First published back in September 1999, ‘Conjuring Dark Delicacies’ was a horror themed cookbook, containing a collection of recipes created by writers, artists and actors associated with the Los Angeles bookshop – Dark Delicacies. Contributors included Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Clive Barker, Tim Curry (of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’), actress Pamela Franklin, and William F. Nolan.
Copies of the cookbook were made available at a signing and recipe-sampling party Dark Delicacies hosted in North Hollywood on Sunday 26th September 1999. The cookbook was priced at $19.95 with $10 of each sale going to the NEVA Foundation, which helps abused and abandoned dogs.
Remaining copies were then sold through the Dark Delicacies website for a very short period afterwards.
The cookbook is A4 sized and bound using a wire-o ring-binding spine, clear plastic sheet cover protector, and a thicker black plastic back sheet.
DLS Synopsis:
The cookbook starts off with a short, witty one-page introduction by the dogs – Gomez and Morticia – the much-loved pets of Del & Sue from the NEVA Foundation.
The cookbook not only contains recipes, but also some stories about how the recipes came to be, and other fun contributor input.
Breakfast Treats:
- Lemon Lux Muffins – Andrew Vachss – 1 Page
- Von’s Breakfast Casserole – Yvonne Navarro – 1 Page
- Pain – Perdu (Lost Bread) a.k.a. Creole French Toast – Sabrina Fontaine Kaleta – 1 Page
Appetizers:
- Dick’s Hot Bites – Richard Laymon – 1 Page
- Bean Dip del Diablo – Robert Massello – 1 Pages
- “I Don’t Care What It Tastes Like There’s No Seafood In This Dip” Dip – P.D. Cacek – 1 Page
- Hell Fire, Smoke & Brimstone Wings – Jospeh B. Mauceri – 2 Pages
- Miss Staci’s Amazing Avocado Dip – Staci Layne Wilson – 1 Page
- Mozzarella Vincenzo – Staci Layne Wilson – 1 Page
- Werewolf Treats – Dicksie Dudeney – 1 Page
Sauces:
- The Barbecue Sauce Of HATE! – John & Micky Shirley – 2 Pages
Soups, Stews & Dumplings:
- Staci Layne’s Lentil Soup – Staci Layne Wilson – 1 Page
- Cock-a-Leekie Soup, With Herb Balls – Brian Hodge – 2 Pages
- Darkwater Stew – Ron Beznay – 1 Page
- Irish “Drinking Man’s” Stew – Peter Atkins – 1 Page
- Scandinavian Heart Stew – Ralan Conley – 1 Page
- Dumplings “For Dinner Again” Charlie – Pamela Edwards – 1 Page
Side Dishes:
- Pirogi – Pat Fish – 1 Page
- Waldorf Salad Titanica – Ed Bryant – 2 Pages
- Esophagus Spears – Robert Steven Rhine – 1 Page
Entrees:
- David Quinn’s Chicken Choke – David Quinn – 1 Page
- Swampy Chicken – Jo Fletcher – 1 Page
- Chicken Kerala – Bobbi Sinha-Morey – 1 Page
- The Devil’s Own Chicken Paprikash – Debbie Smith – 1 Page
- Cajun (Tastes Like) Chicken Sandwiches – Gary Jonas & Bill Allen – 1 Page
- Cornish Hen Dinner – Allan Gilbreath – 1 Page
- Roghan Josh – Bobbi Sinha-Morey – 1 Page
- Dark Del’s Deviled Pork Chops – Del Howison – 1 Page
- Stuffed Turkey Buzzard – Dicksie Dudeney – 1 Page
- Riders Of The Apocalypse Chilli – Joseph B. Mauceri – 2 Pages
- Robert E. Howard Chilli Con Carne – Stephen Jones – 1 Page
- Chillin’ Chile – Kathy Ptacek – 1 Page
- Roasted Pig’s Stomach – C.J. & J.F. Conzalez – 1 Page
- Devilish Chicken Burritos & Satan’s Salsa – Philip Nutman & Anya Martin – 2 Pages
- Ghoulash – Tippi N. Blevins – 1 Page
- Old Fashioned Country Meatlump – Christine DeLong Miller – 1 Page
- Happy Haunting Meatloaf – Chuck Williams & Kerry Fitzmaurice – 1 Page
Seafood:
- “Hotter Than Hell” Sautéed Shrimp – Brian Pulido & Esly vandeWeerdt-Schieffelers – 1 Page
- Pappy’s Deep Fried Deep Ones – Cullen Bunn – 2 Pages
- Shrimp Mykonos – Jack Ketchum – 1 Page
- Deep Shrimp – Ralph Robert Moore – 3 Pages
- Fisherman’s Pie – Tim Curry – 2 Pages
Pastas:
- Lunchtime Gloop – Stephen King – 1 Page
- Tagliolini al Limone – Todd McIntosh – 1 Page
- Cheese Spaghetti With Bells On – Simon Clark – 1 Page
- Professor Pott’s Anti-Vampire Pasta – Nancy Holder – 1 Page
Beverages:
- Bailey’s & Soda – Wendy Webb – 0.5 Pages
- Blood & Guts Punch – Kris Erickson – 0.5 Pages
- F. Paul’s Planted Punch – F. Paul Wilson – 1 Page
- Cranium Coolers – Robert Steven Rhine – 1 Page
- Absinthe – Jospeh B. Mauceri – 1 Page
- The Black Death Martini – Lisa Morton – 2 Pages
- Damn Good Coffee – P.D. Cacek – 1 Page
Desserts:
- Lisa’s Killer Bars – Lisa Bothell – 1 Page
- Grandma Bourbon Balls – Joseph B. Mauceri – 1 Page
- Catbox Casserole – Tony Gleeson – 1 Page
- Easy Ice Cream Pie – Valerie Harden – 0.5 Pages
- Pamela’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – Pamela Franklin – 0.5 Pages
- Poppy Z. Cake – Christa Faust – 1 Page
- Carrot Halva – Bobbi Sinha-Morey – 1 Page
- Summer Pudding – Tim Curry – 2 Pages
Nightmares:
- Anthropophagy a la King – Scott Nicolson – 1 Page
- To Make A Psychopath or Psycho a la Cart – Arturo Rubio Jr – 2 Pages
- A Recipe For Trouble – Lawrence Schimel – 1 Page
- Journeybread Recipe – Lawrence Schimel – 1 Page
- Herbal Magic – David Marshall – 2 Pages
The cookbook also contains illustrations throughout by Gak, Mel Whitlow, Nick Bougas, Barry Barnes, Steve Rude, Pamela Edwards, Pat Fish, Mark Williams, Clive Barker, John Shamburger, Frank Dietz, Steven Hughes, Jason Voss, Bernie Wrightson, Frank Forte, Jeff Haas, Tony Gleeson, and Colleen Crary.
