11-22-63: The Dinner

This past Saturday, November 17th was the Astoria Book and Supper Club's fifth meeting.  We feasted and discussed Steven King's 11-22-63, a story about a modern day man who travels back in time to stop JFK's assassination.  I'm a big fan of nostalgia, the idea of time travel, and the mysteries surrounding the conspiracy that is JFK's assassination, so I was pretty excited for some lively discussions.  King did a great job painting a picture of American foods from that era, and I had a lot of fun creating a 'throwback' menu for this dinner.

My Idea of a "Dinery" Table setting

I wanted the setting to feel like an Any-Town-USA diner.  Very casual, kind of retro.  I used tourist attraction mugs, retro drinking glasses, utensils rolled in napkins, ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles (they were filled with my own condiments-not a fan of ketchup or yellow mustard), and markers for drawing on the place mats.

My Place Mats

Speaking of place mats, I've always had a fascination with diner place mats.  As an artistic child, I loved to draw on them when the opportunity presented itself (Woody Wood Pecker was my go-to doodle).  I have always loved the throwback cocktail lists (turns out I don't like the taste of Harvey Wallbangers) too.  So, I made my own place mats, as an homage to this diner necessity.  It included a cocktail list, a word search that pertained to 11-22-63, "Today's Specials" (the menu for the evening) and the discussion questions.

Lobster Pickins!

 For the first course, I prepared Lobster Pickins with a side of Coleslaw.  This was for sure my favorite food description in the book, which left me craving these batter-fried lobster tails for months.  I envisioned them in red baskets with deli paper just like pictured above, and I was very happy with the outcome.  To read something and then bring it to life was a lot of fun.

Feasting on Pickins and Slaw

 The slaw was a big hit, and I promise to give the recipe out, for my next post.  It had a citrus honey mustard base, because I have never been a fan of traditional coleslaw.  It also paired well with the lobster.  I advised my diners to use the sauce in the yellow squeeze bottle on the lobster.  It was made with mayonnaise, dijon mustard, honey, ginger and curry.

The ProngHorn Special

 The Pronghorn Special was served at a diner the main character frequented in the book.  It consisted of a Prongburger (a double BBQ burger) mesquite fries, and a thick shake.  The Prongburger had cheddar cheese, bacon, fried onions and BBQ sauce on it.  The red squeeze bottle had extra BBQ sauce for the fries.

Dinner Is Served!

The vanilla thick shake, which you could see above, was made with vanilla gelato from La Guli Pastry shop on Ditmars Blvd.  They have pretty amazing gelato, just DON'T open the freezer door yourself, even though it is right there at your fingertips and seems like it's there just waiting to be opened by a customer, especially since you just saw another customer open the door and not get accosted. Yes, that happened, but they are actually very nice and have beautiful and delicious things.  I just really don't like to be yelled at or made an example of!

The Root Beer Float and Pound Cake

My other favorite food description in the book was of the root beer the main character drank when he first traveled back in time.   I never so desperately wanted to drink an ice cold foamy mug of root beer in my life after reading it, and there was no way root beer was not going to be served.  I thought a root beer float would be the perfect ending to this meal.  I felt the need to add a slice of pound cake because it kind of played a cute role in the story.  It was code word for something slightly risque for that time period, and I don't want to give anymore away.

Dessert

I thought it would be cute to serve it this way and let the guests interact with their floats.  They were all pretty stuffed at this point, so they were better off pouring it when they found some room.

My Grandfather's Carving of JFK circa November, 1963

When my Grandfather heard I was having dinner party that was JFK 'themed' he very generously loaned me this wood carving he made the day after the assassination.  My Grandfather is very talented, and a true creator.  I'm so happy that this is what he spent that day doing, it's a beautiful commemoration of one of our country's most influential citizens, and of one of the most notorious days in our history.  I was very proud to have it on display for the dinner.

The Anatomy of a ProngBurger

On November 17th I will be cooking and hosting The Astoria Book and Supper Club's 5th meeting, for Steven King's 11-22-63, a book that takes a present day man back in time to prevent Kennedy's assassination.  The food described in the book has a very nostalgic appeal, and I knew I wanted to cook what many characters ate at Al's Diner, the Pronghorn Special: a double BBQ cheeseburger, mesquite fries and a thick shake.

If you're a meat eater, you most likely like burgers.  If you like burgers, you most likely have some sort of burger guidelines or standards.  For example, I like a charred and crispy on the outside, slightly rare on the inside burger with American cheese, lettuce, pickles and mayo or a special sauce on a soft bun.  We all have our favorites, and while I have my preferences, there aren't too many burgers that I would turn away.

When coming up with my version of the Prongburger, described as a BBQ double cheeseburger, I decided that the burger would have to have cheddar cheese, a homemade smoky BBQ sauce, bacon and fried onions.  Last night I had my practice run.  I bought potato hamburger buns, nice and dense and soft.  I fried up the onions in some butter and oil, using sherry to deglaze them and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  I made what is pretty close to my typical BBQ sauce, but I added liquid  smoke to it, giving it that mesquite bbq taste of Texas.  I had never used it before, and it was interesting when my apartment smelled like a tailgate when I woke up this morning.  I fried up the bacon, and then fried the burgers in some of the bacon fat-was that wrong?

Soon it was time for the last key "ingredient": the assembly.  Starting from the bottom bun, I spread some BBQ sauce on the bun, then a few slices of bacon, followed by a patty, a melted slice of cheddar, the other patty, another melted slice of cheddar, the fried onions, and then more BBQ sauce spread on the top of the bun.  I was happy with the assembly, because the burgers and accoutrements did not slide around, although they had some slippery potential.  I learned a couple lessons, and am ready to take the Prongburger on for real on the 17th.

So that was practice.  Not the greatest cell phone shot, but check back for the real thing in a couple of weeks!