Tart Cooking

Walking Dead Dinner

By Katherine Keller
April 29, 2013

About two years ago, in an effort to spend more time with my brother, who likes a lot of the same TV as my husband and I, we started inviting him over to our house to watch The Walking Dead. We are able to catch an eastern feed, which means that it's airing at 6 pm Pacific Time. Dinner time.

We quickly learned that trying to eat while watching The Walking Dead is an idea of epic badness.

Dinner. Then The Walking Dead. No exceptions.

By the end of S1, dinner had grown beyond the three of us to include our friends Jim and Lori.

For the start of S2, Ralph and I decided to expand it to an ongoing event with a standing invite. These days, a typical "Walking Dead Dinner" has 8-10 people. We spend the hour before the show starts eating, drinking, and being merry. I cook the main dish and provide the wine and other drinks, while our guests bring sides, dessert, and appetizers.

Whether you're thinking about having friends over for a re-watch, planning a S4 premiere event, or trying to pimp your family or friends, Walking Dead Dinners are a lot of fun.

And, without further ado: my three most requested recipes.

Walking Dead Chili

I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food, but because I am gluten and corn intolerant, a lot of it is off the menu for me. (I don't have Celiac Disease, so I can tolerate trace amounts of gluten; I can't guarantee that every ingredient in this recipe is safe for those who have CD.) This recipe began when I couldn't find a single package of chili spices that didn't have wheat or corn protein in it. My husband and several friends are also vegans, which means that I'm used to making food from scratch. I read several recipes to get general ideas and then made this up as I went along.

Since all fake meat products are made with a wheat or corn gluten base, I can't eat them. But I can't use a meat base and add to it, as in many chili recipes. I make the tomatoes and beans my base and then divide it into two pots, one vegan and one meat. So far this has worked well.

This is the current iteration of the recipe ... it's a work in progress.

2 cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans of crushed fire roasted tomatoes

1 can (7oz) of medium salsa from the Mexican food section. (I happen to like this one.)

1 red onion, diced fine

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper diced fine

1 package of vegan meat crumbles and 1 pound of ground beef

1 rounded spoon of cumin (and this is a regular sized spoon, not a measuring spoon or a soup spoon)

1/4 teaspoon of chili oil

1/2 teaspoon of chili garlic hot cock or 1 whole regular spoon if you don't have chili oil.

1/2 teaspoon of thyme

garlic salt to taste

olive oil

a splash of red wine (about 1/4 cup)

a "spiral" of honey BBQ sauce. I like Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce. (Never use any KC Style or smoke flavored sauces. They're nasty and chemical tasting.)

Dice the onion and garlic. In a large kettle, saute in oil on medium heat until they start to go translucent. Add in all the other ingredients except the bell pepper, the meat, and the BBQ sauce. Mix well, let come to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring well about once every 15 minutes or so.

If you are making beef chili, brown the meat in a separate large saucepan or pot. Drain the fat.

After an hour, put half of the tomato bean mixture into the pan with the beef, set the burner to low, and working from the outside of the pan in, make a spiral (at least 3 "rings") of BBQ sauce on top. Add 1/2 of the diced bell pepper and stir well.

Add the package of vegan meat to the kettle, make the spiral of BBQ sauce, and add the diced bell pepper, and stir well.

Let both pans simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, stirring at least twice.

The resulting chili will be savory and will have a nice spicy kick to it, but will not be burn-your-mouth-off hot.

Serve with semi-sweet wine like Lambrusco or Dornfelder, or see below for my Not Too Sweet Sangria.

Zombie Guts (a.k.a. Ratatouille)

Credit where credit is due: this recipe is my take on James A. Beard's classic ratatouille recipe from How to Eat Better for Less Money

(And yes, this is what my brother, my husband, and I were eating the night we made the very bad mistake of trying eat and watch an episode. Hence the name.)

1 large eggplant or 2 smaller ones, sliced very thin.

1/2 cup of olive oil

2 white or yellow onions, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 large zucchini, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 cans of crushed, fire roasted tomatoes

1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of basil

1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander

A large pinch of rosemary

A splash of red wine (optional)

Slice and salt eggplant and leave for one hour so that the salt can pull much of the water out. Rinse the salt off and press the eggplant. (I like to put it in a strainer, put paper towels over it, and then use a large ziplock bag of flour or water as a weight.)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and saute the onion until just soft. Add the garlic, eggplant, and zucchini. Mix well and cook over medium heat for five minutes.

Add the bell pepper, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and simmer on low, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Add all spices and cook for 7-10 minutes.

Serve with pasta, rice, or hearty bread. You can also mix in a can of garbanzo beans if you want some protein.

If you want to drink wine with this, I recommend Menage a Trois red or Apothic Red.

Not Too Sweet Sangria

Sangria began as a way to "tart up" cheap wine that was rough and tannic or "save" that opened cask or bottle that had started to go and stale and sour. The key ingredient was a lot of sugar.

The problem is most sangria recipes have not kept up with the march of technology. Today's cheap wines are rarely the thin and sour swill of the past, and neither do the recipes account for wine fresh out the bottle. Like many people, I find them to be much too sweet and they completely drown out the taste of the wine.

This version of sangria solves that problem.

You will need:

2 bottles (750ml) or a 1.5 liter bottle of inexpensive Merlot such as Corbett Canyon, Barefoot, Fish Eye, or Rex Goliath

2 bottles of Sobe Black and Blue Berry Lifewater

1 large package (12-16 oz) of frozen unsweetened blackberries. (You can also use a package of mixed blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.)

2 shots of brandy, whiskey, or vodka

In a large pitcher mix all the ingredients, but only put in 1/2 of the frozen berries. Let sit (covered) in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (overnight is better) so that all the flavors can meld.

When you are ready to serve, add the other half package of frozen berries so they can act as icecubes to keep the sangria cool.

Bonus: When you are done with the sangria, you can serve the "drunk fruit" over ice cream, frozen non-dairy dessert, cheesecake, or enjoy as is.