This years Halloween party is going with the theme Alice In Wonderland from the Tim Burton film. It has such a dark, foreboding look to the whole film and we are taking it even further than that. We have most of the party planned, the decorations, party games, who's dressing as which characters and the like but we have to work on the food.
So far we know that we'll have drinks at the table for everyone in small glass bottles that have labels on them that say "Drink Me", like in the movie. We've been saving all kinds of heavier glass bottles all year from maple syrup, collecting liquor bottles and have even bought a few that looked nice. Making the labels on the computer was easy, I just used a heavy parchment style paper, burnt the edges and soaked it in a solution of weak tea to make the labels look old once they had been printed. I used to use this technique when I was a kid to make "treasure maps" for my little sister and brother who loved my treasure hunts.
I'll also be making little petite fore cakes and decorating them with scroll icing and the words "Eat Me" like the ones in the film, as well. But now I'm stuck with what to make for the rest of the menu. I've checked at Halloween-Online.com in the recipe section to see if there are any recipes that will work for this party. We may make a "meat head" to go with the "Off with their head!" theme. It's pretty gross looking but will go with the party theme just fine. Basically,you use a medical grade skull, wrap it with plastic wrap and cover it with cold cuts. I know I found that once at Halloween-Online.com but couldn't' find it again. They assure me that they'll have it up again this year along with a bunch of new recipes.
We'll also make "Mummy Fingers" and a few more that we found at HalloweenRecipes101.com. If you are looking for food ideas for your Halloween party, try that site. It's loaded with good Halloween recipes!
Coming up with new and exciting treats for Halloween every year, year after year, can be a pain! Most of us don't have the time to spend making a lot of fancy treats for a Halloween party or just for our families. Some of us don't have the extra money either, with the economy the way it is now that the country is being run into the ground. So, we need some fast, inexpensive ways to make some tasty treats for the Halloween party this year and here's some ideas that I've come up with.
First, check out some websites that specialize in Halloween recipes like Wanda's Halloween Cookbook and HalloweenRecipes101.com for ideas. You may have some of the things that you need right in your kitchen and that can save you money. Check out some company websites like Libby, Pillsbury and others for printable coupons that will help at the check out, too. Find recipes that the kids can help with, if you have kids or that you might be able to get your hubby to help with. That will save you time by having helpers and it's also a project that can be a family time together.
If you are having a party and need some snack type treats, try making a Chex type party mix in large batches. If you check out some warehouse stores, you can get large boxes of cereal at low prices. Instead of making cookies from scratch, buy Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix and make a few dozen. You can freeze some for later, too.
By doing some digging both on line and off, you can find lots of ways to come up with tasty treats without spending an arm and a leg. And as we all know, we need those to use for props in our yard haunts anyway...
Everyone loves to eat good tasting, home made treats at a Halloween party! We've shared some recipes with you in the past and told you some great sites to go to for recipes, like Wanda's Halloween Kitchen and Halloween Recipes, where you can find tons of great food ideas.
This year, we should be adding some new recipes to those sites to keep them fresh and up-to-date with delicious treats, meal ideas, cookies, pies and cakes.
You can also check out Halloween-Online.com for ideas not only for Halloween food but for everything Halloween!
Here's a recipe that's great all year long, just as a night time snack!
Halloween Party Mix
This is a great treat to make ahead of time, you can bag it up in Halloween treat bags or place it around in bowls for your Halloween party guests! It tastes terrific, sweet and salty! We make up a few batches of it when we are having a Halloween movie party, it's gone before everything else!
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a small sauce pan, place corn syrup and butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
In a large bowl, combine pretzels, cashews and cereal. Pour sugar mixture over pretzel mixture and toss to coat evenly. Spread evenly into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes to crisp evenly. Spoon onto and spread evenly onto waxed paper. Let cool completely and break into clusters. Store in an airtight container until needed at room temperature.
Adjust amounts for larger or smaller portions, trust us, you'll need a larger portion! This goes fast!
It's the big party this year because not only is it Halloween, but the 31st is also our 25th wedding anniversary! So this years blow out will be a week-end long event! That means food for a Friday night dinner party, a Saturday night Halloween/Anniversary party and a Sunday morning brunch!
We want to use this Punch Bowl Special Effectfor each days party because it just looks so cool! but Sunday morning brunch will be limited to mixed drinks, both alcoholic and non. We'll make some special ice cubes for the drinks we'll be serving by using ice trays and plastic bugs or gummy creatures.
We like this Jello Mold idea, using Gummy eyeballs. We'll also have to come up with a main dish for the dinner party so we'll stop by Halloween Recipes to find some great ideas!
