#BRAM STOKER

[texas-gothic]

Dracula Daily Prep: Gather Your Paprikash!

It's that time of year again. Even as we speak, Jonathan Harker has departed for Transylvania, and the unhallowed halls of Castle Dracula. And as he makes his way towards that foreboding country, he will encounter a singular, most enticing of dishes: Paprika Hendl, or as we might know it better, Chicken Paprikash!

This traditional Central European dish explodes in popularity each May as we all gather around our virtual mess hall to enjoy the spirit of this most influential of gothic novels. Perhaps you yourself are considering throwing together a pot this year? Well, if you are, let this be your guide.

So, first, let's discuss the most important of the ingredients here: authentic hungarian paprika. Now, the recipe I first used last year called only for Sweet Paprika, but I personally found that version to be a little bland. I'm remedying this by adding some Hot Paprika as well. However, this is just my personal experimentation. Hungarian Hot Paprika can in fact be very hot, so if you're not comfortable with anything too spicy, feel free to opt only for the Sweet Paprika.

(Both of these I had to order online.)

Next, is another very important addition. As youre gathering your basic cornerstones of cooking (namely yellow onion, roma tomato, and garlic for this recipe) you may find yourself passing up on something that could vastly improve your dish. I'm talking, of course, about Hungarian Wax Peppers. These peppers range in heat, from meak and mild to slightly hotter than you'd average jalapeño. As per instruction, you should only use one. But on my end, I found the single pepper to be a little underwhelming, and I had trouble picking out it's flavor. So, this year, I'll be using two of them.

I got these from Central Market, an upmarket gorcer on Westheimer. They're a cousin of HEB, and you can find one or two in every major city in Texas. If you're elsewhere, try an alternative like Whole Foods, or try to find a European or International food market in your area.

Next, let's talk chicken. You can't have Chicken Paprkiash without the chicken, after all.

You're going to want to go with dark meat cuts for this. Traditionally the dish would use a mix of legs and thighs. Personally, I suggest using only the thighs, which you'll want to get bone-in and skin-on. The thigh provides a flater surface for browning than the leg, as well as more meat.

(A note on food safety, raw chicken will usually only last 2-3 days in the fridge. So you'll want to grab that fairly close to the day you're actually cooking this. If not, you can do what I'll be doing, and sticking it in the freezer until about 24 hours before I start cooking.)

So, as you gather your meat, produce, and spice you're probably asking yourself, "what on Earth am I going to be eating this with?" And the answer to that is spaetzle! A popular dumpling present in lots of Central European cooking, this is exactly what you need to tie this all together.

Now, while you should be able to find some in the international isle of most major grocers, you might also have to visit an international food store, or perhaps something more upmarket. If none of these options work, then there are a variety of other side dishes that work just as well. Egg noodles are a very popular choice, and in my very American attempt last year, I found that mashed potatoes work especially well.

Now that you've got all these things together, you're very nearly done. All that's left is the thickener. Paprikash is thickened using a blend of flour, heavy whipping cream, and sour cream. We'll get onto preparing this mixture in my post on actually cooking the paprikash, but until then, acquiring them should be a cake walk at any place food items are sold.

Now that will conclude the actual grocery list for just the Paprikash itself, but I do have one more pointer on how to really liven up this meal. Now, if you're under 21 or if perhaps you take after our dear, depraved, beloathed Count

Then you can skip this next bit. As a wine professional myself, I find that a well paired glass can add a tremendous flare to nearly any already great dinner. In the case of something like Chicken Paprkiash, and keeping with the Central European theme, I could hardly think of a better match than a good German Pinot Noir, also known as a Spatburgunder. Pinot from Germany typically has a very light body and a refreshing acidity that plays very well with the rich and creamy sauce of Chicken Paprikash. The palate of earth and red fruit should always pair nicely with the smoke of the paprika, as well as being a general good partner for any chicken. I myself am going with this 2020 Rheingou from August Kesseler.

