29 Days Until Halloween: SPIDER INSPIRED FOOD

Look, I can't talk about how much this even freaks me out as a concept. So look at all the pictures and click on the links if you are a braver soul than I, but this should give you some good ideas for starting  a spider-themed food display!

I'm terrified at spiders. That might be why I thought they'd make a decent Halloween theme--truly freaking scary. Looking at these gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Coming Soon: DRINKS 


Breakfasty Foods
Spider Egg Display

Spiders instead of centipedes (picture right), and coupled with spider eggs.

Spider Eggs










Desserts
Spider Cupcakes

Spider Spun Candy *
Candy Spiders
Spider Cakes
Bat and Cobweb Cookies
No Bake Spider Cheese Cake
Red Velvet Spider Cupcakes

Party foods/Snacks/Appetizers
Spider toothpicks - While not 'food' in the strictest sense, if you insert these toothpicks in mozzarella balls you could totally bill them as spider egg sacs! How evil is that?Caramel Cobwebs and Licorice Spiders - severed with delicious chocolate and caramel or pumpkin cake, or on top of the cupcake of your choice. Delicious!

Spider Pizza Spread

Black Widow Cheese Log











Dinner/Meals
Creamy Tomato Soup with Spider Web Topping
Fajita Spider Pizza 
Spider Roll


More Spider Recipes from Kraft

Pudding Cauldrons

Instructables has a great project for Pudding Cauldrons.

Balloons, pretzels, black candy melts, pudding and food coloring... and you're good to go. Rad, no?

Sweet Pumpkin Risotto

And, we're off! Dipping our toes slowly back into the blog water, making pumpkin-infused dinner-stuffs and forgetting to take pictures...

12 servings

* 1/8 cup olive oil
* 1/4 tsp chili oil
* 1/2 yellow onion, diced
* 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 tsp ginger
* pinch cayenne
* 1/8 tsp chili powder
* 6 cups white rice, cooked
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 5 cups broth
* 1/2 cup currants and/or craisins
* 7.5 oz pumpkin puree
* 7 oz coconut milk
* salt (to taste)
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* juice from 1/2 lime

Saute onion over medium heat in a large, large pot or pan until it begins to soften; add bell pepper and garlic and continue saute until onion is translucent. In the last minute or 2 ad ginger, cayenne, and chili powder - stirring in well and stirring often.

Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil/onion/peppers.

Deglaze using the wine. Add broth 2 cups at a time, allowing to cook off between adds. Stir frequently to keep rice from burning.

Lower heat and stir in cranberries, pumpkin, coconut milk. Mix well before stirring in salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and lime juice.

Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for at least 10 minutes (allowing flavors to come together and risotto to become creamier) before serving. Can be served hot or cold.

----------------------------

Nom Nom Nom. Not very scary, but delicious and mildly exotic, and definitely orange-colored.

Mummy Loaf!

Yes, yes I got my wish from the last post -- snow in Georgia. And yes, I was snowed in. And double-yes: my internet was touchy the whole week and I'm still catching up at work.

But no, I couldn't make a snowman. By the time it was deep enough at my house it was already a melty-re-freezy mess. More like dried "Great Stuff" than snow.

So, without reliable internet, a serious inability to create my own "Snowhouse of Horrors," and no way to drive anyplace for a week, a girl does a little crochet and bakes many things with her new bread maker.

Now, I refuse to say that Mummy-Loaf (danish braid with blueberries and cream cheese filling) was a bad idea. HE WASN'T. Look at how cute his sweet little mug is - especially before baking!?!

I would, however, qualify that I'd do things differently next time. For starters, I would have actually thought about what I was doing before applying the Egg Wash. My CuisinArt recipe called for a whole egg + water combination, and I should have known that was for making it even more toasty-amber colored.

I want a paler mummy next time: egg white only, maybe? At least I'm going to finish off with a light dusting of powder sugar or a vanilla glaze/drizzle.

Also: one eye melted into his head, which ruined the 'mummy' effect after baking. Next time I'll save two berries and place them in as it comes out of the oven.

