We have it on good authority that the best Halloween pantries are stocked with eye of newt, toe of frog, and other hard-to-find
ingredients like fillet of fenny snake.
But have no worries
ghosts and ghouls, even if you can't find lizard legs in your neck of the
woods, you can still cook up a howling Halloween with a few easy tips and tricks.
Want
to bake the most popular treats on the block? We'll share
devilishly delicious recipes
for cupcakes, cookies, caramel apples, and the
like. For more
enchanting Hallow's Eve fare, look to our posts for spirited cocktails, fiendish feasts, and our favorite pumpkin dishes of the season.
And
since this holiday is as much of a feast for the eyes as the palate,
we'll also serve up some fun party themes and decorating ideas to
entertain both kids and adults.
Because who knows who'll come
knocking this Halloween? It could be a darling Cinderella, a
brawny Superman, a terrifying Freddy or even an aspiring "Emeril
Lagasse."
So get in a wickedly good mood and start
celebrating—eggs are better off in frittatas and soufflés than on your
front door!
Whether baking for the family or the whole block, these creative
recipes are sure to be the devil's delight.
So get the kids in
the kitchen and play like crazy mad scientists or a cackle of
trouble-brewing witches. These
easy-to-make goodies are best prepared with a wicked imagination.
CEREAL KILLERS
Classic Rice Krispie treats get in the Halloween spirit
with the addition of candy corns, chocolate chips, peanut butter and
some colorful decorating. Best of all, they require no baking, so
they're simple, quick and oh-so-sticky good.
Halloween Crisp Candy Corn Treats Witches Hats Treats
Squashed Frogs
Lizards Eyes
Crispy Marshmallow Ghosts Monster Munch
COFFIN CAKES
Some of these cakes are made entirely from scratch, while others
look great almost right out of the box. Creamy fillings, fluffy
frostings and a bit of fall spice make them all decadently delicious.
One word of warning—the Kitty Litter Cake is not for the faint of
heart!
Halloween Pumpkin-Shaped Cake Spooktacular Chocolate Cupcakes
Monster Snake Cake
Halloween Party Cupcakes
Frosted Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Kitty
Litter Cake
CHILLING CONFECTIONS
No live tarantulas were harmed in the preparation of
these homemade candies. They're made with sweet ingredients like
butterscotch, chocolate and licorice, and they might be too good to
share. Hope you've got a good hiding place.
Halloween Spiders
Chocolate Spiders
Halloween Haystacks
Marshmallow Ghosts
Cobweb Fudge with Chocolate Spiders
CREEPY COOKIES
Show
off your baking skills with these extra-ordinary Halloween cookies.
They make sweet surprises in lunch boxes and thoughtful gifts for
neighbors and co-workers. Just wrap them up in cellophane and finish with
orange and black ribbon.
Halloween Cookie Pizza
Zombie Finger Snacks
Skeleton Bones
Halloween Thumbprints
Glowing Jack-O-Lantern Cookies
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
SCARED STIFF GELATINS
A favorite for kids of all ages, these ghoulish
deviations will have them giggling all night. And if you love to see
them squirm, share a little ghost story about how gelatin is REALLY made.
Eyeball Potion
Swamp Slime
Creepy Jigglers
Flesh-Toned Brain
We know Halloween is a time of year when all sorts of friends come
out of the woodwork. But fear not—whether you're cocktailing with
co-workers, treating the kids, or preparing a special dinner for your
"soul" mate, these macabre menus will help you do it up right.
Some
of these featured recipes call for fall's most heavenly ingredients,
while others play with gruesome presentation and a bit of devilish
spice. So go ahead and mix and match to your bloody heart's
content. They're all fiercely delicious.
FINGER FOODS
Otherwise known as "horrors d'oeuvres."
Zombie Eyeballs
Jack O Lantern Cheese Ball
Skeleton Bread
Eyeballs on Ritz
Salami Snake
Peanut Butter from Hell
Famous Waer Wolf Dip
Vampire Bread
DEVIL'S REPAST
Be on your guard–some of these spicy dishes are hotter than Hades!
Gates of Hell Chili
Evil Cornbread
Pasta from Hell
Meatballs from Hell
Shrimp in Diablo Sauce
Spatchcocked Deviled Chicken
Southwest Pork Chops with Spicy Pumpkin Sauce
LITTLE DEMON'S DIN-DIN
Kids will delight in these freaky take-offs on their favorite meals.
