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You are here: Home / Food / Throw a Legend of Sleepy Hollow Party; The Menu From The Book

Throw a Legend of Sleepy Hollow Party; The Menu From The Book

Food· Halloween· Sleepy Hollow· Thanksgiving· Washington Irving

25 Oct

Such heaped-up platters of cakes of various and almost indescribable kinds, known only to experienced Dutch housewives! There was the doughty doughnut, the tenderer oly koek, and the crisp and crumbling cruller; sweet cakes and shortcakes, 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! I want breath and time to discuss this banquet as it deserves, and am too eager to get on with my story. Happily, Ichabod Crane was not in so great a hurry as his historian, but did ample justice to every dainty.

-The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving

Sleepy-Hollow-dinner-party-final-copy

[This Legend of Sleepy Hollow feast was originally posted in 2014. I’ve since updated photos, included references for those hoping to do their own reading and updated the historical recipes based on recent research]

Every Halloween brings a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in which lanky schoolteacher Ichabod Crane is pursued towards the bridge by the Headless Horseman.

First published in 1820, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was included in The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, a collection of 34 essays and short stories.

To recreate the feast Ichabod partakes in at the Van Tassels, we need to take a step back in history to explore the food that would have been served, not only in 1790 when Sleepy Hollow was set but also in the region. New York State’s Hudson Bay, where the town of Sleepy Hollow is located, has a history of Dutch colonization dating back to the seventeenth century.

Legend-of-Sleepy-Hollow-food-menu

If you’re interested in following up with your own reading, two books provided insight (links will lead you to Amazon).

  • Food in Colonial and Federal America walks the reader through the availability of foodstuffs and discusses the cultural differences by region.
  • The Sensible Cook is an English translation of the favourite 1600s cookbook, ‘De Verstandige Kock’. The author also includes additional ‘modern’ variations from the Dutch colony in the US, providing additional insight and access to recipes likely used during Ichabod Crane’s time.

Four American cookbooks printed during the 1700s and early 1800s were also referenced, providing additional insight into the era. All of the following are available online through websites like Gutenberg.org.

  • The Complete Housewife by Eliza Smith. The first American printed cookbook in 1742. (links to a digital version from University of Michigan)
  • American Cookery by Amelia Simmons in 1796 (links to a digital version on Gutenberg.org)
  • The Art of Cooking Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse in 1805 (links to digital versions on archive.org)
  • and The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Child in 1829.

The recipes that follow are adaptations from all these books and hopefully help you present as authentic a meal for your Sleepy Hollow themed feast in the 21st century.

To help guide you through creating these recipes for your Sleepy Hollow party, you can also download a planning timeline to ease the process. I’ve created this feast twice, and while it is possible over two days, there are elements to some recipes that can be prepared in advance.
Ready to create the recipes for your Sleepy Hollow party? Click through the menu below for the recipes inspired by Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

The Authentic Sleepy Hollow Menu

doughnut and oly koek

cruller

sweet cakes

short cakes

ginger cake

honey cake

apple pie

peach pie

pumpkin pie

preserved plums, peaches, pears, quinces

the meats: broiled shad, roast chicken, slices of ham, smoked beef

milk and cream

tea

sleepy-hollow-spread

~~

Looking for more Sleepy Hollow inspiration? I’ve also created Sleepy Hollow Slapjacks and created a self-guided literary tour of Sleepy Hollow: 6 Stops in Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow

8 Comments

Previous Post: « 6 Stops in Washington Irving’s Sleepy Hollow
Next Post: Oly Koek and Doughty Doughnut recipes | Sleepy Hollow »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marisela | NomNom Kingdom says

    October 30, 2014 at 12:37 am

    Great Post! I love the legend of sleepy hollow! Everything looks delicious.

    Reply
  2. Carrie says

    October 30, 2014 at 12:40 am

    This is a such a gorgeous (and a little bit spooky) spread! Am in love with your whole site actually 🙂 Will definitely be back for the recipes.

    Reply
    • Bryton Taylor says

      November 7, 2014 at 12:07 pm

      Thanks Carrie!

      Reply
  3. Colette Smith says

    September 12, 2016 at 8:07 pm

    Trying to convince my daughter to do this for my Grandson’s first birthday party which is October 31st!!

