What would Halloween be without some frighteningly masqueraded fare? Boring! Whether you are hosting a small get-together or a sophisticated soiree for Halloween this year, here are a few recipes and party tips that will not only impress your guests, but earn you the tile of Hostess of the Year.
A creepy spin on an old classic
Move over boring old cheese ball, these cheese severed hands are taking over the party. These two frightening recipes will be a huge hit at any Halloween party or potluck.
The first is what I like to call: The Club.
2 cups fine shredded sandwich meat – turkey, ham, and roast beef (about 4 slices of each)
½ cup bacon bits
2-8oz packages Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
¼ cup fine chopped green onions
1 tsp Worcestershire
½ cup fine shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 cup fine chopped pecans (leave 5 halves for fingernails)
Fancy or club crackers
A food processor works great for chopping pecans, shredding meat, onions, and the cheese extra fine. Process the pecans with a coffee grinder attachment first and set aside in a separate bowl. In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, the meats, onions, cheese and Worcestershire with a mixer until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Mold the chilled cheese mixture into the shape of a hand, sprinkle with chopped pecans, apply pecan halves for fingernails, place a knife in the top of the hand and enjoy with crackers.
For a “bloody” effect, there’s the Red Velvet Cheese Hand.
2-8oz packages Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter
1 ½ cups dry Red Velvet cake mix
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup fine crushed graham crackers
Graham crackers or pretzels
Again, a food processor with a coffee grinder attachment works great or placing crackers in a Ziploc bag and crushing with a knife handle works too. Mix, chill, mold into shape, sprinkle with crushed crackers, apply broken crackers as fingernails, stab with a knife, and serve with graham crackers or pretzels for a sweet and salty combination.
Now, what can you do with these great recipes?
Have a party!
Every great party starts with stellar invitations. A great invitation tells your guests what kind of party to expect. This year we are having a themed party: The Haunted Mansion. My vision for this theme is black and vintage white, so for the invitations I wanted the paper to look aged.
A quick and easy way to make paper look old is to stain it with a little something everyone probably already has in the cabinet — coffee. For this project, I printed on parchment paper and just stained the edges for the tattered vintage look.
Mix a spoonful of instant coffee with three spoonfuls of warm water in a small bowl; the consistency will be a thin paste. Use a small sponge and lightly rub the edges of the paper with coffee. Randomly touch the wet edges with the tip of your fingernail to tatter, let dry over night, and viola! Great looking invitations that look like you spent hours on them.
To keep the vintage effect going, you can also stain white votive candles with the rest of the coffee mixture.
Here’s to a killer party and a safe and Happy Halloween!
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