"DayOfTheDead" news and stories

Quiche Lorraine from Thomas Keller's cookbook. Photo: esposj, Flickr.

• The craft beer hype has brought stout beer into the mainstream -- but the public's perception of it as purely "stout" is inaccurate.
• Playwright humorist Paul Rudnick disproves parents everywhere in his new book, "I Shudder," by living 51 years subsisting mainly on candy -- and sveltely, at that. "What I love about Halloween is its childhood honesty," he says. "It's about what children want rather than what parents want them to want."
• A touching story on the "softening" of chef Thomas Keller preceding his last meal with his once-estranged father.
• Tater tots and Tecates have started to replace caviar and Chardonnay as foodie first dates take a more casual, adventurous note.
• Prompted by a resourceful reader in Beijing, a New York Times writer matches Italian wine with Chinese fare In a pairing fit to make Marco Polo proud.
• After ruinous delays for restaurateurs, the liquor license process has been streamlined by the new New York State Liquor Authority chairman, David Rosen.
• Restaurants: Flushing, Queens' Imperial Palace is "at the zenith of Cantonese cooking in New York City;" Green Apple BBQ in East Harlem proffers a Mexican influence on Southern cuisine; Brooklyn's Rocky Sullivan's in Red Hook tackles steamed lobster, successfully.
• Openings and closings; plus Dining Calendar -- highlights include Day of the Dead workshops, a pumpkin dinner and a meal in memory of Sheila Lukins of the Silver Palate.

• Gearing up for Day of the Dead -- home celebrations and Gardiner Museum's Harvest of Memories: Mexican Days of the Dead exhibition.
• Corey Mintz runs through the perks of Polish heaven -- Starsky.
• Recipes: Butternut Squash Soup, Tomato and Goat Cheese Strata, and Zombie with Tiki Snack Mix
  
• Wines: Cheap, red, and ripe for Halloween.
• Annabel Karmel went from the loss of a child and having a picky eater to helper of moms everywhere. She shares recipes for: oatmeal, chicken balls, buzzy bees, and chicken drumsticks.
• Finally, hearty sage -- an herb for the winter.

Would you normally use the word "cute" to describe a skull? Aside from "delicious", that is the only adjective that seems to apply to these Day of the Dead chocolate skulls from Vosges Chocolate. The skulls are made from white, milk and dark chocolate and have a variety of flavor combinations inspired by el Día de los Muertos. The skulls' black eyes are made with edible glitter, which gives them a surprising amount of depth for something on a 2-ounce chocolate skull! The flavors include:

• Blanca - Venezuelan white chocolate (33% cocoa butter)
• Red Fire - Ancho and chipotle chilies, Ceylon cinnamon, dark chocolate
• Barcelona - Hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt, deep milk chocolate

The one thing that is scary about these skulls is the price. They sell for $8 each! Of course, when you're going to go all-out for a holiday celebration anyway, a little indulgence is warranted, right?

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Want an alternative to a pumpkin pan for Halloween? How about giving a (semi) scary Skull Cake Pan a try? The nonstick metal pan measures only 7 1/2" x 8 1/4" and makes four little skulls at a time. You can make them as creepy or as cute as you like - depending on who your audience is and whether you are trying to go for a dessert for a really elaborate party.

I suspect that this pan is meant more for Day of the Dead celebrations than it is for Halloween, but that doesn't mean that it can't do double-duty and produce cakes for both occasions. And as long as you have a good cupcake recipe, I don't think that anyone will object to having cake two days in a row.

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