Halloween Pizza
Peanut Butter and Jelly Filled Spiders
Grilled Ghost and Pumpkin Cheese Sandwiches
Halloween Meatloaf Mice
Gnarled Witches Fingers
Mashed Potato Ghosts
Mooneys Sticky Monster Bones
Green Monster Pudding
BOO-TIFUL BRUNCH
The perfect spread for Halloween weekend (or the dreaded morning after).
Crescents Eggs in Hell
Blackened Hash Brown Potatoes from Hell
Cider Baked Ham
Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Apple-Cinnamon Waffles with Cider Syrup
Apple Cider "Doughnuts" with Maple Glaze
Turning out homemade caramel requires a precise candy thermometer
and bushels of patience and practice. So in the spirit of
Halloween fun, we're going to help you make great caramel apples without a lot of fuss.
First
off,
there's nothing wrong with using those individually wrapped caramel
kits, especially when you're working with a gaggle of young goblins. But to give
your apples a more gourmet touch (like the ones that sell for $18 a
piece!) we recommend visiting your local baking or candy supply shop for
an easy-to-melt caramel loaf.
Peter's (Creamy, Buttery Caramel from Peter's) makes a wonderful, high-quality caramel that
even the candy pros swear by. It comes in 1- and 5-lb. loaves and you'll get perfectly smooth results every time.
Next,
when it comes to the apples, we prefer crisp, tart, green Granny
Smiths. They offer the perfect flavor contrast to the soft, sweet
caramel topping. Firm, unbruised McIntosh and Red
Delicious apples work well too.
And now for some dipping tips:
- Wash and dry your apples thoroughly and completely. Caramel won't adhere to waxy or wet peels.
- Prepare a large tray or baking sheet with a foil or wax paper
lining. Grease the paper with butter to keep your dipped apples from
sticking.
- To coat apples with as much caramel as possible, dip each one at an angle and rotate.
- Pull each apple vertically straight out of your pan/bowl and let the excess
caramel fall. Then turn the apple right-side-up for a few seconds to
let the caramel set fully around it. Place the dipped apple
stick-side-up on your lined tray.
- Let your dipped apples stand until partially set (15 to 30 minutes)
and check. If the apples have pools of caramel around them or are
covered unevenly, this is your chance to repair them. Lightly dampen your fingers with water and quickly
work the caramel into shape over the thin spots.
- When it comes to toppings, get devilishly decadent. Try
coarsely chopped nuts (pecans, macadamias), Oreo cookies, chocolate bars, toffee and dried
fruits like apricots and cranberries. Kids love colorful sprinkles, shredded coconut, mini
M&Ms and mini marshmallows too. Check out this creative recipe for Caramel Apple Witches.
- For an extra enchanting look, drizzle your dipped apples with
melted dark, milk or white chocolate. You could even tint your white
chocolate a festive Halloween orange with a mixture of yellow and red food
coloring.
P.S. In case you prefer your
apples "off the stick," try dipping slices in a delicious caramel
dip, or indulge in a taffy apple-y incarnation like Moist
Caramel Apple Cake or Praline Taffy Apple Pie.
Did you know that this sometimes-ginormous gourd is actually a
fruit, not a vegetable? It's true–the pumpkin is a member of the Cucurbitacae family that also includes squash, cucumbers and melons. The largest one
ever grown is credited to Larry Checkon of North Cambria,
Pennsylvania. His "great pumpkin" tipped the scales at 1,469
pounds during the 2005 Pennsylvania Giant Pumpkin Growers Weighoff.
But beware my Halloween cooks, it's important to know that while giant
pumpkins make
fantastic jack-o'-lanterns, their stringy, tasteless insides don't make
for great eating. So when buying pumpkins at the market, choose
those specially grown for cooking and baking. Varieties named
"sugar" or "pie" will do the trick.
For more
information about buying,
storing and preparing pumpkin, click here to see our article in the
BigOven Food Dictionary. But if you're ready to dig into this
fall harvest treat, we invite you to try a few of our favorite recipes:
Pumpkin Coconut Soup
Cous Cous Salad with Pumpkin, Chorizo and Walnuts
Penne with Pumpkin Sauce
Pumpkin Chili
Chicken Baked with Pumpkin and Peanuts
Herb and Pumpkin Seed Coated Chicken Drumsticks with Chunky Mango Sauce
Lynn's Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Libby's Great Pumpkin Cookie
Pumpkin Crunch
Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie
Harvest Moon Pumpkin Pie
When it comes to throwing a Halloween party, the devil's in
the details. But planning gets a lot less complicated (and a lot more fun)
if you begin by picking a theme that truly captivates your interest and imagination. After you do that, choosing your
invitations, decorations and menu becomes almost eerily easy.
