THREE VINCENT PRICE RECIPES TO KEEP THE VAMPIRES OFF

by David Busboom

In 1964, Vincent Price turned in one of his best and most underrated performances as Dr. Robert Morgan in The Last Man on Earth, the first and most faithful adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic vampire game changer, I Am Legend. A year later, Price and his then-wife Mary released their first cookbook, A Treasury of Great Recipes. In 1971, he had a short-lived cooking show, Cooking Price-Wise and accompanying, second cookbook.
 
Anyone who's seen The Last Man on Earth knows that Robert Morgan uses of a lot of garlic in the film, but what did he do with it when it wasn't hanging over his door or around his neck? If Morgan was anything like the real Vincent Price, he probably tried his hand at a few of these gourmet recipes when he was tired of making stakes.

Garlic Sauce
 
Though Price specified this as a fondue sauce for dipping cubes of beef, Morgan probably would’ve used it like medieval hot oil and poured it over the vampires’ heads as they battered at his door.

1. Mash: 4 large cloves garlic with 2 egg yolks.
2. Add: 1 cup olive oil, drop by drop, until sauce is the consistency of mayonnaise. Stir in: 1 teaspoon lemon juice, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.

 
 
Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup)
 
In his introduction to this recipe, Price points out that garlic soup is a “triumph of experiments over experience” and stresses that “your garlic must be absolutely fresh, and you sauté it very gently—don’t burn it.” According to Price, this recipe makes enough soup to poison six vampires.

1. Chop finely: 8 cloves garlic. Sautee in: ¼ cup olive oil until lightly browned.
2. Add: 1 quart beef stock and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a rapid boil.

 

• Break a fresh egg into each heated soup plate. Strain the hot soup over the raw egg and serve immediately.

 
 
Spinach and Eggs Grisanti
 
This one is a personal favorite of mine, and very easy to make. The recipe calls for bacon, cheese, and a fair amount of sodium, but if you’re trying to stay healthy—or just short on such luxuries post-vampocalypse—a vegetarian and dairy-free, low-sodium version is possible, being almost as delicious and perhaps even more vampire-repellent. This recipe serves two and is great with hot garlic toast.

• 1. Cook: 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach according to package directions. Drain thoroughly, pressing out as much of the liquid as possible.
  2. Sauté: 2 slices bacon until crisp. Drain on absorbent paper.
  3. Heat in skillet: 3 tablespoons olive oil with 1 small clove garlic, minced. Cook until garlic is golden brown. Add: the spinach, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and ¼ teaspoon monosodium glutamate and mix. Spread the spinach mixture over bottom of skillet and sprinkle with: 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Cook, turning spinach over until very hot.
  4. Break in: 2 fresh eggs and keep turning the spinach until eggs are cooked. Crumble and add the crisp bacon, stirring to mix.

 

• : Drain off any excess oil from skillet. Turn spinach onto warm serving platter and sprinkle with: 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

Sixteen-year-old Isaac just wanted to see a midnight movie. He didn't expect to meet the woman of his dreams: more beautiful, mature, and intelligent than any of Isaac's high-school crushes, and (best of all) willing to fulfill his fantasies! So what if she didn't have a computer, a phone, a car, or a job? So what if she shares an isolated farmhouse with a half-dozen insatiable, love-crazed people, all aching for her attention? She was ready and willing.

NIGHTBIRD by David Busboom
166 pages – Unnerving – 02/14/2018

“Busboom has a way with words. Nightbird exhumes the Lilith myth and animates it in a timeless present day where folklore and isolation drive a dysfunctional couple to the brink, and beyond. The language is confident, the people feel real, and the menace manages to be Potently sexy and utterly creepy in the same short book. Nice to see such a promising writer stretching out into longer, and more personal territory.” –Nathan Carson author of Starr Creek

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@DavidBusboom 
www.unnervingmagazine.com

THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR'S NEWS BLAST 12 FEB 2017
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