LOS ANGELES—Cassandra Peterson, better known as horror hostess Elvira, pushed back Monday against skeptical fans who assumed her upcoming cookbook was little more than a drunken stunt in paperback form.
“This is a real cookbook, with actual recipes,” Peterson insisted at a book signing, holding up a copy of Elvira’s Ghoulish Gourmet. “I promise it’s not just me telling you to dump more vodka into whatever you’re making—though, to be fair, that’s step two in about 80 percent of the dishes.”
Publishers confirmed the book contains more than 100 recipes, including “Boo-berry Pancakes,” “Coffin Casserole,” and “Blood Orange Margaritas That Will Absolutely End Your Marriage.” The appendix reportedly includes an entire section titled Vodka: Nature’s Holy Water, which critics say may have caused some of the confusion.
Peterson dismissed complaints, noting, “Look, I’m Elvira. If you expected kale smoothies and quinoa bowls, you wandered into the wrong dark castle.”
Early reviewers praised the book for being both usable and “alarmingly flammable.” One food blogger wrote that every recipe “pairs well with regret and at least one restraining order.”
