That’s So Raven

October 14, 2024 steveboilardLeave a comment

Attentive readers will recall that I recently returned from Poe Fest in Baltimore. Edgar Allan Poe produced a large number of poems and short stories in his short lifetime, though most people today could probably only name a few of them. One of those well-known works is his poem “The Raven,” which Poe published in 1845. He was paid $9 for it.

*The last stanza of the poem, in Poe’s hand.*

Though it never made Poe rich, the poem made him famous. It has been reprinted in countless publications, and various artists have tried their hand at illustrating the atmospheric, spooky tale. At Poe Fest I had the opportunity to admire 27 steel-plate engravings that famed illustrator Gustave Doré made for an 1884 edition of “The Raven.” (Sadly, Doré died just months before that publication saw the light of day.) Poe had himself died in 1849, so Doré couldn’t consult with the author when he made his illustrations. Still, it’s a haunting series of etchings.

Indeed, I was so taken by the etchings that I immediately purchased a modern volume that includes Dore’s illustrations, along with the original text.

*Nice Addams Family house on the cover.*

Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, I see that the publisher managed to mar Poe’s prose. Some of the words have changed (“farther” instead of “further,” “thus” instead of “this”), and the punctuation is quite different from that used in more authoritative texts. However, this does beg the question: How do I know which version of “The Raven” is truly authoritative? I was unable to find the full poem in Poe’s handwriting (which to me would be the gold standard), but know that we here at Chasing Phantoms are on the case!

*Clearly the bottom of this page contains a couple of obvious typos.*

All this talk of “The Raven” leads us to today’s Treat of the Day. This week we’re shifting our focus to Halloween-themed cocktails. Providentially, I stumbled upon a recipe for something called The Raven. It combines 1 oz rum, 1 oz vodka, 1 oz. Blue Curacao, and 1/2 oz Chambord. A quick check of my bar confirmed that all those ingredients are present, so let’s make one!

Conceptual Soundness: I think the concept here is simply leveraging the Raven name by making a dark, almost black, drink. It’s not a bad concept, although it’s not especially inventive. Let’s give it 2.5 points.

Appearance: Strictly following the recipe, the color is not especially dark; its mainly just Curacao blue. So I added an activated charcoal capsule (left over from an earlier Halloween effort), which seems to have done the trick. Now my drink is dark like a raven–it clearly screams “Halloween.” That’s worth 3 points.

Taste: This drink tastes festive, or at least it comes across as something that’s special and different from your average cocktail. There’s a lot going on here: The first thing you taste is the rum, and then the vodka’s extra boost of booziness hits you soon afterward. Next you notice the sweet citrus from the blue curacao. On the finish, you get more sweetness and some distinct raspberry notes from the Chambord. Those various layers actually works together quite well. The Raven has two ounces of 80-proof spirits, plus another 1.5 ounces of 25-proof liqueurs, so it’s probably not a good idea to pound these drinks. Ask me how I know. 4 points.

Value/Ease of Preparation: As we shift our Treat Reviews to cocktails this week, the rating category of “value” will be replaced with “ease of preparation.” This category combines the ready availability of ingredients, the hit they make to your wallet, and the complexity of the recipe. In the case of The Raven, this is a simple drink to prepare. The ingredients are pretty much staples in a well-stocked home bar. I give it 3.5 points.

Total Treat Score: 13 points/16 points.

MAILBAG

Attentive readers will recall that our first Halloween treat review this month was the Starbucks Racoon Pop. We gave it a middling score of 8 out of 16 points.

Loyal reader Detlef K reports that his granddaughter recently got her hands on a raccoon pop, possibly as a result of her mother having read our review. Sadly, the little tyke didn’t seem too taken by the treat.

BTW: We’re told that this is a girl who has no problem shoving lasagna and zucchini into her water glass and drinking the soggy mess.

