Saturday, October 23, 2021

AN Elegant Halloween Party

 Halloween parties are not just for kids.Adults can have fun with elegant dishes and drinks to make the night more bewitching. It can be a fun night , full of delicious recipes with a sophisticated spin.

What would make a Halloween party worthy of Gomez and Morticia Addams?Think a Brie wrapped up in puff pastry ala mummy style. Use puff pastry to create the bandages and drape them over the top of the cheese.It's an egg wash first then baking them for twenty minutes until the puff pastry is golden. Add pepperoni and green olive eyes for some spooky decoration. The best part of this is smearing the cheese on the puff pastry for an added treat. Mostly serve with crackers or toasted French bread slices. For a sit down dinner think a pasta dish with eyeball meatballs.The meatballs are baked with flattened ciligiene  - small rounds of mozzarella on top in their last two minutes f baking. Sliced olives are used as irises.Smaller meatballs would make excellent hors d'ouvres too.Pumpkin patch deviled eggs are also a fun starter. Round out the filling more and then lightly press the surface with a fork to resemble the pumpkins' indentations. Add a tiny bit of scallion on the top for the pumpkin stem and liberally sprinkle with paprika for the bright orange color. You can also serve finger sandwiches , preferably roast beef that squish blood gravy when bitten into.

Adult parties call for adult drinks.Start everyone off with Midnight Jello shots which is vodka and grape  Jello cooked together with black food coloring. Set in the fridge for two to three hours before serving.No one would say no to a candy corn martini. This is a layering of grenadine, vodka and orange juice with a topping of whipped cream. For a stronger quaff think a poison apple cocktail. This is taking sour apple Schnappes and mixing it with Crown Royal apple flavored whiskey and cranberry juice. A shot of grenadine gives it a dose of sweetness.Of course the best Halloween cocktail is ---- the Bloody Mary!. This mix of tomato juice, vodka and Worcester sauce is the ultimate drink, especially if you're hosting a Halloween brunch party. You can even set up a Bloody Mary bar where guests can choose between Clamato juice or regular tomato, along with hot sauce and different add ins from celery to olives. What about dessert? You could have caramel apples but add miso to a homemade caramel. Roll the dipped apples in ground pistachios or walnuts. A blood soaked cake may not sound too good. but imagine a devil's food cake that squishes out a raspberry coulis when cut. It's simply  lightly hollowing out the first layer , pour the coulis into that and then top with the second layer. Frost with a fudgy chocolate butter cream.. Stick a large steak knife in it for an extra scary effect.

Yes, adults can have fun and elegant Halloween parties too. Think Brie as a tasty mummy washed down with a  spicy Bloody Mary. Or a dessert with a candy apple ripe with umani. Have an fun and elegant All Hallows party.