**Frankenstein Squash Head**
Using sharp knife, cut off top of acorn small pumpkin; set aside. With spoon, scrape out seeds and pulp to hollow out squash.
Using small sharp knife, Cut in half and shape into bolts ; fit into ear holes.
Line squash with plastic wrap. Fill with about 4 cups of nuts-and-bolts party mix, candies or cut vegetables.
**Radish Eye Balls**
Using small knife, cut away sides of large radish to expose whte, leaving root intact. Using small sharp knife, cut off stem end; dig out hole. Stuff hole with pimiento-stuffed olive, round side out.
**Green Salad with Ratberry Dressing**
Bone shaped croutons are a fun way to scare up conversation, but any spooky shape will do.
8 cups torn mixed greens
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
(Ratberry Dressing)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp liquid honey
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
(Bone Croutons)
8 slices white bread
2 T vegetable oil
To make Ratberry Dressing: In food processor , puree together raspberries, oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Strain through fine sieve ; set aside. (Make ahead: Let cool; store in airtight container for up to 24 hours).
In serving bowl, toss greens with dressing; sprinkle with sprouts and sunflower seeds. Scatter bones over top.
**Bug Balls & Worms**
No graveyard feast would be complete without some scary critters walking over every plate of tasty red pasta. I make my bugs using carrot stems for 6 legs and a pimirnto-stuffed olive for the head.
1 lb spaghetti
Sauce:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Bug Balls:
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp each salt and pepper
2 lbs lean ground beef
Tomatoe Sauce: In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; fry grated onion, garlic and bay leaves, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until spoon drawn across bottom of pan leaves space that fills in slowly, about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
Bug Balls: Meanwhile, in bowl, beat eggs; mix in garlic, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, thyme, salt and pepper and 2 T water. Mix in beef. Shape by level T into balls. Place 1/2-inch apart on 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets; flatten slightly.
Bake in top and bottom thirds of 450F oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes. Reserving 3 - 5 balls to decorate, add remaining balls to tomatoe sauce.
Meanwhile, in large saucepan of boiling water, cook pasta until tender but firm, 8 - 10 minutes; drain well and serve with sauce. Garnish with reserved meatballs made to look like bugs with olives and legs.
Serves 8
**Teeth Chattering Floats**
In blender, puree 2 tubs thawed frozen sliced sweetened straberries until smooth; divide among 8 glasses. Top each with 1/3 cup sparkling water and top with 1/4 cup frozen yogurt.
**Chocolate Coffin Cake**
Beware of low-fat icecream for thios recipe becausde it melts too quickly and chrystallizes when refrozen. You will also need a small plastic skeleton and a plastic snake from the dollar store.
4 cups ice cream (vanilla or mint cocolate chip or anything else you choose)
silver dragees and fruit leather
Chocolate Cake:
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
2 -1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/4 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/4 cups buttermilk
Icing:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups icing sugar
3 T whipping cream
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
Grease sides of 13 x 9-inch metal cake pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
To make Cake: In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; beat in vanilla. In separate bowl; sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; sift again to blend completely. Stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additons of dry ingredients and 2 T buttermilk. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake in centre of 350F oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely on rack.
Chocolate icing: In bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Alternately beat in sugar and cream, making 3 additions of sugar and 2 of cream. Stir in chocolate and vanilla, leaving streaks to resemble wood.
Let ice cream soften in refrigerator for 10 - 20 minutes. Place cake, top side down, on cutting board. Trim off corners to resemble coffin. Trace same shape into heavy cardboard and cut out; wrap tightly with foil.
Cut cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layer on cake board or dark tray. Using palette knife, spread with ice cream; cover and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
Working quickly, spread sides of bottom layer with icing. Position skeleton on top. Place large piece of cake trimming beside skeleton to prop open lid. Cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile , place top of cake on prepared foil-covered cardboard; place on baking sheet. Spread top and sides with icing. Arrange sliver dragees around edge. Cut cross out of fruit leather and position in centre. Lightly cover and refrigerate until firm, anout 2 hours.
Place coffin lid on cake. Crumble cake trimmings and scatter over platter for dirt.
To serve, remove coffin lid; set skeleton aside and cut cake.
