Give your Halloween table a spooky touch

Halloween is coming up fast, making this the perfect time to create some foods ideal for snacks and dinners.

Popular motifs like witches, spiders and ghosts are easy to create. Make your favorite sandwich, then use a cookie cutter to create these spooky lunchtime staples. Or use the cookie cutters to create tasty desserts.

Other holiday-themed entrees you can make include pumpkin pasties, witches’ finger sandwiches or a plain old cheese pizza with the toppings arranged to give the appearance of a carved pumpkin.

Toast the seeds from your jack-o’-lantern to create a delicious, seasonal treat, or shape toasted rice bars into holiday shapes. You can spread melted chocolate on top or use food coloring to give them an orange tint.

Decorate cupcakes with orange frosting to create a pumpkin and add features with licorice and candies for a jack-o’-lantern. If spooky is what you’re after, make a red punch and float a pair of icy hands in it. Fill a pair of clean, non-powdered and non-latex gloves with water, then tie them tightly with an elastic band so no water will leak out. Lay the gloves on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once they’re frozen, cut the gloves off and place the hands in the punch bowl.

Another unexpected option is to place plastic spiders — wash them first — into an ice cube tray, fill with water and freeze. Use the cubes to chill your beverages, giving guests a fright.

Serve your meals in a spooky atmosphere. Paint miniature pumpkins black and attach wings made of black foam sheets to create bats, or wrap helium-filled balloons in cheesecloth, allowing plenty of fabric to trail beneath, tying the cloth off under the balloon to create flying ghosts.

Here are some other Halloween-inspired ideas from www.tasty.co.

 

 

Spicy Smokey Potion

For sage simple syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 large fresh sage leaves

For cocktail:

1 cup ice

6 tablespoons pomegranate or tart cherry juice

4 tablespoons mezcal

2 tablespoons simple syrup

1 tablespoon lime juice

Dry ice

2 fresh sage leaves

1 cinnamon stick

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, water and sage leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, three to five minutes, until sugar is dissolved. Remove pot from the heat and let cool 10 minutes.

Place ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour in pomegranate juice, mezcal, simple syrup and lime juice. Shake well.

Add dry ice to a lowball glass and pour cocktail over the top. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and fresh sage leaf.

Makes one drink.

 

 

Pumpkin Chili Cheese Dip

3 pound pumpkin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup canned diced tomato

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup water

8 ounces cream cheese

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

Chips, for serving

Vegetable crudité, for serving

Cut off the top third of pumpkin. Remove pumpkin seeds and pulp, reserving the seeds for another use. Drizzle the inside of the pumpkin with one tablespoon olive, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Place pumpkin on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes, until slightly softened.

Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat, until shimmering. Add onion and garlic and sauté two minutes, until translucent. Add ground beef and cook seven to 10 minutes, until browned. Add kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, cinnamon, cumin and water, and stir to combine. Cook five minutes.

Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese and one cup Monterey Jack, and stir until incorporated. Remove from the heat.

Carefully pour chili cheese dip into the pumpkin. Sprinkle remaining Monterey Jack cheese on top, to the edge of the pumpkin. Return to the oven and broil two to four minutes, until cheese is golden brown. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Remove pumpkin from the oven and cool five minutes. Using oven mitts or kitchen towels, carefully move the pumpkin to a serving platter. Top with chopped chives and serve with chips and crudités for dipping.

Makes eight servings.

 

 

Butchered Hand Brie

4 rainbow carrots, peeled

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 wheel brie cheese

3/4 cup raspberry jam

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon honey

5 almonds, sliced

Crackers, for serving

Cut carrots to the lengths of fingers — two inches for the thumb, three inches for the pointer and ring fingers, 3-1/2 inches for the middle finger and 2-1/2 inches for the pinky. Use a vegetable peeler to round the tops slightly.

Place a sheet of puff pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Arrange brie wheel and carrots in the center to form a right hand. Top brie with raspberry jam.

Brush the outline of the hand with the beaten egg, then place the other sheet of puff pastry on top, pressing the pastry sheets together around the “hand” to seal. Using a paring knife, cut out the outline of the hand and remove excess dough. Brush all over with egg wash. Use a knife to create small incisions to reflect knuckles and fingernails. Chill puff pastry hand in the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, until pastry is puffed and golden brown. Carefully transfer the hand to a platter. Using a small spoon, add a small dab of honey to top of each finger. Press almonds onto each finger as fingernails. Use a paring knife to cut into the hand in a few places so the jam starts to seep out.

Serve immediately with crackers.

Makes four servings.

 

 

Spider Deviled Eggs

8 hard-boiled eggs

2 tablespoons black food coloring

1 cup water

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon green food coloring

Black olives

Use a spoon to carefully create cracks in hard-boiled eggs. Place the cracked eggs in a large bag. Add black food coloring and water. Close bag, mix around, then set aside for 15 minutes.

