit was eaten by our dog the night before, so... you get the idea.
ryan's favorite dish of the night, "road kill".
step one. a splatter of blood (beet puree).
step two. a pool of maggots (rosemary and beet risotto).

step three. the carcass (braised beef short rib).
step four. a garnish of fried brussels sprouts to bring the dish together (because nothing is scarier than brussels sprouts). muah-ha-ha-ha-haa.
nothing scary here... just good ol' chocolate mouse topped with red wine macerated blueberries and marcona almonds.
our KSUTellers toasting before story time!
scarryyyyyyyyyyyyyyone of our very talented tellers captivates...the crew... thanks to everyone who attended and made the night memorable! a special thanks to shawn and natalie for the use of some photos! can't wait for next years 'hidinger haunting of 2010'! muah-ha-haha-haa.