It’s Easy Being Green

October 13, 2024 steveboilard1 Comment

Today’s Halloween-themed spotting is at the home of son Ian and daughter-in-law Katelyn. It’s a 12-foot skeleton that makes even me feel short. Note his smaller companions lounging on the porch. What, that’s not scary enough for you? Then check out the scene at night:

*Even more spooky: The skeletons on the porch have fleshed out!*

Note how the scene becomes spookier with the addition of unexpected color–in this case, the red and blue light that washes over the whole scene.

The folks at Mars, Inc. seem to understand this principle, and have applied it to the inveterate Snickers bar. Specifically, in an effort to dress up the candy bar for Halloween, they have changed the color of the nougat from light tan to “ghoulish green.” Let’s determine whether this is a trick or a treat.

Conceptual Soundness: Many food purveyors will try to goose sales by giving their product a holiday tweak. Examples include red and green M&Ms, green beer, and eggnog ice cream. Such moves are intended to renew interest in the product and create a sense of ephemeral exlusivity. In this case, Mars has taken a classic candy bar that everyone knows well, and added green food coloring to the nougat. It’s definitely different and does radiate a bit of a Halloween vibe. That’s worth 3 points.

Appearance of the Treat: The most noticeable difference is the green wrapper. And in case you’re colorblind, they print the words “Ghoulish Green” just under the traditional Snickers logo. Now, I’m not sure there’s anything “ghoulish” about green. I assume the word choice had more to do with alliteration.

If you remove the wrapper, the candy bar looks identical to any other Snickers bar you’ve eaten. But bite into it (or cut it in half, as I did) and you see that the nougat is the exact same shade of green as the wrapper.

Now, these are “fun size” bars, which means they’re less than an ounce. You probably will eat it in two bites. So that leaves just those few moments between the first and second bite to admire (or even notice) the green nougat. Still, it’s novel, and the color is truly putrid. As a Halloween gag (if you’ll pardon the pun), it’s worth 3 points.

Taste: These taste exactly the same as any other Snicker’s bar. The “ghoulish green” nougat has no impact on the flavor. Now, in my opinion, the Snickers bar is a delicious candy, with the ideal balance of caramel, nougat, chocolate, and peanuts. But if you’re going to hype a candy as being redesigned for Halloween, shouldn’t you also give it a new taste? Maybe a little mint, which is suggested by the green color? Or substitute pistachios for the peanuts? The people at Mars missed a huge opportunity here. Treats sporting a different look should taste different.

Now, I should probably admit here that, to me, Halloween Oreos, with their orange filling, taste much better than regular Oreos. I realize the package says “same great taste,” and the ingredient list is identical to regular Oreos. But somehow I find the Halloween Oreos to be far tastier than the regular ones. I am open to the possibility that the visual appearance of the Halloween Oreo somehow tricks my brain into thinking I’m tasting something different. But that’s OK. As we know, the placebo effect can cause genuine health improvements in clinical trials. So, as far as I’m concerned, if I think the Halloween Oreos taste better, then they taste better.

*“Same great taste” my ass; these taste much better than the run-of-the-mill Oreos.*

Anyway, my point is simply that the “ghoulish green” Snickers do not taste any different than regular Snickers. So I can’t give them any points for taste. Zero points.

Value: The fun-size “ghoulish green” Snickers come in a bag that also includes “ghoulish green” Twix bars. You get 35 bars to a bag, which costs $12 on sale at Safeway. That works out to 35 cents per bar, which really isn’t bad. Let’s give it 3 points.

Total Treat Score: 9/16 points. If you like Snickers, then you should get yourself a bag.

Speaking of bags, our mailbag received the following item which is evocative both of The Birds and Poe:

"A Dying WIsh" · 2024 Halloween treats · cemeteries

Not a Slam Dunk

October 6, 2024 steveboilard1 Comment

That headline has multiple meanings for today’s post.

First, just to get this out of the way, I did not receive the Saturday ‘Visiter’ Award last night at Poe Fest’s Black Cat Ball. But I’m pleased to report the award went to a worthy recipient: Sherrill Joseph has been writing a book series aimed at a youth audience that features a group of young investigators that evokes the Hardy Boys. The fifth book of her series is centered on Edgar Allan Poe, and it garnered the award. I spent much of the day yesterday with Sherrill and her daughter Nicole, and I couldn’t be more pleased that she won.

