Hannibal: I thought you said your goodbyes.
Will: We’ve one last goodbye between us.
Saturday was the grand finale of Hannibal on NBC. And grand it was.
I decided to say goodbye to the show in my own way – with a “last supper.” I wanted to pay tribute to all three of the show’s seasons, and to the impact that it has had.
My Hannibal dinner (certified people-free!) included:
Mushrooms stuffed with homemade tomato sauce, spinach, and goat cheese (or mozzarella for my non-goat-cheese-liking friend)
…in honor of one of (one of!) my favorite stomach-turning tableaux in season 1.
1×02 – Amuse-Bouche
Angel hair with white truffle oil
A reference to the Angel-Maker…

1×05 – Coquilles
…and to Hannibal & Bedelia’s time in Italy, and the way in which two clever women caught the devil at his own game — one set the clues, and the other followed them.

3×01 – Antipasto

3×05 – Contorno
(rest assured, if I had a few hundred dollars to drop, there would have also been Bâtard-Montrachet)
Beet and blood orange carpaccio, with walnuts and spiced red wine vinegar reduction
Artfully arranged by my friend Lily, a fellow fannibal and a fantastic artist!
Those walnuts look kind of like brains, don’t they?

3×06 – Dolce
And just as messy!
And, of course, it had to be paired with a nice chianti.
Finally, after the quiet devastation of the episode, I had to end with something gentle and sweet. Enter:
Honey cake with an edible flower crown
With a nod to the honey bee lady…

2×04 – Takiawase
…one of our favorite sassy scientists…
…and to the dear, dear fannibals, who find joy, sweetness, laughter, and beauty in the darkest of shows.
To the showrunner Bryan Fuller, to all the writers, the cast and crew, to musician Brian Reitzell, to food stylist Janice Poon who has inspired me so much, and to everyone else who made this show possible: I hope that we haven’t seen the last of you, but even if we have, thank you for these three seasons of absolute beauty.