D. Walker - The Snacking Dead

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

¼ cup lingonberry preserves (or red currant or sour cherry preserves)

1 Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2 In a medium skillet set over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl. Mix in the pork, bread crumbs, ¼ cup cream, egg, and allspice. Season with salt and pepper. Use lightly dampened hands to roll the meat mixture into 1 tablespoon balls and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the meatballs are golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.

3 In a large saucepan set over medium heat melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Whisk in the flour until a smooth paste forms. Gradually whisk in the remaining ¼ cup cream and the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and whisk in the sour cream. Add the meatballs to the sauce and stir to coat. Divide among serving plates, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with lingonberry preserves.

Make an impact with color by drizzling the livid jam over the meat in splattered lines.

H e felt strangely sad,looking down at the biter who’d come this close to gobbling him up in his sleep.

Was this the strange creature he’d been tracking? It pretty much fit the bill, with that silkscreened skull on its sweatshirt. He tried to imagine its face before the skin had dried away, before its hair matted, and before its mouth grew stained with blood and gore. It must have had a name and a family.

He’d keep the cleaver he had found. He figured if the walker had carried it this long it must have been important. It was near as good as his hatchet. He could sharpen it up and use it.

He wondered again about Pam and her peculiar tastes. He hoped she had been spared all of this.

He gathered his stuff to set off. He wasn’t far from the friends who had yelled at him, threatened his life, shot at him, and become his family since the outbreak. It had taken the snacking dead to bring kindness into his life again.

Something rustled in the brush behind the sawmill. He found hoof tracks in the mud. Could’ve been deer, except for the fresh rooting hole in the mud. A feral hog had just been here looking for a snack.

He was done hunting the dead. He was going to hunt himself a hog and barbecue it. He could feel the sauce running down his chin just thinking about those ribs.

But he’d wait till he got back to the group. In a world where we’re all on the menu, you grill together or die alone.

The apocalypse was no picnic, but you didn’t have to starve either.

serves 6

RIBS

2 racks baby back ribs (5 to 6 pounds)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced

1 cup pomegranate juice or orange juice

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

BARBECUE SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small red onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon chili powder ¼ teaspoon grated orange zest

1½ cups ketchup

⅓ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup honey

¼ cup bourbon

¼ cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon hot sauce, or more to taste

1 Preheat the oven to 325°F. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Scatter onions on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the ribs on top of the onions and pour the juice and 2 tablespoons vinegar over the top. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake until the ribs are very tender, about 2 hours. Store the ribs in the cooking liquid until ready to serve. Ribs can be cooked 2 days ahead.

2 To prepare the barbecue sauce, heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat, and sauté the onion until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 minutes longer. Add the chili powder and orange zest and cook for 1 minute. Add the ketchup, vinegar, honey, bourbon, mustard, Worcestershire, and hot sauce and simmer uncovered on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until darker in color and very thick. Let cool then puree in a blender until smooth. Sauce can be made up to 1 week ahead.

3 Light a grill or preheat your broiler. Generously brush the ribs with the barbecue sauce and grill, basting with more sauce, until the meat is glazed all over and crisp around the edges, about 10 minutes. Serve with extra barbecue sauce on the side.

The meat on baby back ribs shrinks away from the bone during cooking, creating a convenient handle for picking them up. Ribs are one snack the living and the undead can all agree on.

A fter the end of the civilized world,a very bad day at work, or binge-watching a favorite TV series, a cocktail can be the one thing that stands between you and a murderous rampage. Straight spirits, wine, or beer are effective, but nothing says “society endures” quite like a mixed drink.

Make ’em strong, make ’em count.

Really just a Zombie by another name. The guy who invented that cocktail was a Prohibition-era bootlegger called Donn the Beachcomber, so you know it’s apocalypse-ready.

serves 1

2 ounces añejo rum

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce dark rum

½ ounce lime juice

¼ ounce pomegranate juice

¼ ounce apricot brandy

¼ ounce 151-proof rum

1 or 2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 cherry, for garnish

1 pineapple spear, for garnish

1 mint sprig, for garnish

Combine all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. (Or, combine in a blender and blend on low speed, then add ½ cup of ice cubes and blend for 5 seconds on high.) Strain into a Tiki mug, Collins glass, or washed pickle jar. Add garnishes and serve with a swizzle. If no appropriate swizzle can be found, see below.

HOW TO ROAST A BONE SWIZZLE: If plastic swizzles are scant, you may be forced to resort to nature. The bone swizzle looks great and shows that you’re not messing around.

Reserve a set of long, small bones from a roasted chicken: thighs, wing bones, or even drumsticks are great. Make sure all the meat and soft material has been gnawed away. Roast at 275°F for 1 to 2 hours, until thoroughly dried out. When finished, your bone swizzle will make an assertive statement in any mixed drink.