- Cocktails
Spook-tacular Aperol Apple Cider Spritz and Mushroom Skull Boscaiola Recipes
On the menu this Halloween: creamy Skull Mushroom Boscaiola and Aperol Apple Cider Spritzes from MasterChef star, Justin Narayan and Jarrod the @diycocktailguy.
Justin and Jarrod’s Wickedly Good Halloween-Inspired Dinner Party Pairings
Spooky season is here and it’s time to treat yourself to a wickedly good night with our Halloween-inspired dinner party recipes. In the spirit of all things spooky, Jarrod the @diycocktailguy and MasterChef star, Justin Narayan, have teamed up for a frightfully good dinner and cocktail pairing. On the menu: lip-smacking Aperol Apple Cider Spritzes and creamy Mushroom Scull Boscaiola.
Chances are, like so many of us, readers at home are haunted by dinner parties of the past where your time as host was spent away from the guests — juggling multiple entrees, mixing up complicated cocktails and following long-winded, complex recipes. Well, not any more! Justin and Jarrod have concocted the perfect food and drink pairing just in time for hosting your Halloween festivities. We’re talking quick and simple steps, and easy-to-find ingredients that scream Halloween without giving you too much of a fright.
With these recipes up your sleeve, you’ll spend less time prepping and cooking, and more time exchanging spooky tales and getting into the Halloween spirit with your guests. Let’s see what our DIY experts have cooked up for us this Halloween!
How to make the Apple Aperol Cider Sprtizes
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
60mL of Aperol Aperitivo
1 bottle of Mr Finch Apple Cider
Tonic water
Ground cinnamon
Fresh apple slices, thinly cut
Method:
- Take your lowball or old fashioned glasses and add a decent serving of crushed ice to both.
- Add 30mL of the Aperol Aperitivo to each glass.
- Sprinkle some cinnamon into the glasses.
- Divide a bottle of the Mr Finch Apple Cider between the two cocktails and top up with tonic water.
- Lastly, add your freshly sliced apple fan and DIY spooky eye garnish on top.
There you have it! 5 easy steps for a spook-tacular cocktail that you can make time and time again.
How to make the Mushroom Skull Boscaiola
Ingredients:
250g mushrooms
250g pancetta
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
300ml cream
30g parmesan
300g squid ink spaghetti
Black pepper and salt to garnish
Method:
- Firstly, you’ll start to prep your spooky skull mushroom garnish. Cut a few handfuls of mushrooms in half and use a straw to stamp eye marks and a knife to slice slits for the mouth, creating a spooky skull-like shape. Toss them in olive oil with salt and pepper and roast for 5-8 minutes at 180℃.
- Start making the boscaiola sauce by dicing the pancetta into 1cm chunks and then placing into a cold saucepan on medium heat to render the fat. Add your shallots, garlic, extra sliced mushrooms and pepper into the saucepan and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are browned.
- Then, pour 1 cup of the Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Add the cream and a good sprinkle of parmesan and bring down toa simmer. As a crisp and citrus-forward sauvignon blanc, the Mud House Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect pick to add a depth of flavour to your boscaiola sauce.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt, and then add your squid ink pasta.
- Once the pasta is cooked according to packet instructions, add it to the sauce along with ½ a cup of pasta water, mixing it so that the pasta is evenly distributed amongst the sauce.
- Spoon your pasta onto your plates and add your scary mushroom skull garnishes on top.
See? How easy was that! Start cooking the Mushroom Scull Boscaiola approximately 30 minutes before your guests are due to come and you’ll have it plated for them on arrival.
Why Justin’s Mushroom Scull Boscaiola is the perfect Halloween dinner party crowd-pleaser
The witch hunt for the perfect Halloween recipe is over! When it comes to throwing a Halloween-inspired dinner party, you want to strike the perfect balance of serving up dishes that suit the scary theme, without looking too ghoulish. If you go too spooky and over the top, you run the risk of serving up dishes that just simply don’t look appetising to your guests — and we definitely don’t want that. Which is why Justin’s spooky take on a classic boscaiola pasta is a stroke of genius. The black squid ink pasta delivers on all fronts — spooky on the eye, but still delicious with a moreish saltiness that’ll have your guests going back for second helpings.
‘The woodsman's pasta’ — what is boscaiola sauce actually made of?
Boscaiola originates from the Italian word for ‘bosco’, which translates to forest or wood. This type of sauce came to be when Italian boscaioli — otherwise known as woodsmen or lumberjacks — would prepare a hearty and delicious meal after a long day of labour using the wild mushrooms they had foraged from the surrounding forests. It’s no surprise then that the key ingredient to any boscaiola sauce is — of course — mushrooms. Adding a great depth of flavour with earthy umami notes, mushrooms give the boscaiola sauce its robust, distinct flavour that casts your mind straight to the Italian countryside.
As is common with most traditional recipes, different variations of boscaiola sauce have emerged from region to region over time. Cream can be a common addition in the north, while they’ll often add tomatoes in the south for a hint of sweetness. But with all of the variations amongst the different regions and family recipes, mushrooms remain as the must-have ingredient. From porcini to portobello, chestnut or brown, you can experiment with different types of mushrooms (or even a mix) each time you prepare this dish.
Halloween-inspired cocktail recipes: what’s on the menu?
As the Halloween festivities continue into the night, you might want to add some additional spook-tacular cocktails into the mix. The almost glow-in-the-dark green hue of Midori means it’s destined to be a popular pick for Halloween cocktails. Add some vodka, fresh lemon and lime juice, and a lychee for a brain-inspired garnish and you’ve got a frightfully good Midori Sour on your hands. If you’re on the hunt for more Halloween-inspired cocktails, we’ve got everything from a Blood Orange Martini to a spiced and fruity Zombie here.
Now that you have the perfect Halloween cocktail and dinner combination to try, there’s nothing else to do except sit back and enjoy the spooky festivities!
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