Still, it was a pretty successful ordeal. I followed this bread recipe with my bread maker (lessened all ingredients to make only a 1 lb loaf), then made a cream cheese filling by beating the following together:

• 4 oz cream cheese
• half an egg, beaten
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla

To make a bread braid:

• Roll out the dough in a rectangle, about 12x8"
• Spread the cream cheese down the middle third (lengthwise)
• Top cheese with blueberries (leave a little space for the 'eyes')
• Cut the side thirds at 1" intervals to make strips
• Start by folding the bottom strips into eachother, then criss-cross fold the other strips all the way up -- this should mostly cover the blueberry/cheese filling, but there may be a few gaps here and there. At the next-to last strips, stretch them a little further down to leave a cream cheese opening where the eyes should be.
• Tuck the last (top) strips in to look like a head wrapping
• Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees F until toasted and filling is set (mine took 30 minutes -- again, smaller loaf)
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool, dot the open area with two berries for eyes
• NOM NOM NOM (once cooled)

Serve your mummy plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or with a drizzly vanilla glaze. He is delicious with coffee and should be shared with friends.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 26: Pictures from Sunday's Meal

Like I said, dinner Sunday night was awesome. Good food, good friends, and nice walked through a dark cemetery after. :)

What could be better?

And now, pictures of the recipes in question for your Halloween Dinner viewing pleasure.



My wunderbar friends brought Prosciutto Melon "Mummies"


I made sausage cheddar eyeballs, too.
SAUSAGE CHEESE BALLS (makes 16ish)
1 cup white bread, torn into itty-bitty pieces (no crust)
1/2 cup sausage, uncooked
1 cup white cheddar cheese
3-4 green olives, sliced (I used jalapeño and garlic stuffed ... yum)

Preheat oven to 275^o degrees.

Mix bread, sausage, and cheese in a bowl until combined. It will be a little crumbly.

Roll and small the mixture into little balls and put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or well greased; top each with one olive slice. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the sausage is fully cooked. The cheese will ooze out and crust up, which looks nice and gory.


Cocktails: Sinister Cider


Rest in Peas ... turned out a little soupy, but still tasty.


Adam's Ribs and Mashed Boo-tatoes


Individual Chocolate Layer Cakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 25: My Halloween Dinner Menu

We'll actually be out of town, celebrating the old anniversary one year anniversary (hey Captain! I'll be in your neck of the woods!) on Halloween-proper, so yesterday was our full-on with friends Halloween celebration day.

In true 'Carrie Mae, why don't you just do things the fun way?' fashion, we did something awesomely creepy, full of good food, and moderately educational. Some of our favorite friends came over and we cooked them a Halloween-themed dinner before going to the Oakland Cemetery Halloween Tour.

For Cocktail Hour, we made Sinister Cider from Martha Stewart and 'Here's Looking At You Kid' sausage balls. I didn't change the recipe, just the glass rimming technique. I opted for Hostess with the Mostess's bloody rimmed martini glass.

Dinner itself consisted of a variation on BHG's Adam's Ribs, Martha's Rest in Peas, and Mashed Bootatoes (used my own recipe of potato, but inspired by the Gourmet technique you see at the link).

Finally, for dessert we had Caramel Chocolate Layer Cake with Pumpkin Buttercream. I was inspired by the recipes at those links, but I took both elements in a new direction. I did, however, use Martha's Caramelized Cobwebs (chocolate spiders instead of licorice... I hate licorice) as the decor.

Dinner Music thanks to Halloween Radio.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 20: Jack Skellington Pops

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 18: Feast Your Eyes (Lunch Edition)

Starting with yesterday's Breakfast Edition, we are spending the week searching like mad for fun Halloween sit-down meal ideas. We start with Foodgawker finds:

Pumpkin Soup (in German)

Brains (or Char Siu Gao)

Ghastly Guacamole with Ghost Chips

Pumpkin Chili

Dead Man Burgers

More Martha Stewart Halloweeny ideas appropriate for a lunch menu:

Squeamish Squash with Rice

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

Bewitching Grilled Cheese

Eye-Popping Soup

These don't fit, but I wanted to share:

• Pumpkin Dip: http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2010/10/pumpkin-dip.html
• Super-cute, bento-style design: http://littlenummies.net/2010/10/creepy-night/

Baked Pumpkin "Donuts"

Okay, I made donuts tonight. They were baked, which was okay if you're trying to be a teensy bit healthier like I am, but I think they would be even more rad fried before covering them in pumpkin glaze.

