The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: The Feast

Haunting spirits, pumpkins, and a headless horseman! Washington Irving’s gothic story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is ripe with autumnal imagery. First published in 1819, the legend of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman has remained a popular ghost story to this day with several adaptations to film, television, and theatre over the years. 

The Legend

Irving’s original story tells of the bumbling and superstitious schoolteacher Ichabod Crane who is determined to win the hand of Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. Competing with Crane for Katrina’s hand is Brom Bones, a popular local boy. After a grand party at the Van Tassel farm, where Ichabod has been turned down by Katrina, Ichabod first comes face to face with the avenging spirit of the headless Hessian rider, a local restless spirit.

Tim Burton’s 1999 film version entitled Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, is one of the more recent adaptations. The film takes a great deal of liberties with the story. Not the least of which is turning Ichabod Crane into a bumbling detective recently come to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of beheadings. Although not particularly faithful to the source material, Sleepy Hollow nevertheless manages to evoke the gothic spirit of Irving’s tale.

While the film version makes it clear that the spirit of the Hessian rider is real, Irving’s story is a little less clear. We don’t really know if Ichabod was chased down by the Headless Horseman or by Brom Bones in disguise. This is one tale that is likely to remain a mystery.

The Feast

Ichabod Crane is distracted by the thought of food throughout Irving’s story. Golden fields of corn held the “promise of cakes and hasty-pudding.” The pigeons he saw were “snugly put to bed in a comfortable pie” and gazing upon fat pigs cheerfully running about “he saw carved out the future sleek side of bacon, and juicy relishing ham.” It’s no wonder that he was enraptured at the sight of the feast served at the Van Tassel’s autumnal party.

“Such heaped up platters of cakes of various and almost indescribable kinds, known only to experienced Dutch housewives! There was the doughty doughnut, the tender oly koek, and the crisp and crumbling cruller; sweet cakes and short cakes, ginger cakes and honey cakes, and the whole family of cakes. And then there were apple pies, and peach pies, and pumpkin pies; besides slices of ham and smoked beef; and moreover delectable dishes of preserved plums, and peaches, and pears, and quinces; not to mention broiled shad and roasted chickens; together with bowls of milk and cream, all mingled higgledy-piggledy, pretty much as I have enumerated them, with the motherly teapot sending up its clouds of vapor from the midst—Heaven bless the mark!”

Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The first time I read the description of this feast I knew that I wanted to make it. Sleepy Hollow is one of my favourite Halloween movies and here was a way to blend that gothic tale with my love of dinner parties. However, preparing such an extravagant meal is a difficult task, never mind finding enough guests to eat it all! So naturally, the menu is a somewhat slimmed down affair while staying true to the original feast. 

The Sleepy Hollow Menu

I have narrowed down the number of choices for each type of food to make the menu more manageable. For example, I made two doughnuts instead of three and two cakes instead of four. If the menu is still insurmountable, I suggest trimming the menu down even more. One pie, one cake, and perhaps buy the doughnuts, etc. Sleepy Hollow is such a fun atmospheric theme! It can certainly be enjoyed by anyone regardless of how much time they want to spend in the kitchen.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is also a rich source for themed cocktails. I came up with a few cocktails drawing inspiration from the book and the Tim Burton movie.

Pies

• Toffee Apple Pie with Vanilla Custard
• Pumpkin Cheese Pie with Ginger Snap Crust

Donuts

• Peach Crisp Filled Donut
• Hot Buttered Rum Glazed Cruller

Cakes

• Gingerbread Stout Bundt
• Spiced Mead Honey Cake

Preserves

• Spiced Wine Poached Pears

Savoury

• Cider Brined Roast Chicken
• Cheesy Orzo Kale Stuffed Pumpkins
• Spiced Cherry and Port Glazed Ham

Cocktails

• Katrina Van Tassel’s Spiced Apricot Cocktail
• The Headless Horseman Burnt Honey Old Fashioned
• Gunpowder Fig and Rosemary Cocktail