*Sherrill and I promoting our SVA-nominated publications at Poe Fest.*

So, before we move on to the Treat of the Day, permit me to share a few photos from last night’s Black Cat Ball.

*Sherrill and I with Vincent Price’s daughter, Victoria (center).*

*Four of the authors at the Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards: AA Rubin, Sherrill Joseph, yours truly, and Holly Knightley.*

OK, now let’s move from one not-a-slam-dunk to another.

Across the street from my hotel (the historic Lord Baltimore Hotel) was a Dunkin’ [Donuts]. I immediately recalled the delicious Spider Donut that I reviewed a couple of years ago. Could I experience the magic again?

Alas, the Spider Donut has crawled off Dunkin’s menu. The only “fall treat” they had on offer was a Pumpkin Muffin. Resignedly, I took the muffin and walked back to the hotel lobby to conduct this review.

Conceptual Soundness: C’mon. It’s an unadorned pumpkin muffin. It’s not a complicated concept, but neither is it especially interesting. 2 points.

Appearance of the Treat: Unlike the Starbucks muffin that I reviewed a few days ago, this is deeply cracked and misshapen. It looks like the unholy spawn of a bear claw and a Soufflé. The color is reasonably pumpkin-y, but I suspect the presence of food coloring. There’s no cream cheese or pepitas or anything to make this muffin special. They couldn’t even be bothered to use a seasonally-appropriate orange muffin cup. 1 point.

Taste: The taste is actually pretty good. There’s a slight pumpkin flavor, and it’s sweet, but not to the point of cloying. Unlike some grocery store muffins, this has no artificial or off taste.

The cake is very moist, to the point of being almost soggy. It would have benefited from another couple of minutes in the oven. The top has none of that slight crusting that I find so satisfying to bite through. Instead, the whole muffin just kind of collapses on contact. But then, somehow, each bite of this overly moist muffin ends with a dry, desiccated, crumbly finish. It seems to defy the laws of baking physics.

Overall, despite the decent taste, the eating experience is fatally compromised. The mouthfeel just doesn’t work, and the unadorned cake is so homogeneous that you’re sick of it by the time you finish. This is why breakfast cereals have crunch berries or marshmallow moons or whatever. 1 point.

Value: I paid $2.75 for this is downtown Baltimore. The price compares favorably to the Starbucks cream cheese muffin ($3.95). But you’ll recall that was a delicious treat; this is not. I’ll score the value at 2 points.

Total Treat Score: 6/16 points.

Now it’s time to leave Baltimore and say goodbye to Poe Fest. Tomorrow our seasonal treat focus will shift to Halloween candy.

"A Dying WIsh" · 2024 Halloween treats

Masques and Muffins

October 4, 2024October 4, 2024 steveboilard2 Comments

I have arrived in Charm City for Poe Fest. To refresh your memory, I am here because my short story, “A Dying Wish,” has been selected as a finalist for the Poe Festival’s Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards. The winners will be announced tomorrow night at the sumptuous Black Cat Ball. Stay tuned for updates.

I’ve performed some light editing on my story since it appeared in serialized form last year, had it typeset, and had it printed for distribution at Poe Fest. I’d be happy to send a copy to interested readers of this blog as well; just drop me an email. The story is also available at the Kindle store for 99 cents, if that’s how you prefer to do your reading. Here’s the link.

Tonight at Poe Fest we’re going to watch a special screening of the 1964 adaptation of Poe’s masterpiece, The Masque of the Red Death. The film stars Vincent Price and is directed by Roger Corman. Vincent Price’s daughter–Victoria Price–will be there to introduce the film. Notably and confusingly, her Wikipedia page says “Although Victoria is the daughter of a horror icon, she is not a fan of horror films, but she is a fan of horror film fans.” This should be interesting…

Meanwhile, let’s turn to our Seasonal Treat Review. Today’s entry is a fall classic: the Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffin.

