Jack-O-Lanterns, lore and local food

HAWLEY — Pumpkin King Jack Skellington may have ruled Halloween Town in Tim Burton’s classic The Nightmare Before Christmas but at The Settlers Inn carvers extraordinaire Grant Genzlinger and David Dunsmore are also rattling some bones on their annual quest for the perfect pumpkins. Their finished masterpieces will grace The Inn’s patch of intricately hand-carved creations that become the backdrop to the annual Storytelling & Harvest Dinner on Friday, Oct. 31. Settlers Inn guests will experience an evening of fantasy and science fiction featuring folklorist Josepha Sherman. The feast begins with cauliflower and parsnip soup with dried currants or pine nuts; Mountain Dell Farm lettuce, apple and cashew salad with buttermilk dressing; butternut squash flan; and crisp squash and roasted chippolini onion salad. Main dishes include pumpkin ricotta and sage raviolis with sherry brown butter sauce; lemon-thyme roast cornish game hen with brown basmati rice or broccolini; hazelnut crusted salmon with fig and honey compote and brown basmati rice or green beans; and marinated flank steak with red wine bordelaise and sweet potato mash or green beans. Dessert, of course, is devil’s food cake! Gathering time for The Inn’s Storytelling & Harvest Dinner is 6:30 p.m.; dinner begins at 7. The price is $55 per person, plus tax and gratuities. For more information visit www.TheSettlersInn.com or call 570-226-2993.