NORTH PALM BEACH LIFE
  • Home
    • Weather >
      • Hurricane Readiness
  • Cruise/Travel
    • Cruise Reviews and Stories
  • Gigi in the 561
    • Gigi's Wine Shelf
    • Gigi in the 561 Interviews
    • Cora
    • My Father's Tales >
      • My Father's Tales - Photo Album
    • Travel Bistro
  • Blogs
    • Gerry Pronounced Gary
    • Rock and Roll Rewind
    • Susan Goldfein -- Blog >
      • Susan Goldfein
  • Video
  • Explore
    • October Odyssey >
      • Cartagena, Columbia
      • Panama Canal
      • Antigua, Guatemala
      • Cabo San Lucas
      • Birds and Bees Speakeasy in Los Angeles
      • We Love LA
      • Coast Starlight
      • Napa Wine Tour
      • California Zephyr
      • California Zephyr Part Two
      • Chicago
      • Amtrak Capitol Limited
      • Washington DC
    • Pam - Traveling in Style
    • Road Trip! >
      • Road Trip! -- Tucumcari, New Mexico
      • Road Trip! -- The Painted Desert
      • Road Trip! - Sedona, Arizona
      • Road Trip! - Sedona Wineries
      • Road Trip! Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
      • Road Trip! - Mogollon Rim
      • Road Trip! - Verde Canyon Railroad
      • Road Trip! - Jerome, Arizona
      • Road Trip! - California
      • Road Trip! - Palm Springs Celebrity Tour
      • Road Trip! - Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
      • Road Trip! - Festival in Palm Springs
      • Road Trip! - Willcox, Arizona and Apple Annie's Orchard
      • Road Trip! Willcox Wineries
      • Road Trip! Chiricahua National Monument
      • Road Trip! Tombstone, Arizona
      • Tombstone, Part Two
      • Road Trip! - Epilogue
    • Traveling With Joe >
      • Beartooth Highway
      • North Cascades National Park
      • A Visit to the Philippines
      • Grand Canyon National Park
      • Glacier National Park
      • Yellowstone National Park
      • Hiking in Bear Country
      • Crater Lake National Park
      • Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
      • The Kerrville Folk Festival
      • Building Hope in the Rio Grande Valley
      • Yellowstone Camping Tales
    • Unknown Yellowstone >
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Heart Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Summit Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Shoshone Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Grizzly Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Riddle Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Pelican Cone
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Mt. Washburn
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Specimen Ridge
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Avalanche Peak
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Divide Creek
  • Contact
    • Media Kit
    • Pamela Barker - Author
    • The Story of StarText
  • Search

A Dinner Party to Die For

PictureRichard S. Sargent
(Courtesy of the Author)
By GERRY BARKER
North Palm Beach News
Published July, 2023


How does an award-winning actor, director, producer, playwright and filmmaker express his love of horror movies besides making one?
In the case of Richard S. Sargent, the answer is a cookbook.

It's called "The Horror Movie Night Cookbook," containing "60 deliciously deadly recipes inspired by iconic slashers, zombie films, psychological thrillers, sci-fi spooks and more." As a horror film fan myself, as well as foodie fanatic, this was something I had to know more about. 

In the book, it notes Sargent was hooked on horror movies as a kid in his native Pittsburgh, where "some of his earliest memories are sitting in front of the TV after school watching reruns of Chiller Theater with his mom."

That brought back my own memories of growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, where every Saturday night my brother and I watched Nightmare Theater on Channel 11, hosted by the black-caped Gorgon (played by Bill Camfield), as the Wolfman, Frankenstein and the Mummy ran amok.

Eager to try some of Sargent's recipes, my wife Pam suggested we ask some friends to join us for a "Horror Movie Night Cookbook Dinner Party." Each couple would pick out a recipe from the book and we would gather to rate the dish and accompanying cocktail. Let the fun begin!

Picture
Ann and Marty
Picture
White Noise Cocktail
Picture
Crawling Steak
​Friends Ann and Marty selected "Crawling Steak" -- seared steak slices on sourdough crisps with artichoke-jalapeno spread," inspired by the 1982 movie "Poltergeist." Says Sargent: "This is one of the first horror films I watched as a kid. I was freaked out by the scene where one of the paranormal researchers goes to the kitchen for a midnight snack, including a steak from the refrigerator. He ends up getting a lot more than had expected."

Fortunately, their steak didn't crawl off the crisp.