Conceptual Soundness: As I said, this is a classic It’s essentially pumpkin bread in muffin form, with a generous dollop of cream cheese baked right in. Here’s how Starbucks describes it: “A spiced pumpkin muffin topped with sweet cream-cheese filling and a sprinkling of chopped, spiced pepitas.” Pepitas, by the way, are basically pumpkin seeds. (I had to look it up.) Anyway, this sounds like a winner. 4 points!

Appearance of the treat. This is an attractive muffin, if I may say so. It’s baked to perfection, with that golden brown color that you associate with pumpkin bread pulled straight from the oven. The top of the muffin generously spills over the paper-cup-constrained base. (Insert obvious joke about middle-age spread here.) A caldera on the summit of this muffin is filled with luscious cream cheese, and the whole thing is sprinkled with “pepitas” (though they look suspiciously like rolled oats). The paper muffin cup is orange, which is seasonally appropriate. All that’s missing is a cute little plastic muffin topper in the shape of a pumpkin or a black cat. I give the appearance of this treat 3.5 points.

Taste. In a word, delicious. The cake is moist, delivering a perfect mouthfeel that stands up to the cream cheese. The pepitas lend a (slightly) crunchy, salty, and savory flair that complements the moist and sweet cake. The cream cheese filling is rich and flavorful; it’s a far cry from the cloying, fake cream cheese that is mindlessly troweled onto a grocery store sheet cake. The proportions of the component ingredients are pleasing, and the size of this muffin is enough to satisfy during the long stretch between lunch and dinner. Plus, at 350 calories, this won’t unduly exacerbate your muffin top. 4 points.

Value: This cost me $3.95, which seems about right for what it is. Certainly it’s far better than Starbucks’ raccoon pop, which is a quarter the size and costs the same amount. 3 stars.

Total Treat Score: 14.5/16 points.

"A Dying WIsh" · Halloween · Halloween candy

October Eve

September 30, 2024September 29, 2024 steveboilard4 Comments

It’s September 30, which means two things:

It’s the 69th anniversary of James Dean’s death, and
October starts tomorrow!

October is my favorite month, for a number of reasons–the change in weather, the availability of darker and heavier beers on tap, and of course the approach of Halloween. Somehow all three of those come into play at the annual Poe Fest in Baltimore. The two-day festival is always held on the weekend closest to October 7, which of course is the date Poe died in Baltimore, under mysterious circumstances, in 1849. This year therefore marks the 175th anniversary of Poe’s death. Astute readers will recall I visited Poe Fest in 2019, and I’m returning this year for a very special reason. Let me explain:

Remember the story (“A Dying Wish”) I presented in serial form as part of last year’s October blog posts? I’m pleased to report that it’s been nominated as a finalist in Poe Fest’s literary contest called The Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards. So I will be attending the Festival, where the winner of the contest will be revealed at the Black Cat Ball on the night of October 5. I will of course report on the outcome, along with photos, the next day.

Meanwhile, as has become our tradition here at Chasing Phantoms, we’ll be making daily Halloween-themed posts throughout the month of October. This year we’re bringing back a fan favorite: Daily reviews of seasonal treats.

*Just part of the day’s work here at Chasing Phantoms.*

Now, I’m aware there’s been some controversy over how we’ve defined “seasonal treats” in the past. This year we’ll be expanding the concept to its breaking point, like a Nerd Rope that’s stretched until it snaps and scatters little Nerd candies all over the carpet.

So let me be perfectly clear: We are defining “seasonal treats” as any nutritionally-suspect foodstuffs traditionally associated with the month of October. Specifically, we will be reviewing treats in four categories, with (roughly) a week devoted to each category.

Week 1: Seasonal offerings from chain coffee shops (Starbucks, etc)

Week 2: Halloween candy

Week 3: Seasonal offerings from ice cream and donut chains (BR, Winchell’s)

Week 4: Seasonal alcoholic beverages

Yes, we here at Chasing Phantoms are willing to conduct this research for the benefit and edification of our loyal readership. Think of us as a Halloween-themed version of Consumer Reports, just without the standards or credibility.

The fun kicks off tomorrow. Be sure to share the news with your friends!