Spooky salutations during this ominous October! Your Halloween-loving Knoxville Mom writer is back with more menacing meals that are sure to put you in the Halloween mood! Read my 1st edition and 2nd edition on eerie entrees, startling sides, cauldron concoctions, dreadful desserts, and petrifying potions. Or if you dare, keep scrolling down to see my previous two All Hallows’ Eve meals that are sure to send you running down the street…to the grocery store.
You’ll have so much fun creating, and the best part is most of these can be made ahead of time! No timing out the stove, the oven and the microwave to end at the same time, which to me, is scarier than The Shining.
Spider Loaf
Make a double recipe of your favorite meatloaf. Use a large cake pan and shape it into a spider body and head. Cook your spider for about 2/3 of the time it’s supposed to cook. Take it out and place eight long sausages or bratwursts on the pan. Continue cooking until all meat is cooked through. Position everything to look like a spider and use ketchup or hot sauce to give it devil eyes. You could also place large olives, onions or tomatoes for the eyes before cooking.
Spiders on a Log
Make your typical “ants on a log” celery pieces with peanut butter and raisins. Then take some melted white chocolate and milk chocolate, place in separate sandwich bags with the corner cut off and use your piping skills to squeeze out legs and eyes. If too much chocolate is coming out, just dip a toothpick into the chocolate and create eyes and legs that way. They don’t come out looking very pretty, but spiders aren’t pretty anyways.
Hard-Boiled Bloodshot Eyes
Hard-boil some eggs. Fill a large glass with water and red food coloring. Gently crack the eggs all over without taking off the shells. Place in red water for anywhere from two hours up to three days. The longer they sit, the more pronounced the color will be. Peel the eggs and see all the red lines! You can serve just like this or go further and make your favorite deviled egg recipe!
Pretzel Ghosts
Buy yogurt pretzels and place on parchment paper. You can use candy melts separated out by color to place in the holes OR do what I did and buy a container of white frosting, put some in separate bowls and stir in food coloring for the colors you want. Place melted candy or frosting in small baggies and cut a corner to pipe it into eye holes. Use sprinkles or tiny M&Ms for pupils.
Bloody Cupcakes
You’ll need to buy fake syringes for this one. Make vanilla cupcakes according to box instructions. After cooled, add your favorite white icing on the top or make your own icing. To fill the syringes with strawberry coulis, you’ll need 1 pint of strawberries, 2 Tbsp sugar, 4 Tbsp water, and 2 Tbsp cornstarch. In a saucepan, cook the strawberries, sugar and 2T of water on medium until it starts to boil, then lower the heat. Cover and cook until berries are tender (8-10 min). If not sweet enough, add more sugar. In a small bowl, mix 2T of water and 2T of cornstarch until dissolved. Pour cornstarch mixture over the strawberries until coulis thickens. Remove from heat. Once cool, mix it in a blender until smooth. Once completely cool, suck some coulis into each syringe. Shove syringe into the center of the cupcake and slowly push it until extra coulis starts oozing out onto the icing.
Frog’s Breath Float
Put 2-3 scoops of lemon and lime sherbet into a glass. Add 2 Tbsp of pineapple juice. Finish off with lemon and lime soda like Sprite or Starry. Carefully stir until it gets that frothy swampy look.
Skele-cuterie
Buy a skeleton that’s fairly large, but small enough to fit on your kitchen table. Wash him well and let him dry. Get a Halloween table cover and lay Mr. Skeleton down in the middle. Cover him in meats, cheeses, crackers, fruit and berries. This becomes a free-for-all and the kids will love just grabbing their favorites off the table to fill their plate.
Brain
Buy a brain mold from a baking shop or Amazon. Buy two 6oz packages of jello; use a red flavor if you want it to look bloody or peach flavor if you want it to look clean. Using a mixing bowl, pour in your jello powder. Pour in 1 ¾ cups of boiling water and stir. Then pour in 2/3 cup of cold water and stir. Add one 12oz can of fat-free evaporated milk and mix. To make it more red use some red food coloring. To make it more gray, use equal parts red/green/blue food coloring. Spray your clean brain mold with cooking spray and set it in a mixing bowl to stabilize it. Pour jello mixture into the mold. Let set and once congealed, shake the mold, and flip it onto a platter to display the wet and gooey brain. If it doesn’t fall out easily, shake again until it plops out on its own.
Vampire Blood
My mom found these IV bags at a craft store. I made Shirley Temples and filled the bags. This is one you’ll want to do ahead of time. I learned that it takes FOREVER to pour a pitcher of any drink into these tiny openings.
Spider Web Brownies:
Make a box of brownies according to box instructions. Let cool completely. Some recipes suggest melting marshmallow and then dipping your fingers into it and spreading them apart on your brownies to achieve the web look. This was a huge failure for me. The marshmallow hardened too quickly, and it stuck to my fingers more than the brownie. I ended up using some white frosting and splattering it around to look like webs. This can also be made ahead of time.
I’m so excited for Halloween to be on a Friday this year! That means I can prep while they are at school and bedtime doesn’t need to be enforced. Now to go research what I shall make this year! Sometimes figuring out the menu is just as fun as making it!
Creepy cooking and frightful farewells, my readers. Until next time…