Here's one that we might use this year! This is a tasty treat for a meal or a party. You can stick toothpicks in each little meatball and let people serve themselves during a party, these tasty sweet and sour meatballs will be a big hit!
SWEET & SOUR SPIDER EGGS Ingredients: Pre-made or frozen meatballs, about 481 Cup Salsa1/2 Cup Grape Jelly 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar 1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce (Hickory Smoked or your choice) 1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
In a mixing bowl, combine ingredients except meat balls. Mix with a wire whisk until well blended. Pre-heat a large skillet, at least 12 inches, over high heat. Pour in mixture and meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened. Pour into large serving bowl. Insert toothpicks or skewers if needed.
As a garnish, you can make a spider on the top of the bowl of meatballs by using a peeled hard boiled egg and some thinly sliced red or green bell pepper. Sit the egg in the meatballs and stick the pepper slices in for legs. Use a black olive for the head, attach with a toothpick. Put drops of red cake decorating gel on for eyes. You can also spot the "body" of the spider with decorating gel as well, to give it a more "spidery" look.
I found a great Halloween reipe, which we'll be using this year, at Halloween Recipes 101. We have found a bunch of gtreat recipes there in the past and they have some new stuff up now. This is one we can use right now and sure sounds tastey! It's for backed apples, anything apple our family loves.
Classic Baked Apples
Ingredients: Large baking apples, Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, (one apple per person). 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1/4 cup chopped raisins 1 Tbsp butter 3/4 cup boiling water
Preparation: This recipe makes 4 servings, adjust for more or less apples. Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. An apple corer helps but you can use a paring knife to cut out the stem area and then the core. Use a small spoon to dig out the seeds. The hole should be 3/4-inch to an inch wide across the apple. The use of large apples is important so the holes can be large enough for the filling.In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and pecans. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Quarter the tablespoon slice of butter and top each with a dot of butter Add the boiling water to the baking pan with apples in it. Bake 30-40 minutes ort until apples are tender but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.
Best Apples For Baking Whole: Jonathan, Winesap, Criterion, Gala, Newtown Pip, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Rome Beauty
Our Halloween parties went off without a hitch for 2008! We had three parties, one for our office staff, one for friends and one on Halloween night for the trick-or-treaters. We had a variety of food, everything from snacks to full blown meals. Coming up with ideas was a little tricky but we found some great ideas atWanda's Halloween Recipes, there's all kinds of food, treat and meal recipes there. One of our favorite recipes to make during the Halloween season is Classic Caramel Popcorn. Here's the recipe we'd like to share with you! It's great to make and set around in bowls for your guests to snack on during your party.
INGREDIENTS 14 cups popped popcorn 2 cups sugar (packed) 1 cup butter 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda PREPARATION Combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it begins to boil, stop stirring for 5 minutes, or until mixture reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer. (You may have to adjust according to altitude and humidity). Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. The mixture will start to foam, so stir well until blended.
Make your popcorn ahead of time, pop the popcorn either in a hot air popper or microwave. Once you have popped the pop-corn, remove any un-popped kernels. Now place the popcorn in a large, buttered metal bowl. Pour the hot mixture over the pop-corn and toss gently with well buttered forks to distribute evenly. Spread onto 2 un-greased baking sheets and bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. if it starts to look too golden it may be time to take it out! Oven temperatures vary not only with model but with altitude, so you'll have to adjust time accordingly.
STORAGE & SERVING Remove the caramel corm from the oven and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break it into clusters, and store in a tightly covered container. For a Halloween party, serve on on a large serving tray or in decorative bowls. If you are having a child's party, wrap some up in treat bags.
We've been lining up the menu for our Halloween dinner party and have been looking for new recipes to use. I found this site, Halloween Recipes That has some good food ideas and also ideas for setting the tables, display ideas and more. It should make our party planning much easier for this Halloween's dinner party and Halloween costume party. The recipes below looks like it would be good for either party.
Sweet & Sour Spider Eggs Ingredients:
Pre-made or frozen meatballs, about 48
1 Cup Salsa
1/2 Cup Grape Jelly
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce (Hickory Smoked or your choice)1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine ingredients except meat balls. Mix with a wire whisk until well blended. Pre-heat a large skillet, at least 12 inches, over high heat. Pour in mixture and meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened. Pour into large serving bowl. Insert toothpicks or skewers if needed.
As a garnish, you can make a spider on the top of the bowl of meatballs by using a peeled hard boiled egg and some thinly sliced red or green bell pepper. Sit the egg in the meatballs on it's side. Stick the pepper slices in for legs. Use a black olive for the head, attach with a toothpick. Put drops of cake decorating gel on for eyes, red or green works well. You can also spot the "body" of the spider with decorating gel as well, to give it a more "spidery" look.