Rinse eggs in clean water and peel to reveal the cracked design. Cut eggs in half and separate the yolks from the whites.

Combine egg yolks with mayonnaise, mustard and green food coloring. Pipe mixture into the egg whites.

Garnish deviled eggs with an olive spider. Use half of a black olive for the spider’s body and olive slices for the legs.

Makes 16 servings.

 

 

Tombstone ‘Box’ Brownie Bites

2 boxes brownie mix

3 cups milk chocolate chips

Chocolate sprinkle, for decorating

Graham cracker, for decorating

Prepare the brownie mixes according to instructions on box. Pour each box into a greased 9-by-9-inch pan and bake according to instructions on box.

Cut each tray of brownies into 25 small squares. Form each square into a ball, rolling in palms until smooth.

Place milk chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth.

Turn a plastic sandwich bag inside out and hold it from the inside with one hand. Spoon a quarter of the milk chocolate into the bag. Turn the bag back out, making sure chocolate does not fall out of the opening. Seal it closed. Cut the corner of the bag, keeping in mind the more you cut off the larger your piping hole will be.

Coat brownie balls in melted chocolate using a fork. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and chill 20 minutes, until chocolate has hardened.

Place one milk chocolate brownie bite onto a clean surface. Using the flat end of a chopstick, poke a rectangular hole into the brownie bites. Break graham cracker in half into a rectangular shape. With the milk chocolate write RIP.

Zig zag the milk chocolate around the hole in the brownie, then stick the graham cracker in the hole. Coat the chocolate with chocolate sprinkles.

Makes 45 brownie bites.

 

 

Turkey and Zucchini–Stuffed Jack-o’-Lantern Bell Pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon pepper

1 zucchini, diced

1 cup diced tomato

8 orange bell peppers

1-1/2 cups rice, cooked

In a large skillet, heat oil. Cook onions and garlic in oil three minutes, until they start to soften. Add ground turkey, followed by salt, pepper and oregano. Stir and cook three to four minutes.

Add zucchini and diced tomatoes. Cook until zucchini has begun to soften, then remove from heat.

Cut the top off of the bell pepper low enough that the stem remains attached, saving the top. Remove the seeds.

Carve a jack-o’-lantern face using a steak knife or paring knife. Repeat with the rest of the bell peppers.

Place carved bell peppers in a baking dish. Spoon in a layer of cooked rice in the bottom, followed by turkey mixture and top with mozzarella cheese. Put top of the pepper back on top.

Bake in a 350-degree oven or 35 minutes, until peppers are tender and the cheese has melted.

Makes eight servings.

 

 

Halloween Feet Loaf

3 pounds ground beef

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 large white onion, minced, with 10 small slivers reserved

1 medium onion, halved

4 large eggs, beaten

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup fresh parsley

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

In a large bowl, combine beef, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard powder, cayenne, minced onion, eggs, bread crumbs, milk, parsley and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well until evenly combined.

Split meat mixture in half and place each half on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape each half into a foot. Press up to form an ankle, then hollow the top to make room for ankle bones. Add halved onion, cut side up, to each hollowed out space. Cut five toes on each foot and add reserved slivers of onion to make “toenails.”

Brush ketchup around the ankles to look like blood.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for one hour, until meat is cooked through.

Serve warm.

Makes 12 servings.

 

Halloween Marshmallow Pops

12 giant marshmallows

1 10- ounce bag candy melts

Assorted sprinkles

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Insert a lollipop stick into each marshmallow.

Melt candy melts according to package directions. Working with one marshmallow at a time, spoon melted candy over the sides of each marshmallow, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Immediately coat with festive sprinkles.

Place marshmallow on prepared baking sheet until the candy coating is set.

Repeat with remaining marshmallows.

 

 

Spooky Chocolate Apple Pops

4 sticks chocolate cookie sticks

8 mini chocolate sandwich cookies

2 apples

1 cup semisweet chocolate melts

1 cup jumbo marshmallow

8 lollipop sticks

To make spiders, vertically cut each chocolate cookie stick into eight even pieces. Insert two pieces into each side of the mini chocolate sandwich cookies.

Cut each apple through the top into four thick, round slices and remove the seeds. Insert a lollipop stick into the base of each slice.

Place chocolate melts in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave one minute, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.

Dip the apple pops into melted chocolate to coat completely, letting excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place apple pops on a silicone mat or parchment paper and refrigerate five minutes, until chocolate sets.

Place marshmallows in a separate microwave-safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds, then stir. Let sit for 10 to 20 seconds, until cool enough to handle safely.

Working quickly, pick up a bit of melted marshmallows with your fingertips, spread it out to create a web and place over an apple pop, adding more layers of marshmallow web until desired look is achieved. Repeat with the remaining pops. Place a spider on each pop.

Pops will keep for a few hours at room temperature.

Makes eight servings.