It doesn't matter. They were easy, and they were done pretty fast, and they tasted GOOD so I'm sharing:

Ingredients

2 T butter
2 T canned pumpkin
1 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C powdered sugar
6 oz refrigerated (can) biscuits

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F.

Separate dough into 5 biscuits, cut each into halves; flatten each. Cut a hole in the center of each (I used an apple corer).

Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown (don't overcook - they should be cooked through only just).

Melt butter, stir in pumpkin, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the sugar. Blend until smooth. Brush over donuts (both sides) to coat.

Makes 10 servings (1 donut + 1 donut hole).

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 17: Feast Your Eyes (Breakfast Edition)

So, someone whose blog you read is supposed to be making a pre-Halloween meal for friends soon. By 'someone' I mean 'me.' Which means that you are about to be treated to the best of the best Halloween recipe links I could find!

And if anything makes you hungry, be sure to comment. I've got a household of hungry ghouls to impress and I need your help figuring out what has the most spook-appeal.

Starting with the intriguing items found on FoodGawker (amazing site -- one of my favorites -- don't go when hungry) for potential breakfast or brunch:

Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake

Pumpkin Streusel Buns

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Pumpkin Pecan Cake

And of course, Martha Stewart has at least one potentially breakfasty item to consider:

Spiderweb Hard-boiled Eggs

Ghoulish Goodies by Sharon Bowers is a book I was gifted last year as a pre-wedding present. I love it! Very polished and full of cute ideas.

It has the following possible recipes:

• Pumpkin-White Chocolate Bread
• Bandaged Fingers (cocktail weiners wrapped in tortillas and bloodied with ketchup, but I think I'd look for a 'pigs in a blanket' alternative with a little red jam)
• Witches Knuckles (little cheese biscuits which are decorated to look like witches fingers... yum!)

One or two final contenders, if we go with a breakfast theme:

Witches Hat Crescent Rolls

Brain Hash Browns

And one from me, though not so spooky unless you label it (a bottle labeled 'innards' or 'gut sauce' would be cute to serve the berry topping)

Flesh Toast with Gut Sauce



Ingredients

1 1/2 cups 2% milk
6 egg whites
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 (1-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette
1/4 cup butter, divided
2 cups water
4 oz dry white wine
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
----4 cups of berries, your choice. Recommended as below (I use frozen):----
2 cup raspberries
1 cup blackberries
1 cup whole or half strawberries

Whisk milk through salt on the ingredients list, thoroughly. Arrange the bread slices in a single layer in a large shallow dish. Pour milk mixture over bread, and let stand until milk is absorbed (about 2 minutes).

Melt 1 to 2 tablespoons butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Arrange 8 bread slices in pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until bread is golden brown. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and 8 bread slices.

Combine 2 cups water, wine, 1/8 cup granulated sugar, and cornstarch in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 5 minutes). Add fruit to pan, stirring well to coat. Heat through, especially if using frozen berries. Serve sauce with bread slices.

Optional: sprinkle each serving with powdered sugar.

8 servings (serving size: 2 bread slices and about 1/2 cup sauce)

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 14: I Hope Your Teeth Rot

I was stuck at home day before yesterday, waiting on the dryer repair guy. So I made Halloween chocolate candies. One of my favorite co-workers took a picture:So, someone gave me a gift of a box set with candy melts. Which was nice, because before that I had a collection of candy molds (sans candy melts) that I had never used. They included things like skulls and tombstones (pictured).

Next time I think I want to try molding truffles... think that would work in the plastic candy molds?

