Witchy Kitchen

Tag: peanuts

  • Crypt Keeper Crunch

    The wacky horror anthology Tales from the Crypt premiered on HBO on June 10, 1989 and entertained audiences with its tawdry tales until 1996. Based on the EC comic from the 1950s, it teeters between humor and horror, often with a morbid twist. I have semi-fond memories of being a little teenage babysitter watching alone in the dark after the kids went to bed…and letting it thoroughly crack me up and creep me out!

    Each episode begins with a journey through the Crypt Keeper’s haunted mansion, winding through hallways down to the catacombs. Here we meet the cackling corpse himself popping out of a coffin. The Crypt Keeper’s pun-filled quips are the framework for each scary tale.

    If you’re a Tales from the Crypt fan, then you know it’s a specHACKular popcorn-munching program, so popcorn is the base of this freaky fun recipe. Peanutty caramel corn is both Halloweeny and carnival food (as there are several carnival episodes). This particular one’s a little SALTY too, like the wisecracking Crypt Keeper – and the MORGUE the merrier! It’s studded with darling little pretzel bones.

    Crypt Keeper Crunch

    For the popcorn
    1 bag minimally flavored popcorn (the least salt and butter you can find)
    ½ cup roasted peanuts
    ½ cup honey
    ¼ cup sugar
    1 teaspoon salt
    ½ cup peanut butter

    Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Pop the popcorn and pour into a large bowl, being careful to not transfer any unpopped kernels. Sprinkle with peanuts.

    In a small saucepan, heat honey, sugar and salt until sugar is completely melted and mixture is foamy and just begins to darken in color. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, stirring until smooth. Pour over popcorn and toss lightly to coat. Spread over parchment and cool.

    For the pretzel bones
    20 pretzel sticks
    80 mini marshmallows
    6 ounces white chocolate chips

    Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Gently slice each pretzel stick in two, and stick mini marshmallows on the ends. In a bowl, microwave white chocolate chips at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted, about 1 minute and a half.

    Dip each “bone” into the white chocolate, turning with forks, shaking off the excess, and placing on the parchment. If the white chocolate becomes too hard, zap and stir and continue. Place bones in the fridge for 10 minutes to solidify.

    Break up the peanutty caramel corn into a large bowl and gently toss with the bones. SCAREf them up for your next FRIGHTfest!

    Until the next time, boils and ghouls, pleasant screams.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Hasty Trail Mix

    Hasty Trail Mix

    There are lots of foraged ingredients in the game you can use to create ability-enhancing dishes and elixirs and it’s so much fun to test combinations. I had an idea to make a trail mix, mostly because I was excited to see speed-enhancing fleet lotus seeds as an ingredient. Puffed lotus seeds, or fox nuts (I love that name), you can find in Indian groceries, and by toasting them and tossing them with spices or just sea salt you can make a tasty snack! I thought to make this trail mix even speedier with some speedy carrot; crunchy fried carrots is a fun technique I first experimented with to create a garnish for carrot fennel soup, and their sweetness really rounds out the flavors here. Toasted nuts complete the trail mix, and it’s perfect for you to throw in your pouch and take on an adventure.

    Hasty Trail Mix

    • vegetable oil for frying
    • 5 or 6 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed
    • 1/2 cup cashews
    • 1/2 cup peanuts
    • 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
    • 2 cups puffed lotus seeds (phool makhana)
    • 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala (or a sprinkle of sea salt)

    Heat about a half inch of oil in a pan and line a plate with paper towels. Shave carrots into thin strips with the peeler and fry in batches, stirring gently until just turning golden; remove and drain on the plate.

    After carrot is done, pour all but about a teaspoon of the oil off the pan. Toast cashews, peanuts and pumpkin seeds until just starting to color, then remove to a bowl. Toast lotus seeds until golden, and add to the bowl as well.

    Toss nut and lotus seed mixture with chaat masala, and lastly add in the carrots and gently mix so they don’t crumble. Serve warm for movie night or room temperature for adventuring.