    Reply
    • Bryton Taylor says

      September 15, 2016 at 9:53 pm

      Oh, that would be a beautiful theme! Lucky kid, having the best day of the year for his birthday 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kat Anderson says

    October 11, 2017 at 3:32 am

    Oh my! This is exactly what I’m looking for! My husband’s birthday is Oct. 13th, (on a Friday this year no less!) and he loves Sleepy Hollow, so I’m definitely cribbing for dinner ideas. Any suggestions for a vegetable that would go well? I need a little green for my kids health…

    Reply
  5. MJ Belko says

    October 25, 2018 at 7:46 am

    Please tell me you’re going to publish an actual cookbook!

    Reply
    • Bryton Taylor says

      October 28, 2018 at 12:03 pm

      Hopefully one day!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Bryt!
I'm a bookaholic, huge Harry Potter fan, and love throwing full blown themed dinner parties. Read More…

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I love love love Dr Seuss' illustrations, so I use I love love love Dr Seuss' illustrations, so I used a How The Grinch Stole Christmas book to easily (and cheaply) decorate my kitchen wall this year. Baroque style photo frames made them that bit fancier!⁣
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What a Halloween that was! 🎃 Incredibly gratef What a Halloween that was! 🎃
Incredibly grateful that we were able to celebrate, even though we did things a little differently. 
With a spider theme in mind, my parent's house was covered with a mixture of white weed mat and cheesecloth. The faux spiderweb material we only used on branches, since the darn stuff is sticky and a nightmare to remove! 🕷️🕸️
Kudos to mom who did the majority of the work, adding in faux dead leaves, branches and trees, turning springtime into one magical night of autumn. Dad was in charge of sound effects and lighting.
Typically we hide as characters or creatures in the garden which slows the kids as they come up to the door, giving them time to look around. They can never tell if something is going to move or not!
Being 2020 though, the 'tension' of coming up to the house was broken because the witches were outside. We placed ourselves at a table with an entrance and exit pathway, reminding them to "stay one broomstick apart"! Let's hope next Halloween we're back to 'normal'. We'll have to make up with some extra scares! 🎃  📸 Photos by our Halloween photographer, dad 😉 
#halloween2020 #HalloweenPerth #HalloweeninAustralia
'That' Sleepy Hollow scarecrow was the inspiration 'That' Sleepy Hollow scarecrow was the inspiration for our yard haunt back in 2016. Of course, we had to have him in a field of cornstalks... a tricky task when you live in Australia and it's actually coming into springtime!  Dried banana leaves, with its leaves shredded, were tied to old stick fencing. Lit from below, you would've believed the headless horseman was somewhere nearby. 🎃  #halloweenyardhaunt #Halloween 
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Decorating is a celebration of autumn and October- Decorating is a celebration of autumn and October- a small action that makes an ordinary moment meaningful. It's our way of acknowledging, enjoying, being excited, even grateful, for 'right now'. In years like this one, where we can find ourselves wishing for 2020 to be over, it can be even more important for  these moments. ⁣
So instead of focusing on how I found myself time-warped from early September to the end of October, I'm going to simply celebrate the best week of October.⁣
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200 years ago, Washington Irving published his short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Some homemade decorations like a Sleepy Hollow sign, faux 'cornstalks' mixed with some storebought decorations have my house filled with October vibes to celebrate the bicentennial. 🎃⁣
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[BILBO BAGGINS’ BUTTERED SCONES] It’s been qu [BILBO BAGGINS’ BUTTERED SCONES]  It’s been quite a year… but I couldn’t miss celebrating Hobbit Day!  Mixing up a batch of Bilbo’s buttered scones is an easy way to start the morning off right (and doable before work).  I’ve also jumped back onto Youtube to make these alongside you, but- and I guess this reflects the year- I’m changing up my approach to videos. I’ve relaxed my style, and slowed my pace to capture the comfort of baking and cooking that I love so much.  #lotr #lordoftherings #thehobbit #thelordoftherings #tolkien #jrrtolkien #middleearth #hobbitday #bookworm #hobbitweek #foodinliterature #bilbobaggins
In the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shad In the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Even darkness must pass.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Those were the stories that stayed with you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
That meant something.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Even if you were too small to understand why.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I know now.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Because they were holding on to something.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
-The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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