Historian and wine geek Deborah Harkness spent years researching alchemy, science, and magic during Europe’s teen years of 1500 to 1700. All that knowledge has spilled into an upcoming novel, A Discovery of Witches
But what to serve with the wine?
Nothing garlicky, obviously.
How about severed breadstick fingers to dip into pizza sauce? Just shape your own pizza or bread dough recipe (or any refrigerated/frozen breadstick dough). Before baking, press a “fingernail” into each one using an almond half or piece of pepperoni. Then bake according to instructions. For the dip, melt some mozzarella or provolone cheese into prepared pizza sauce. Each scoop by those warm breadstick fingers will pull up stringy red goo. Yum.
Maybe a skinned skull. This version uses a large plastic skull as a base, adhering lunch meat with carefully formed gelatin. For greater realism, I’d use thinly sliced roast beef or proscutto and instead of pickled onions for eyes I’d use plastic eyes from a costume shop. To make prep less complicated, I’d adhere meat to the skull using cranberry sauce, jam or heavy mustard. Once your skinned skull is ready, surround it with meats, cheeses and condiments. Some bright red ketchup, salsa and barbeque sauce might also please your guests.
You might also want to offer a skeleton veggie tray just to ensure your vampire guests’ teeth are very busy. Use any dip you choose and craft your skeleton appetizer from your favorite vegetables.
And finally, I’d keep some Death Mints