DLS Review:
Well, this is an odd one to review on DLS! When I set out to publish my own book reviewing website, I never envisaged I’d be reviewing a cookbook. But then one of the founding principles of the website was to catalogue and document publications within the genre. A sort of completist’s drive to record publications. So here I am, setting down my thoughts on the Dark Delicacies’ cookbook.
First off, the absolute DIY look of the publication might put a few people off. It’s essentially a ringbound book which has been bound using the same process as schools and offices use. Okay, so storing it on a bookshelf next to other titles might not look all that neat, as it essentially has no spine other than the o-wire rings. Nevertheless, like with fanzines and other DIY publications, the absolute rawness of the creation is where much of its beauty lies.
Aside from the binding, the overall presentation of the piece is excellent. You’re treated to a wealth of black & white illustrations throughout the cookbook, by a host of talented artists and authors who also have a knack for illustration. Then the way the cookbook is sectioned off by the course, or category of food, each with a short contents page of its own, works well with how it’s all come together.
For the recipes themselves? – well, I’m not going to even try to review them! Let’s be honest, they’re largely tongue-in-cheek concepts, for shits and giggles more than anything else. Although I might be tempted to try one or two out sometime. If I do, I might update this review to detail the outcome.
For me the highlights of the cookbook are the anecdotal ponderings and the whimsical stories that some of the contributors have included alongside their respective recipes. We have US author John Shirley (and his wife Micky) musing about those who include ‘love’ as a secret ingredient, then why not ‘hate’? This then leads to a hilarious step-by-step recipe, with short, snappy interjections, for how ‘hate’ can be added to the dish. Frigging brilliant!
Then we have author Brian Hodge giving us a short piece on his Scottish background, as well as Ed Bryant giving us a witty tongue-in-cheek background on Waldorf salad. We have Cullen Bunn’s equally humorous history of his ‘Deep Ones’ dish, involving his beloved grandad disappearing and leaving him with his ‘Book o’ Secrets’ in which this very recipe came from.
US author Ralph Robert Moore gives us a three-page rundown of shrimps and his in-depth knowledge of the seafood, including how shrimp are sold in the US.
However, it’s at the ‘Nightmares’ section where things get a little more surreal and creative with the topic at hand.
Cinematographer Arturo Rubio Jr’s take on a cookbook recipe is a little more out-of-the-box, with his recipe for making a psychopath. You have ingredients like 5/42 tsp. of total coolness, 7/7 tsp. of knowledge of being able to use anything as a weapon, and 8/13 oz. of a knack at children’s nursery rhymes. The directions that proceed these ingredients are equally as wacky and amusing. Oh, and Arturo calls himself Dr. Vile Von Vicious in this double-page of black comedy deliciousness. Brilliant!
US author Lawrence Schimel gives us two recipes, one taken directly from Bruce Coville’s children’s anthology ‘Book Of Monsters II’ (1996) which goes through the seven steps for a recipe for trouble. The second is an eleven-step-guide to creating a horrific fairy tale concoction, which was originally published within the ‘Black Thorn, White Rose’ (1994) anthology.
Finally, publisher David Marshall offers up a witty ‘recipe’ for relief of anaemia, in which he amusingly tells us a story about how the recipe came from a witch’s handbook which fell into his possession.
As you’ve probably gathered from the above, the cookbook is bursting at the seams with creative talent, having fun with the notion of providing a horror-inspired recipe. For completists and collectors, the cookbook offers up a huge number of names from the horror genre, collaborating within this one DIY publication. It’s also rare as hen’s teeth these days.
The cookbook runs for a total of 130 pages.
The copy owned by DLS Reviews (see below photos) is signed by the following contributors:
Sabrina Fontaine Kaleta, Richard Laymon, Robert Masello, Mel Whitlow, Nick Bougas, Barry Barnes, Staci Layne Wilson, William F. Nolan, Steve Rude, Peter Atkins, Pamela Edwards, David Quinn, Frank Dietz, Del Howison, J.F. Gonzalez, Chuck Williams, Jason Voss, Bernie Wrightson, Robert Steven Rhine (along with his fingerprint!), Lisa Morton, Rick Pickman, Tony Gleeson, Christa Faust, Arturo Rubio Jr, and Pamela Franklin.
© DLS Reviews
© DLS Reviews