"Bone"-appetit!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 7: Butternut Squash Risotto

Green and orange are Halloweeny, right? Then this is a great Halloween-friendly dish. Aaaaaaaaaand ... you could always do pumpkin instead of the butternut squash.

This is seriously homey and delicious, not to mention kind of healthy. But don't let the 'healthy' part stop you!

Ingredients

• Parmesan Cheese, shredded or grated, 4 tbsp
• vegetable broth, 4 cup
• White Wine, 2 fl oz
• Olive Oil, 2 tsp
• Nutmeg, ground, .25 tsp
• Butternut Squash, 1 cup, cubes
• Garlic, 1 clove minced
• Collards, 2 cup, chopped (fresh or frozen)
• White rice, .75 cup (cooked)
• Onion, 2 tbl chopped

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Heat 4 cups of vegetable broth or stock and keep warm on low heat.
• Toss peeled and cubed squash with 1tsp olive oil, dash of salt, pepper and minced garlic clove. Roast about 20 minutes, until tender. Set aside.
• Boil some water and simmer greens for about 4 minutes. Drain, cool, chop coarsely and set aside. (You can use kale instead of collards)
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a heavy saute pan and saute the onion until translucent. Add the rice and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add wine and allow rice to absorb it. Add stock, slowly, 1 cup at a time, continuing to stir gently and allowing rice to absorb stock before adding more. Add two cups of broth total.
• Stir in the squash and the greens. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, adding stock 1/2-3/4 cup at a time until rice is tender. The rice should be a little saucy.
• Add pinch of nutmeg and stir in the cheese. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve immediately.

Number of Servings: 4

Slightly Red Ravioli

Yet another installment of the Gary Oldman at home movie event!

Okay, by the end these looked a little more pink than red (see them in the picture, there?). But it was still oddly colored and tasty! It's a beet ravioli, so it's a little sweet -- which makes it great either warm or cool.

Bloody Beets -- Ravioli
1 large red or golden beets (about 7 ounces)
1/4 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese (actually, I used skim)
1 tablespoon dried breadcrumbs

3/4 pounds Fresh Egg Pasta (I actually just used store-bought fresh lasagna noodles... I am crazy, but I didn't have time to be that crazy when I made this)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1/4 tsp. nu

tmeg
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
2 tbl Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Wrap the beet in heavy-duty foil; place on baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Open foil carefully (steam will escape). Cool. Peel beets (don't make my mistake, unless you like looking like you killed someone... which, actually, I didn't mind so much, but still -- wear gloves!); finely grate into medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in breadcrumbs.

Roll Fresh Egg Pasta dough into sheets according to recipe. Place 1 dough sheet on work surface. Using 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut sheet into 7 rounds. Transfer rounds to lightly floured baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough for total of 28 rounds.

Sprinkle 2 smooth kitchen towels with flour. Place 8 pasta rounds on work surface, keeping remaining dough covered with plastic. Place small bowl of water next to work surface. Spoon 1 teaspoon beet filling onto half of each round. Dip fingertip into water and dampen edge of 1 round. Fold dough over filling, pushing out as much air as possible and pressing edges firmly to seal. You can use a fork to press it and make the crinkly pattern. Transfer to prepared towels. Repeat with remaining rounds. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen solid, about 6 hours. Transfer ravioli to resealable plastic bags.)

Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until cooked through, stirring often, about 2 minutes.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and stir in the nutmeg, followed by the poppy seeds; lower heat and add the cooked ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan and toss to coat.

The the Vampire Feast Come to an End!

Gary Oldman movie day was smashing! My friends are such fun. Yesterday you got the recipe for the Garlic Soup (Vampires be warned!) which was part of my menu for the soirée, and today come pictures from the end of the meal. Guest "K" made some very flavorful Brown Sugar Bourbon Ice Cream with a thick, addictive, bloody-looking Raspberry Sauce that was to die for... Maybe if we're nice she'll share the recipes?

Tasty and Beautiful!

And looking more than just a little bit like a pool of blood; what more can you ask on Mr. Dracula movie-watching day?

Don't be fooled by the small bit of sauce in the container -- a little bit goes a long way.

Mmmm.