Friday, October 24, 2003
Eerie recipes add to the mood of your Halloween bash.
By ROGER BISPECK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Ghouls, ghosts and goblins -- yeah, it's time to throw a Halloween party. And there's no need to rob a grave to pay for it.
Here's how to party for pennies, followed by some great food ideas so you don't have to feed on corpses.
With a little planning, you can budget for your bash and pull off a party your friends will remember for many full moons.
Sending invitations is the first step in getting the party going. You can make them on your computer or have them printed, but stick to the five Ws -- who, what, when, where and why. Creative invitations can take the form of an obituary or a memorial service announcement with a "come if you dare" theme.
Here are some hints for what your invitations should include:
UWho's throwing the party.
UParty theme, including dress.
UDay, date and time.
ULocation with directions if needed.
UHow and when to respond.
RSVPs may be handled by phone.
If you are really on a tight budget, you can ask your guests to bring some of the food or beverages. What follows are some ideas if you want to go all out on your own. Most apply to both teens and adults.
To add to your guests' comfort with one another, make name tags ahead of time. Party people will welcome this aid to breaking the ice and meeting new friends.
The party atmosphere
Keep the thermostat on the cool side. Most guests will be in costume, and cooler air will enliven the party. Opening windows beforehand will make the air fresh.
To add to the ghostly atmosphere, you can get an inexpensive fog machine and put it in a plastic cauldron. It will belch out murky smoke throughout the evening.
Because you will be busy throwing the bash, plan to have a guest who is good at shooting pictures take snapshots or a video. You can always make duplicate photos for your guests.
To avoid messing up your furniture, cover it with gray dropcloths. Dried paint drippings will add to the gloomy panache and give your place the look of a haunted manor.
Strategically placed tombstones will add to the pervading ambience of doom and death. Drape spider webs over lamps and pictures. Sprinkle plastic insects and worms around the food table.
Sounds and stories
For sounds of terror, get a copy of Martha Stewart's "Spooky, Scary Sounds for Halloween." Running the gamut of fearful sounds from deranged laughter to beating hearts and rattling chains, this CD is a must for your monster mansion.
If things slow down, you can read ghost stories from the library. Passages from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" or "The Headless Horseman" by Washington Irving will delight any devil.
Another activity may include a pumpkin-decorating contest. Guests can design jack-o'-lanterns with markers and supplies that you provide from the craft store. Uncut pumpkins will last the entire fall season.
If you prefer, you can supply guests with sharp knives and have a pumpkin-carving contest. After the party, you can chop up the leftovers and compost them in the garden.
A scavenger hunt is another fun activity. Prepare a list of treasures that are hidden in plain sight, with a prize for the one who finds the most items.
In a separate room, show videos of some standbys of fright such as "Dracula" or "Night of the Living Dead."
The feast
If serving a buffet, have plenty of finger foods. Placing snacks around the party makes it easy for guests to stay supplied. Hide some dry ice around the food table to make mysterious vapors.
Have a selection of drink mixes on hand to stretch your liquor supply.
Make a punch bowl out of a black plastic cauldron and float a frozen witch's hand in it. To make it, fill a clean latex glove with green-colored water and close with a twist tie. Place the hand in a baking pan and freeze. When solid, remove the glove and float the hand in the punch.
A hollowed-out pumpkin makes a great terrine for soup or stew. For dessert, serve colored pudding in the cavity of a gourd or baby pumpkin.
If the party is large, don't go it alone. Have a co-host help you with some of the details so you can enjoy your guests. Be sure to enjoy yourself, and your guests will have fun, too. After all, it's your party.
Check out these recipes:
BLOODY POPCORN
2 quarts popped popcorn
2 tablespoons melted butter
Red food paste
Put the popcorn in a large bowl. Add a bit of the red food paste to the melted butter and drizzle over the popcorn. Stir gently to spread the color red.
CARAMEL APPLES
2 packages (14 oz.) caramels
1/4 cup water
8 apples
8 sticks
Optional:
Nuts
M & amp;Ms
Mini chocolate chips
Candy decorations
In a slow cooker, combine caramels and water. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 11/2 hours, stirring frequently. Wash and dry apples. Insert stick into stem end of each apple. Turn control on low. Dip apple into hot caramel and turn to coat entire surface. Holding apple above pot, scrape off excess caramel from bottom. Place on greased wax paper to cool. Once the caramel has set, you may wish to roll the apples in the toppings of your choice.
SPOOKY JACKET POTATOES
4 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons grated cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black olive slices
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. Remove potatoes from oven and allow them to cool.
When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut lengthwise and scoop out the centers. Be sure to leave 1/2 inch or so around the sides so potatoes stay whole. In a bowl place all remaining ingredients and the potato scoopings. Mix potatoes through. Place the mashed potato mixture in the potato jackets.
Dry a few black olive slices with a paper towel. Cut slices into tiny pieces. Place slices on potatoes, two pieces for the eyes and one for the nose.
Place potatoes back in oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
CHOCOLATE GHOST COOKIES
1 pound white chocolate coating
1 package Nutter Butter peanut bars
1 package mini chocolate chips
In the top of a double boiler, melt white chocolate coating. Dip cookies into coating, covering completely. Set on waxed paper to cool. Spread melted chocolate to areas that did not get covered. Add eyes and mouths using mini chocolate chips.
BUSY BUGS
1 package (12 ounces) chocolate chips
1 package (12 ounces) butterscotch chips
11/2 cups peanuts
1 large can chow mein noodles
Melt chips in double boiler or microwave and pour over noodles and nuts. Mix well and drop by the spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Chill until firm.
XRecipes: "2002 Copycat Creations"; article reference: "Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party," Phyllis Cambria and Patty Sachs, Bookends, 2000.