And with that, we are done! Hit those checkout isles and make sure to get home before dark. Terrible things have sway over the world once the sun has gone down. So if the crowd does keep you locked up until nightfall, make sure to graciously accept any crucifixes given to you by kindly, elderly grandmothers and inn keepers. But whatever you do, make sure to pop in on Friday, when I'll be sharing a step by step guide on taking these ingredients and turning them into a dinner that will make our good friend Jonathan go red as a fire truck!

Happy Dracula Week everybody!

#dracula daily #re: dracula #bram stoker #chicken paprikash #paprika hendl

[thatsbelievable]

#A Rentle Geminder #Ve Tolite Bo Bampires #vampires #vampire #Dracula #Bram Stoker

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Bigfoots

Brian Keene: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of crazy bear valley Keene: so these no-good outlaws are on the run from the law Keene: but Keene: they take a wrong turn Keene: into danger King: what kind of danger? Keene: bigfoots

Keene: its a no holds barred war to the death between cowboys and bigfoots Keene: cowboys, of course, have the advantage of intelligence and speed, as well as firearms Keene: but the bigfoots have the numbers

Keene: these bigfoots might just tear these cowboys to pieces Bram Stoker: oh but cowboys! Keene: whats the matter bram? you kill your cowboys all the time! Stoker: yeah but Stoker: i dunno, its different

King: how big are the bigfoots? Keene: eh pretty normal bigfoot sized, i'd say King: really? i expected they'd be bigger King: what about their feet? Keene: oh well, yeah, their feet are big Keene: like duh Keene: obviously

King: wait are their feet big compared to normal feet or big compared to bigfoot feet? Keene: normal King: so big compared to our feet? Keene: yes i Keene: you know the feet aren't really central to this story

Keene: ok so back to the story King: wait a second is it bigfoots or bigfeet? Poe: obviously, it's bigfoots Barker: what? that's insane edgar. it's obviously bigfeet King: no no i think edgar's right on this one Lovecraft: that doesn't make any sense Keene: so back to the story

Robert E Howard: howdy pardnas Keene: 2 Gun Bob! King: it's 2 Gun Bob! Lovecraft: 2 Gun Bob! Barker: 2 Gun Bob! Poe: whoa 2 gun bob! Stoker: OMG! 2 Gun Bob! Koontz: 2 Gun Bob! Howard: i reckon i got somethin' to say on the matter

Howard: when a cowpoke is a-ridin' through bigfoot country, he's gotta have his trusty six iron on his hip Howard: cuz ya might gotta wrassle some varmints Keene: you sound like you've had some experience with this Keene: with fighting bigfoots Barker: you mean bigfeet Keene: no

Howard: now if me an' my boys tangled with a posse of bigfoots, we'd give em a taste of the ol' pea shooter Keene: yeah but see, there's a lot of bigfoots Keene: way too many to shoot Howard: i ain't a-bothered, i'm a fast draw Howard: [twirling six shooter] possibly the fastest

JRR Tolkien: hello lads King: JRR Tolkien! what are YOU doing here? Tolkien: well i head something about Tolkien: BIG FEET Tolkien: big HAIRY feet perhaps? Tolkien: big hairy SMELLY feet? Tolkien: big gross hairy smelly feet with fur????

Keene: the story's not about big feet, it's about bigfoots Tolkien: Tolkien: oh Tolkien: how big are the bigfoots feet? Keene: normal sized Tolkien: normal for us or normal for bigfoots? Keene: you know what i'm just gonna call them sasquatchs going forward

#midnight pals #the midnight society #midnight society #stephen king #clive barker #edgar allan poe #dean koontz #hp lovecraft #brian keene #bram stoker #robert e howard #jrr tolkien

[brunetteillness]

#girlblogger #divine feminine #girlblogging #girlhood #hell is a teenage girl #lana del rey #beauty #lizzy grant #vampcore #vampyr #vampire #bram stoker

[strawberryxzx]

