Halloween Treats (with a few fun Tricks)

I hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween! John and I had a few friends over Sunday night to celebrate.. We didn't have quite the trick or treator traffic for which we had hoped (not for lack of effort... a big thanks to Chris and Emily, aka Darth and Bubbles, for entertaining those that did find our house)- but we had a great time (and lots of candy) nonetheless. I made some casual, festive snacks for the occasion. I'll make a note to send these recipes 'round again next year when you're looking for ideas.

Pumpkin Shaped Cheese Ball recipe from Southern Living. My "pumpkin shaping" skills need a little work and I think my broccoli stem top was a bit too large, but my guests got the point. A great make-ahead start to a fall get together. I added a bit of garlic salt to the cheese mixture but otherwise followed the recipe as they published it.

"Pigs in a Coffin"/Mummified Pigs

A play on the classic Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough Pigs in a Blanket, I was able to dress my piggies up for the occasion. I used one container of crescent roll dough and one package of Hillshire Farm Turkey Lil'Smokies. (You can buy the dough in one whole sheet nowadays. If you can't find it, roll the perforated dough out to a sheet and press the seams together to form a solid sheet.)

Using a pizza roller, I cut the dough horizontally into quarter inch strips. I then wrapped each strip around the sausage haphazardly, creating a mummy wrap effect. (Some people go as far as to create eyes with peppercorns or dots of mustard later on, but I didn't want to take the time.) I then baked them on a lightly greased cookie sheet for about 14 minutes at 400 degrees (until golden brown.) I served them warm with spicy mustard and ketchup on the side, toothpicks for dipping.

Chicken and Green Chili Empanadas A Tyler Florence recipe with a few time saving twists of my own. The ghoulish green tomatillo salsa on the side for dipping was also quite festive. I actually had two dozen of these already in the freezer which saved me time. When I make them, I like to double the recipe and freeze portions of it for a quick and easy appetizer later on.

Emeril's Two Bean Turkey Chili Nothing tastes better on a cool Halloween evening than a big pot of steamy, spicy (mildly) chili. I tried this recipe for the first time and it was absolutely delicious. (I decided the turkey/low fat avenue would leave us more room for candy but it was honestly hard to tell it was turkey seeing as it packs lots of flavor. I used one pound of turkey breast, two pounds of 93/7.) Also, I used half ancho and half chipolte chili powder in place of regular chili powder so it had a southwestern smokiness about it. I let guests serve themselves from the pot at their leisure, choosing from a few of my favorite toppings (sour cream, a mexican blend of shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, and corn chips.)

Martha Stewart- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing I made these a couple of years ago and they are fantastic. Extremely moist and tender cake with all of the warm spiciness of pumpkin pie. I top them with my favorite cream cheese icing and a few decorative sprinkles. (I found these festive paper cupcake liners and cute pumpkin cut-out-toothpicks at Walmart.)

Lasty I was in search of a spooky beverage idea and decided on a quick and easy red wine sangria that resembled witches brew with the dark red color and chunks of "blood stained fruit."

You'll need one large or two smaller pitchers for this...

Sangria:

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

1 orange, thinly sliced

2/3 of a container of strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 small container of blackberries, whole

3/4 cup of triple sec

1/4 cup of peach schnaaps

1/4 cup of Agave nectar (sugar will do if you don't have it)

2 bottle of red wine

I used two pitchers and divided everything in half between them. I gave it a thorough stir together and let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours before my guests arrived. I served it in stemless wine glasses over ice, spooning out some of the fruit in each glass. *Sorry no pictures, once we started pouring, I started slacking on my blogging duties...