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Halloween Treats from Alice Clark including monster feet, dinosaur droppings, witches hats, gruel, toad stools, and fudge orange cake.
PETER THOMSON photo
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You’d better go in disguise ...
If you go out in the woods today,
You’d better not go alone.
It’s lovely out in the woods today,
But safer to stay at home.”
These words, penned by 20th century Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy and set to music written some years earlier by John W. Bratton, have a cautionary tone. That tone, however, hasn’t prevented “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” from being a perennial favorite of parents and youngsters alike (it was a staple on Bob Keeshan’s Captain Kangaroo television show). But those cautionary words become a whole lot more sinister when sung s-l-o-w-l-y, deliberately and menacingly, by a vampire. With a soul! Gone BAD!!
Let’s face it. We like to scare ourselves. Don’t ask me why. Fifty or 60 years ago, it was Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester and Lon Chaney (Yikes! Even their names were scary!) as Count Dracula, the Frankenstein monster and his bride, and the Wolfman, respectively. In those days, much of the mayhem was implied. Today, we have Freddie Krueger, Michael Myers and a demonic little doll named Chucky, complete with his own demonic little bride, brought to life by Jennifer Tilly (who is always a little bit scary), and the mayhem is explicit and graphic.
Maybe scaring ourselves is a way of facing our fears: confronting something that frightens us and finding we can survive. It could be the security of burying your face in a big, strong boyfriend’s chest during the scariest parts and feeling protected (this is strictly my own theory, based on daughter Traci’s attraction to gory films while in high school). But on Halloween I believe it is the former.
But Halloween is not only about “things that go bump in the night.” These days, you see a preponderance of princesses, swashbuckling pirates, superheroes, Disney characters and the occasional Muppet. But if you are into the “fright factor,” don’t despair, you’ll see plenty of ghosts, ghouls, devils and an occasional hockey mask.
One thing you surely won’t have to be afraid of this year is the collection of Halloween-themed recipes that follows. From the “dragon droppings” to the chicken chili “gruel” to the sherbet slime-ade, there should be something to please everyone.
Start your dinner ghosts off with dragon droppings and toadstools and maybe a few raw vegetables dipped in dill muck. Then dazzle them with steaming bowls of gruel accompanied by dragon claws. Wash it all down with slime-ade, punch made with lime, orange or lemon flavorings. Caution your ghosts not to eat too much though, because they will not want to miss out on the fudgy jack-o-lantern cake.
One thing you can be sure of this Halloween:
I won’t go out in the woods today,
And certainly not alone.
It may be nice in the woods today
But I will be staying home ... Handing out treats to tricksters of every size! Happy Halloween!!
Dragon Droppings
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut up
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
Garlic to taste
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In 2-quart saucepan, heat water, butter and salt to a rolling boil over medium heat (butter should be completely melted). Remove from heat; stir in flour all at once, until blended. Return to medium heat; cook, stirring constantly 1 to 11/2 minutes, until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides of pan. Remove from heat; stir in eggs one at a time, stirring until thoroughly mixed after each addition. Stir in Parmesan cheese, chives basil and rosemary. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto cookie sheets (should make about 30 [11/2-inch] mounds); bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown and set. Remove from oven; with tip of sharp knife make small slit in each puff for steam to escape. Bake 5 to 8 minutes longer, until dry and firm.
(From Pillsbury Halloween, 2008)
Toadstools
1-1/2 pounds fresh mushrooms, cleaned
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 package Italian dressing powder
Combine ingredients in slow cooker; cook for hours. I usually start them on high; reduce to low once they get a good start; and leave them 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Reduce the butter to 4 to 6 tablespoons if desired.
(Shared by Christa Olsen)
Gruel (Chicken Chili)
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 can great Northern beans, undrained
1 can Mexicali corn, drained
1 cup fat-free half-and-half
1 jar chunky salsa
1 envelope taco seasoning
Combine all ingredients; heat through. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, or garnish with a couple of witches’ hats.
(Shared by Rachel Van Dyke)
Witches’ Hats
4 flour tortillas
Cooking spray
Taco, fajita or Cajun seasoning mix
Canned Cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 16 (21/2-inch) circles from the tortillas; cut a slit to the center of 8 of them. Shape slit circles into cones and secure with toothpicks. Spritz cones and circles with cooking spray; sprinkle with taco seasoning and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp. Cool; discard toothpicks. Place cones on circles and secure them by piping canned Cheddar cheese around the base. Top gruel with hats just before serving.
Note from Alice: if you have too much trouble securing those cones with toothpicks, get some Bugles and secure them to the circles with cheese. (From tasteofhome.com)
Monster Claws
1 can refrigerated crescent rounds
32 whole cashews
1/4 cup butter, melted
Garlic powder to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray large baking sheet with cooking spray. Separate dough into 8 rounds; unroll into strips. Fold each strip in half. For each claw, start at folded end, twist 2 to 3 times, leaving 1 inch untwisted at opposite end. Place claws on cookie sheet. With a paring knife or kitchen scissors, cut untwisted end of each to make 3 claws. Cut a small slit in each claw and place a cashew in each slit. Press down to hold cashew in place. Combine butter and garlic powder. Brush on claws; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to cool. Serve warm with gruel.
(Suggested by Pillsbury Halloween, 2008)
Fudgy Orange Cake
1 package buttery yellow cake mix
1 (3-ounce) package orange Jell-O (not sugar free)
1 cup pulp free orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest, optional
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped, or mini chocolate chips
Orange fudge frosting:
2 tablespoons chilled butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons COLD orange juice
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan. Combine cake mix and Jell-O powder in large bowl. Add orange juice, extract, zest and vegetable oil. Mix with electric mixer until well-blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed or 3 minutes by hand. Fold in chips by hand; pour into bundt pan. Bake 45 to 55 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Cool on rack 20 to 25 minutes; loosen edges and middle of cake and tip onto cooling rack. Cool completely.
Frosting: Place butter in bottom of 2-cup microwavable bowl; add chips and microwave on High 1 minute. Stir; if not completely melted, microwave another 15 seconds or so. Stir until smooth. Stir in extract (will be pasty). Add orange juice 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each. Pour over cooled cake, allowing to run down the sides. Instead of frosting, cooled cake can be dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
(From “Key Lime Pie Murder” by Jo Anne Fluke; shared by Traci Lecheler)
Slime-ade
1 quart lime sherbet ice cream, softened
1 (12-ounce) container frozen limeade, thawed
4 cups ginger ale
Gummy worm candies if desired
Lime slices if desired
In punch bowl, combine ice cream, limeade and ginger ale. Pour into glasses; garnish each with gummy worms and lime slices. Serve immediately.
Note: you could use orange sherbet and orange juice concentrate; lemon sherbet and lemonade concentrate; or rainbow sherbet with a 6-ounce can of each: lemonade and lime concentrate.
(Suggested by Pillsbury Halloween, 2008)