Serves 10 - 12
Using sharp knife, cut off top of acorn small pumpkin; set aside. With spoon, scrape out seeds and pulp to hollow out squash.
Using small sharp knife, Cut in half and shape into bolts ; fit into ear holes.
Line squash with plastic wrap. Fill with about 4 cups of nuts-and-bolts party mix, candies or cut vegetables.
**Radish Eye Balls**
Using small knife, cut away sides of large radish to expose whte, leaving root intact. Using small sharp knife, cut off stem end; dig out hole. Stuff hole with pimiento-stuffed olive, round side out.
**Green Salad with Ratberry Dressing**
Bone shaped croutons are a fun way to scare up conversation, but any spooky shape will do.
8 cups torn mixed greens
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
(Ratberry Dressing)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp liquid honey
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
(Bone Croutons)
8 slices white bread
2 T vegetable oil
To make Ratberry Dressing: In food processor , puree together raspberries, oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Strain through fine sieve ; set aside. (Make ahead: Let cool; store in airtight container for up to 24 hours).
In serving bowl, toss greens with dressing; sprinkle with sprouts and sunflower seeds. Scatter bones over top.
**Bug Balls & Worms**
No graveyard feast would be complete without some scary critters walking over every plate of tasty red pasta. I make my bugs using carrot stems for 6 legs and a pimirnto-stuffed olive for the head.
1 lb spaghetti
Sauce:
1 T olive oil
1 onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Bug Balls:
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp each salt and pepper
2 lbs lean ground beef
Tomatoe Sauce: In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; fry grated onion, garlic and bay leaves, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until spoon drawn across bottom of pan leaves space that fills in slowly, about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
Bug Balls: Meanwhile, in bowl, beat eggs; mix in garlic, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, thyme, salt and pepper and 2 T water. Mix in beef. Shape by level T into balls. Place 1/2-inch apart on 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets; flatten slightly.
Bake in top and bottom thirds of 450F oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes. Reserving 3 - 5 balls to decorate, add remaining balls to tomatoe sauce.
Meanwhile, in large saucepan of boiling water, cook pasta until tender but firm, 8 - 10 minutes; drain well and serve with sauce. Garnish with reserved meatballs made to look like bugs with olives and legs.
Serves 8
**Teeth Chattering Floats**
In blender, puree 2 tubs thawed frozen sliced sweetened straberries until smooth; divide among 8 glasses. Top each with 1/3 cup sparkling water and top with 1/4 cup frozen yogurt.
**Chocolate Coffin Cake**
Beware of low-fat icecream for thios recipe becausde it melts too quickly and chrystallizes when refrozen. You will also need a small plastic skeleton and a plastic snake from the dollar store.
4 cups ice cream (vanilla or mint cocolate chip or anything else you choose)
silver dragees and fruit leather
Chocolate Cake:
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
2 -1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/4 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2-1/4 cups buttermilk
Icing:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups icing sugar
3 T whipping cream
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
Grease sides of 13 x 9-inch metal cake pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
To make Cake: In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; beat in vanilla. In separate bowl; sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; sift again to blend completely. Stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additons of dry ingredients and 2 T buttermilk. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake in centre of 350F oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely on rack.
Chocolate icing: In bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Alternately beat in sugar and cream, making 3 additions of sugar and 2 of cream. Stir in chocolate and vanilla, leaving streaks to resemble wood.
Let ice cream soften in refrigerator for 10 - 20 minutes. Place cake, top side down, on cutting board. Trim off corners to resemble coffin. Trace same shape into heavy cardboard and cut out; wrap tightly with foil.
Cut cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layer on cake board or dark tray. Using palette knife, spread with ice cream; cover and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
Working quickly, spread sides of bottom layer with icing. Position skeleton on top. Place large piece of cake trimming beside skeleton to prop open lid. Cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile , place top of cake on prepared foil-covered cardboard; place on baking sheet. Spread top and sides with icing. Arrange sliver dragees around edge. Cut cross out of fruit leather and position in centre. Lightly cover and refrigerate until firm, anout 2 hours.
Place coffin lid on cake. Crumble cake trimmings and scatter over platter for dirt.
To serve, remove coffin lid; set skeleton aside and cut cake.
Serves 10 - 12