So
here are four ideas for party themes to get your beetle juices flowing.
Each can be modified to entertain children and/or adults, and all
promise to make you the "ghostest with the mostest."
BARNYARD BASH
This kid-friendly party takes the spook out of Halloween by focusing on the flavors and colors of the fall harvest.
Who's invited: Scarecrows, bunnies, bees, cows, ranch hands, farmers (and their daughters).
How to decorate: Turn your backyard
into a working farm with bails of hay, stalks of corn, and piles of
pumpkins, sunflowers and potted mums.
What
to serve: Caramel Apple Witches, Flying Popcorn Balls,
Pumpkin Seed Brittle, Halloween Party Pops, Peanut Butter
Smores, Apple Orchard Punch.
PIRATE'S BOUNTY
Ahoy, Matey! This Halloween season, pirates are
more popular than ever. Get on board with this festive mix of
sea-sickening goodies and island fare.
Who's invited: Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann,
Will Turner, Blackbeard and Anne Bonny.
How to decorate: Deck out your party area with skull flags, hanging skeletons, worldly
maps, parrot pinatas and sails (painting dropcloths work great). Fill a
treasure chest with fake tattoos, eye patches, play jewelry and candy coins and
make it your centerpiece.
What to serve: Seaside Snack Mix, Skeleton Crudite, Coconut Shrimp, Chicken, Plantain and
Pineapple Skewers, Ruby Apple Salad,
Treasure Chest, Ghoul-Ade.
DEAD CELEBRITY'S BALL
This Hollywood affair is all about decadence, extravagance, and a slew of mysterious deaths.
Who's invited: Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, George Reeves and Andy Warhol.
How to decorate:
Set the scene with a red carpet entryway and rich, plush table
coverings strewn with candelabras, black roses, faux pearls and a few
splatters of blood. Find out who's coming, and make a gravestone
placecard for each guest.
What
to serve: Emeril's Crab Meat Deviled Eggs, Prosciutto di San Daniele with Apple Salad, Gourdian Angel Soup, Red Devil Quail, Light
Pumpkin Cheesecakes, Toffee Chili Truffles, Apple Spritzers.
FOOD FEST
Foodies and cooks will delight in this all-night Halloween
potluck that's sure to inspire creativity. Ask guests to come dressed as their favorite chefs or foods and
bring a related recipe to share.
Who's invited: Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and Iron Chef Chen Kenichi, plus lobsters, beer cans, Hershey's Kisses and a variety of condiments.
How to decorate: The focus here is truly on the food, so be sure to set a
beautiful buffet. Adorn your table with linens, candles, gourds and
flowers in
fall's favorite colors and make use of serving stands to
display your dishes at varying heights.
What to serve: The beauty of this party is that your guests help create the
menu. Round out their offerings by having plenty of seasonal gourmet goodies
on-hand, including cheese spreads, nut mixes, candied popcorn, apple cider and wine.
It's easy to entertain the over-21 set with these killer Halloween
concoctions.
For an extra freakish touch, serve them up in Gothic skull goblets or
barware decorated with creepy rubber spider clips. And remember,
on this one night
of the year, a floating finger is much more appropriate than a swizzle
stick.
Of course, when serving the weak of heart (or the
neighborhood gourmand) it's quite beguiling to garnish drinks with slices of fresh
green apple, sticky sweet caramels or colorful crystalled sugar rimmers.
They come in great fall flavors like chocolate, pomegranate, spiced
apple and even graham cracker pie crust (perfect for cordials and
dessert drinks).
Cheers! Or as they say at the graveyard: "Here's mud in your eye."
LUCIFER'S LIBATIONS
Seven Deadly Sins
Devil's Juice
Margarita from Hell
Dead Baby Boy
Necrophiliac's Dream
MONSTER MASHES
Brain Hemorrhage
Gangrene
Festering Boil
Screaming Green Lizard
VAMPIRE'S DESIRES
Fake Blood
Cursed Water
Vampire's Kiss
Coffee of the Damned
Looking to scare your guests stiff without the added alcohol?
These bewitching beverages will please tykes, teetotalers and
designated drivers alike. For true Blair flair, mix them up in a
black cauldron punch bowl. And don't forget to add a frozen hand
ice ring—it'll chill them to the bone.
To
make one, fill a new rubber glove (the kind without the powdery coating
inside) with water. Add a few drops of food coloring if you want
to create a ghoulish hue, and then fasten the open end with a rubber
band, twist tie or string. Freeze for four hours until
firm.