The cocktail that goes with it is "The White Noise," made by mixing gin, thyme-infused simple syrup, lime juice and citrus soda. As soon as Marty made some, he took a cue from the movie: "They're here."
Picture
Bill and Eileen are ready for their closeup!
Picture
Apple Cider Martini
Picture
Black-eyed Pea Soup
​For friends Eileen and Bill, their choice was a recipe inspired by "Scream 2" called "Phil's Black-Eyed Pea Soup," described as a hearty "black-eyed pea and cheese tortellini soup." The drink that goes with was inspired by movie character Debbie Self, the inexperienced reporter played by Laurie Metcalf, called "The Debbie Salted Apple Cider Martini." The soup's "body count (aka servings)" was listed as six, but what they made could have easily served a whole army of zombies. (But do zombies have an appetite? Probably not for food, anyway.)
Picture
Chinese Pork
Picture
Burning Man Cocktail
​For our dish, full disclosure: We did fudge a wee bit. Instead of the recommended pairing, we chose the main course from the movie "Contagion" -- Chinese Pork -- and combined it with the cocktail from "The Wicker Man," called "The Burning Man."  The former was baked with honey, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, sesame oil and Chinese five spice. For the drink, it combined vodka, elderflower and sparkling wine.

We spent the first hour or so sampling the drinks and comparing notes on the book., which Pam recorded in two of her "Gigi in the 561" podcasts. While there was merit to every drink made, the consensus winner was "The Burning Man." All the flavors melded to create a real palette pleaser.

Time to move on to the food -- and there was plenty of it. Pam and I made some side dishes to round out the entrees, including a butter lettuce salad and coconut jasmine rice. Judging by the fact virtually nothing was left over -- except the massive black-eyed pea soup -- every dish was a winner.
Picture
Flypaper Dessert
​But wait -- there's more. Eileen and Bill did a bonus dessert: "Flypaper" -- honey-glazed lemon bars topped with chocolate chip "bugs" -- inspired by the 2006 movie, "Bug." It provided the perfect "sweet ending" to our Horror Movie Night Cookbook dinner party.

By the way, Sargent provides his own recommendations for what to fix for horror movie night themes as well, which we'll consider for an encore event. I already know Bill and Marty are anxious to try the "Monkey Brains Shot" from the movie, "28 days Later," while I have my eye on the "Piranha Soup." So much horror -- so little time.

        The Horror Movie Cookbook is available on Amazon ($19.95).
Picture
Gigi in the 561 leads a group discussion about the Horror Cookbook dinner party in two podcasts.
PART ONE
PART TWO
Photos by Gerry and Pam Barker
Picture
The table is set for our dinner party
Picture
The decor sets the mood
Picture
Eileen's official press pass
Girls -- don't let those bats land in your hair!!
Picture
Ann with her Crawling Steak (Marty photo)
Picture
Picture
Gerry asks: "Anyone for a Bloody Mary?"
Picture
Contact us: [email protected]

© COPYRIGHT  2024  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Picture
  • Home
    • Weather >
      • Hurricane Readiness
  • Cruise/Travel
    • Cruise Reviews and Stories
  • Gigi in the 561
    • Gigi's Wine Shelf
    • Gigi in the 561 Interviews
    • Cora
    • My Father's Tales >
      • My Father's Tales - Photo Album
    • Travel Bistro
  • Blogs
    • Gerry Pronounced Gary
    • Rock and Roll Rewind
    • Susan Goldfein -- Blog >
      • Susan Goldfein
  • Video
  • Explore
    • October Odyssey >
      • Cartagena, Columbia
      • Panama Canal
      • Antigua, Guatemala
      • Cabo San Lucas
      • Birds and Bees Speakeasy in Los Angeles
      • We Love LA
      • Coast Starlight
      • Napa Wine Tour
      • California Zephyr
      • California Zephyr Part Two
      • Chicago
      • Amtrak Capitol Limited
      • Washington DC
    • Pam - Traveling in Style
    • Road Trip! >
      • Road Trip! -- Tucumcari, New Mexico
      • Road Trip! -- The Painted Desert
      • Road Trip! - Sedona, Arizona
      • Road Trip! - Sedona Wineries
      • Road Trip! Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
      • Road Trip! - Mogollon Rim
      • Road Trip! - Verde Canyon Railroad
      • Road Trip! - Jerome, Arizona
      • Road Trip! - California
      • Road Trip! - Palm Springs Celebrity Tour
      • Road Trip! - Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
      • Road Trip! - Festival in Palm Springs
      • Road Trip! - Willcox, Arizona and Apple Annie's Orchard
      • Road Trip! Willcox Wineries
      • Road Trip! Chiricahua National Monument
      • Road Trip! Tombstone, Arizona
      • Tombstone, Part Two
      • Road Trip! - Epilogue
    • Traveling With Joe >
      • Beartooth Highway
      • North Cascades National Park
      • A Visit to the Philippines
      • Grand Canyon National Park
      • Glacier National Park
      • Yellowstone National Park
      • Hiking in Bear Country
      • Crater Lake National Park
      • Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
      • The Kerrville Folk Festival
      • Building Hope in the Rio Grande Valley
      • Yellowstone Camping Tales
    • Unknown Yellowstone >
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Heart Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Summit Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Shoshone Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Grizzly Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Riddle Lake
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Pelican Cone
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Mt. Washburn
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Specimen Ridge
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Avalanche Peak
      • Unknown Yellowstone - Divide Creek
  • Contact
    • Media Kit
    • Pamela Barker - Author
    • The Story of StarText
  • Search