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I only have a couple of pics done, and don’t have time to write the recipes yet, but here are a couple of tonights icky treats…the Baked Intestines are puff pastry filled with guacamole, then painted with beaten egg and a little food coloring for effect…the purple fingers are the same recipe I posted before, but purple instead of green…stay tuned for more!

MMMMM What says Fall more than pumpkin pie? As I mentioned in an earlier post, Fall is the time of year when we celebrate all of our kids’ birthdays. Each chooses the “cake” they want, of course…this time Adriana chose pumpkin pie rather than cake. Works for me! It’s funny sometimes, the things I took for granted in the US…canned pumpkin is just such an example. Here, I need to buy fresh and pre-cook and drain the pumpkin, because canned is unavailable. Turns out? I like fresh WAY better than canned anyway. Fate has a way of showing us things that perhaps never would have occurred to us otherwise. I say, good for Her (and good for us, too!)!

Ingredients (for 2 pies):

2 pounds (1 kilo) fresh pumpkin, halved
2 pie crusts (use your favorite recipe, or cheat and buy pre-made )
1 can (16 ounce/410 grams) evaporated milk
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice to taste…I like a spicier pie, so I add quite a bit (2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1/2 teaspoon allspice *approximately*)

Preparation:

Heat oven to 390ºF/200ºC.
Line a baking sheet with foil and place pumpkin cut side down on sheet.
Bake about 30 minutes or until tender.
Line a sieve with a tea towel, and place pumpkin in sieve over a bowl, covered.
Allow to drain in fridge 24 hours, or, if you’re in more of a hurry, just twist the tea towel and squeeze out excess liquid.
You should have about 2-2/12 cups pumpkin after draining.
Heat oven to 390ºF/200ºC.
Prepare pie plates with crust, poking with a fork.
Puree all ingredients in a large bowl or blender.
Divide mixture between the two pie plates.
Bake at 390ºF/200ºC for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF/175ºC.
Bake about an hour to an hour and a half, checking center of pie until no longer “jiggly” (that is a highly technical cooking term, and I’m sticking by it. LOL). (Ok, ok, until center of pie is set. sheesh! )
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Serve with fresh whipped cream.
Chill any leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have them) in the refrigerator.

Only 20 more days til Halloween! BOO! If you’re like me, you’ll have already started planning what to wear and which spooky treats you’ll be serving your guests. Is it too early to carve the pumpkins? LOL This year I’m also planning to make glowing greentinis (kiwitinis? lol that’s fun to say) and freeze plastic bugs into ice cubes…mwa-ha-haaaa! Here are a couple of my tried and trues to help get your party planning started. I’d love to hear what you’ve all got planned too!

Ghosts in the Graveyard

Ingredients:

1 pan brownies
cookies, tinted coconut and chocolate for decoration.

Preparation:

Arrange cookies and coconut “grass” to make a cemetary.

Bloody Brain

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 small packet ranch dressing mix
your favorite salsa
crackers for dipping

Preparation:

Mix cream cheese and ranch dressing mix thoroughly.
Form an oval “brain” shape on a plate.
Using a chopstick, drawn brain on cream cheese.
Drizzle salsa over “brain” and serve with crackers for dipping.

Monster Fingers and Toes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg (size small)
1 teaspoon vanilla
green food coloring (plus a little blue, to make a darker green)
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw almonds (skin off)

Preparation:

Cream butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and food coloring.
Add dry ingredients and beat until combined.
Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, wrapped in film.
Heat oven to 325º F (150º C).
Divide dough in half and reserve other half in refrigerator.
Line baking sheets with parchment (I like to use 2, baking one, and forming the other simultaneously).
Roll pieces of dough with your hands into thin fingers–be sure to make them quite thin, as the dough tends to spread quite a bit.
Press an almond onto the end of each finger.
Using a butter knife, make indentations for knuckles (I also squeeze the dough a bit where the knuckle is, to make it bigger).
To make toes, roll small balls of dough, and then roll one side to make the length of the toe, leaving the part for the “nail” a little bigger. Press almonds onto the “toes.”
Bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until done, but not browned.
Cool on wire racks for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a serving plate.

Ok, and here’s a reeeeeeeeally old pic of the fingers and toes done just a bit differently, same recipe, without the food coloring, and with “painted” nails (I used those tubes of gel frosting for writing on cakes and spread it on with a small paintbrush).

Spooky Eyeballs

Ingredients:

16 radishes (or an even number according to guests)
16 pimento stuffed olives (or an even number according to guests)

Preparation:

Wash radishes well in cold water.
Using a paring knife, peel some of the skin away from the radish, leaving some as decoration.
Hollow out the center of the radish, taking care not to cut all the way through.
Fill each hollowed radish with an olive.
These can also be frozen and used as ice cubes for martini’s or bloody mary’s.

Pumpkin patch

This is a simple little appetizer perfect for a Halloween party…My friend Molli posted it on another site, and I’ve adjusted it a little with the ingredients available to me.

Ingredients:

8 ounces orange cheese (I used aged cheddar last year, but it was pretty crumbly, so I’d recommend a softer cheese)
10 pretzel sticks (about)
parsley leaves for decoration

Preparation:

Form cheese into “pumpkin” shapes and arrange on a plate.
Just before serving, insert pretzel stick pieces into the pumpkins for stems, and garnish with parsley leaves.

I just found an old pic of the kiwitinis, so I’m going to throw that on here too:

Ingredients:

1 part vodka
1 part apple liquer
1 part Rives kiwi flavoring
2 parts sparkling water

Preparation:

Fill martini shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients and shake it baby.
Pour into glasses.Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl, and refrigerate at least 2-3 hours, or as long as 24 hours.
Serve chilled, or at room temperature.