CHICAGO (WLS) — The countdown to Halloween is on, with less than a fortnight until the spooky holiday arrives.
To ensure your Halloween gathering is anything but mundane, consider revamping your appetizer game to delight your costumed guests. Transform your treats to be the highlight of the evening!
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This weekend, Amanda Puck, the vice president of communications at Mariano’s, shared some eerie culinary inspirations at ABC7’s studios, perfect for adding a touch of frightful fun to your Halloween menu.
Ready to try something new? Here are some recipes to get you started!
Ghoulish Pizza
Ingredients:
- 1 (28.2 oz.) Self-Rising Crust 4 Cheese Pizza
- 12 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 piece (about 1″x 2″) green pepper
- 26 pepperoni slices
Directions:
- Step 1: Heat oven to 400F.
- Step 2: Sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly over pizza. Place green pepper piece on edge of the pizza for the stem. Line up 20 pieces pepperoni around edge of pizza next to the crust. Cut 3 of the pepperoni slices into triangles to be used as eyes and nose; place on pizza. Cut remaining pepperoni slices in half; arrange to form mouth.
- Step 3: Bake pizza 19 to 22 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.
- Step 4: Refrigerate leftovers.
Tip: For another fun pizza twist, create a mummy version with olives cut in half lengthwise and mozzarella cheese. Place the olives on the pizza for the mummy’s eyes and pull string cheese into long strips and pieces. Layer string cheese pieces across the surface of the pizza to form the bandages without covering the eyes.
Spider Bite Black Bean Hummus
Ingredients:
- 2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, no salt added
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt, to taste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 14 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- Sour cream
- Plastic spider, washed, for garnish
Directions:
- Step 1: In a food processor, blend all ingredients except sour cream to make hummus. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Step 2: Spread hummus in a shallow dish. Fill a resealable plastic bag with sour cream. Cut off one corner of the bag and pipe a spider web design on top of the hummus. Place plastic spider in center and serve with cut veggies or pita bread.
Fun Char-BOO-Terie Board
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- 3 cups crispy rice cereal
- Purple, lime green and orange food gel colors
- Large candy eyes
- 8 round fudge covered cookies
- 8 chocolate kisses, unwrapped
- Chocolate icing
- Halloween sprinkles
- 4 oz. white candy coat
- 8 Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies
- 2 cups assorted seasonal candy like candy corn or candy covered chocolates
- 2 clementines, peeled
- 6 oz. blackberries
- 1 cup green grapes, cut into small clusters
Directions:
- Step 1: To make monster eyes, in a medium-sized microwave safe bowl melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add 1 cup marshmallows and microwave for 20 seconds or until just melted. Stir in purple food color to desired color. Stir in 1 cup crispy rice cereal.
- Step 2: With buttered hands, form 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a ball. Decorate with 1 large candy eye.
- Step 3: Repeat with lime green and orange colors. Set aside.
- Step 4: To make witch hats, pipe or spread chocolate frosting around the bottom edge of a chocolate kiss and press into the center of a fudge covered cookie, allowing a bit of icing to press out the edges. Decorate around the kiss with Halloween sprinkles. Repeat with remaining cookies. Set aside.
- Step 5: To make ghost cookies, line a pan with parchment paper. Melt candy coat according to the package directions.
- Step 6: Dip Milano cookies into candy coat, covering completely. Gently tap off excess candy coat and place on parchment-lined pan. Refrigerate for a few minutes to set the candy coat. Using chocolate frosting, add eyes and a mouth to each cookie. Set aside.
- Step 7: On a large platter or board arrange monster eyes, witch hats, ghost cookies, candy and fruit.
- Step 8: Refrigerate leftover fruits.
Calabaza Tacha (Candied Pumpkin)
Ingredients:
- 1 (4-5 lb.) calabaza or kabocha squash or sugar pumpkin
- 16 ounces brown sugar or piloncillo cones
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 4 cups water
Directions:
- Step 1: Cut squash in half and remove the seeds. Cut each half into 4 pieces.
- Step 2: In a 4-quart saucepan, place sugar, cinnamon sticks, orange slices and water. Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved.
- Step 3: Add the squash pieces and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.
- Step 4: Remove squash, covering to keep warm. Discard orange slices and cinnamon sticks.
- Step 5: Increase heat to medium-high and reduce cooking liquid to a thick syrup, about 30 minutes.
- Step 6: Drizzle squash with syrup. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Step 7: Refrigerate leftovers.
Slow Braised Tuna
Ingredients:
- Cooking evoo
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 small whole chili peppers or 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 2 cups Private Selection pasta pomodoro
- 2 cups dark red and robust red wine
- 4 pound tuna fillets
- Catelvetrabo olives pitted and sliced
- Capers
- Fresh oregano
Directions:
- Step 1: Pour the olive oil into the earthenware dish (or a 10-inch ovenproof skillet) and place over medium heat. Add the onion and chile peppers and sauté until the onion is transparent but not golden, about 7 minutes. Pour in the passata and bring to a simmer.
- Step 2: Pour in the wine and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces by about half, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 3: Carefully add the tuna fillets to the pan, covering them gently with the sauce.
- Step 4: Add the olives and capers and, again with the spoon, submerge them in the sauce.
- Step 5: Sprinkle with the oregano and remove the pan from the heat.
- Step 6: Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 200 degrees for about an hour, until the sauce is nice and thick.
- Step 7: Remove the foil and, if the sauce has reduced too much, carefully whisk in a bit more wine.
- Step 8: Bake, uncovered, until the sides of the pan have a nice, almost burnt crust and the tuna is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to cool slightly before serving.