The vampire bites the woman he desires

my Twitter: https://twitter.com/Overdoserussa

#vampire #gothic #bram stoker #dracula #gothic subculture #i love vampires #bites

[dzgrizzle]

#Bram Stoker #Dracula #Henry Irving #Herman Melville #Moby Dick #Nathaniel Hawthorne #Mary Shelley #Frankenstein #Lord Byron

[mothmore]

something i am utterly obsessed with is the physical copy of dracula that i recently purchased that has , as part of its foreword , some of the original idea notes that bram stoker had about what dracula’s vampiric powers/traits would be.

one of these is that dracula’s likeness cannot be captured in a painting , he always looks like someone else.

which only leads me to imagine a scenario in which the count lines many of his castle hallways with paintings of himself throughout the centuries but none of them look the same and none of them look like him but jonathan can’t help but notice they all somehow look eerily similar.

he brushes it off , assuming they are simply counts of generations past.

#more of moth #dracula #re: dracula #dracula daily #jonathan harker #bram stoker #i woukd think thag the reason dracula has so many paintings of himself is that he finds it funny or smthn idk #he hires an artist and then they paint him and he pretends to be in a rage and threaten them #then he just eats them #it’s like his way to blow off steam #yeah #that’s it

[ryartchus]

: )

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #fyodor dostoevsky #bram stoker #fyobram

[prokopetz]

Modern vampire fiction: Vampires are scheming masterminds whose plots cannot be fathomed by mortal man.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897): Most people become mindless animals when they turn into vampires; Dracula is exceptional in that he retained any intelligence at all, but he's still dumb as hell, and his schemes literally only work because he's rich.

#media #literature #tropes #dracula #bram stoker's dracula #bram stoker #vampires #swearing #thesis: modern dracula would be vampire elon musk

[alexandria-burning]

Okay but if you put R.M. Renfield, Dorian Gray, and Victor Frankenstein in a room together who is winning that fight?

#the gay agenda #I just wanna know #I think I’d be funny #they might just weird each other out #victor frankenstein #marry shelley #bram stoker #dracula #the picture of dorian gray #oscar wilde #classic literature

[thatsbelievable]

#Did You Know? #facts #trivia #wolves #wolf #children of the night #Dracula #Bram Stoker #vampire #vampires #music

[evydraws]

"It seemed as if the whole, awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion."

Bram Stoker's Dracula | portfolio | prints

#dracula #acrylic painting #evelyne park #illustration #book illustration #traditional media #my art #traditional painting #book cover art #artists on tumblr #dracula daily #vampire art #gothic horror #horror art #dark fantasy #book cover #evydraws #fantasy artist #count dracula #bram stoker

[daemonologist]

reading Dracula has permanently altered my brain. i can never see count dracula as a generic character anymore. he isn't an ooky spooky horror monster he's the old bitch that imprisoned my boy johnny in his shitass castle and killed my beloved lucy and quincey. abraham van helsing isn't synonymous with badass monster hunters he's a 50-year-old dutch doctor who talks funny. i see things and think oh wow this is just like my favorite characters from my book that was written 126 years ago.

#count tagula #dracula #dracula daily #dracula spoilers #dracula daily spoilers #count dracula #lucy westenra #jonathan harker #quincey morris #abraham van helsing #classics #bram stoker #there is no dracula like *the* dracula and i can never go back #i can never think of dracula as just like. the generic vampire. no he's the original. the progenitor. he's the baddest bitch of them all #vulture chatter

[mournfulroses]

Bram Stoker, from The Collected Prose Works of Bram Stoker; “Dracula,” wr. c. 1897

#lit #bram stoker #dracula #prose #quotes #writings #selections #fragments #prose writing #p

[malallory]

ORBS

IT'S ALL BRAM'S FAULT

#Dracula daily #Dracula #bram stoker #were they cerulean bram? huh? #fanfiction #mal's #mal's dracula

[zegalba]

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, First Edition (1897)

#dracula #bram stoker #bram stocker's dracula #book #bat #1897