When ready to serve, use scissors to cut the glove
from the mold and place the "cold hand" in your punch bowl. If you
happen to break off a finger or two, make no bones about it. It
will only add to the grisly effect!
Vampire Punch
Ghostly Green Brew
Ghoul-Ade
Bat Brew
Bloody Eyeballs on the Rocks
Magic Potion with Creepy Crawler Ice Ring
Halloween Punch
Chocolate Witches Brew
DID YOU KNOW...
• Pumpkins have been growing in North America for more than
5,000 years. Aboriginal peoples had been eating them for several
centuries before the arrival of the Pilgrims.
• Pumpkins are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin B, potassium, protein, iron and fiber. (Eat up!)
• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) were a celebrated food of the Native American Indians.
• Around the time of the first Thanksgiving (1621) it was traditional to serve baked pumpkin filled with milk, honey and spices.
• The yellow-orange flowers that bloom on pumpkin vines are edible.
• Pumpkin was once recommended as a cure for freckles and a remedy for snake bites.
• The largest pumpkin pie on record is a
2,020-pounder baked up in 2006 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers
of Ohio. They used 900 pounds of pumpkin, 300 pounds of
sugar, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs and two pounds of
pumpkin pie spice.
•
Jack-o'-lanterns
originated in Ireland where children used to hollow out turnips and
light them with coals or candles. The glowing turnips were placed
outside of homes to ward off evil spirits, particularly "Jack," a
legendary villain so evil, he was rejected by both God and Satan.
• The
Irish Potato Famine (1845-1850) prompted over 700,000 Irish to
immigrate to the United States. Since turnips were not as readily available in the U.S. as their homeland, they
used pumpkins for their jack-o'-lanterns instead. Today the carved pumpkin is the most
popular symbol of the Halloween holiday.
• Halloween pumpkins will keep longer if you coat them inside and out with antiseptic spray.
On the last night of October, the boundary between the worlds of
the living and the dead becomes blurred. Ghosts return to roam the
earth, bringing all sorts of trouble and a dark, long, cold winter....
This was the belief of the ancient Celts, a group of peoples who
lived 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and
northern France. For them, the night of October 31 marked the
end of the summer harvest, and the beginning of a time of year
associated with low food supply and human death. They
commemorated the day with
an annual festival called Samhain, a celebration that has evolved into
one of the world's oldest holidays: Halloween.
ANCIENT CUSTOMS
During the Samhain celebration, the Druids (Celtic priests) built huge
bonfires and the people gathered to burn crops and animals as
sacrifices to the deities. The people also wore costumes, usually
animal heads and skins, and told each other's fortunes. It was
believed that the presence of spirits made it easier to make
predictions and prophecies.
Over time, the Celt's Samhain festival was combined with newer
traditions brought by the conquering Romans and the influence of
Christianity. It is believed a Roman holiday that honored Pomona (the
orchard goddess symbolized by the apple) created the custom of
bobbing for apples that is still practiced on Halloween today.
And later, around 1000 A.D., the church made November 2 All Souls' Day
to honor the dead. It was celebrated with bonfires, parades and people
dressing up as saints, angels and devils.
This ancient Samhain tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween
continued through the ages. Winter remained an uncertain and
frightening time for Europeans, and to avoid being recognized by
spirits, they often wore masks when leaving their homes after
dark.
TRICK OR TREAT
The tradition of trick-or-treating likely evolved from early All Souls'
Day celebrations in England when it was common for poor people to beg
for food. During the festivities, families would give beggars square
pieces of currant bread called "soul cakes" in return for their
promises to pray for the families' dead relatives. At that time,
it was believed that the dead remained in limbo after death, and that
prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.
The practice, referred to as "going-a-souling," was eventually taken up
by neighborhood children who went house to house seeking ale, food and
money.
AN ALL-AMERICAN HOLIDAY
As
Europeans came to America, the customs of many different ethnic groups
meshed to create a distinctly American version of Halloween. In
colonial times, neighbors would gather at "play parties" to sing,
dance, tell each other's fortunes and share ghost stories.
Later,
in the second half of the nineteenth century, a flood of European
immigrants
helped turn Halloween into a national celebration. Taking on traditions
from the English and the Irish, Americans began dressing up in costumes
and going from house to house to ask for food and money.
Eventually,
parties became the most
popular way to celebrate the day. Today, Halloween is America's
second largest commercial holiday, with both kids and adults enjoying
frightfully festive
foods, decorations, costumes and games.