Halloween Cookery

October 25, 11:17 PMNew Orleans Food ExaminerGia Scott

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Halloween specialties are often no more than renamed or slightly altered recipes from the norm, which makes it very easy to prepare a Halloween themed meal to delight the ghoul in everyone. A bit of creativity and a dash of inspiration will have your Halloween meal glowing ghoulishly.

Some suggestions:

Hot Hairy Batwings
Marinade chicken wings in your favorite hot wing mixture. (Suggestion: 2 Tbsp. Tabasco® pepper sauce mixed with 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp. Tony Chachere’s ® Creole Seasoning & ¼ c. vinegar) Prepare breading mixture of 1 c. crushed corn flakes & 1 c. crushed shredded wheat mixed with ¼ c. paprika & 2 Tbsp. Tony Chachere’s ® Creole Seasoning. Beat 1 egg thoroughly and add ¼ c. water. Beat in 2 tbsp. Tabasco® Chipotle pepper sauce. Dip wing in egg mixture, then roll in cereal mixture. Fry in deep skillet with 1” of hot oil until well browned & done. Drain on paper towels & keep warm until serving.

Fried Eyeballs
Drain 1 can of large pitted black olives & 1 jar of large pitted green olives. Remove pimento from green olives if they are stuffed with them. Stuff black olives with a few pieces of feta cheese. Stuff green olives with hot Italian sausage. Put stuffed olives in quart re-closable plastic bags and add 1 tbsp olive oil to each bag. (“Eyeballs” may be refrigerated for breading & frying later at this point.) Roll each “eyeball” in flour, dip in an egg wash, then roll in seasoned Italian breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil until brown & crispy. Drain on paper towels & serve hot.

Gooey Gopher Guts
For these, use 2 lbs. of chicken livers. Sauté 2 sliced bell peppers with 1 lg. slivered onion in olive oil with 1 tbsp. soy sauce in a large skillet. Add chicken livers & 2 tbsp. soy sauce. Sauté until chicken livers are done. Mix 1 pkg. brown gravy mix with ½ c. cold water. Add ½ c. cold water to chicken livers in skillet, and then stir in gravy mixture. Stir to prevent lumps and bring to a boil, boil 1 minute & remove from heat. Gooey Gopher Guts can be served alone, over rice (aka maggots) or with potatoes.

Maggots
Cooked long grain rice served in a dish for topping with Gooey Gopher Guts.

Rotten Monkey Brains with Oozing Pus
For each serving, core 1 apple. Place in baking pan. Fill the empty core of each apple with granola, preferably plain or cinnamon. On top of each stuffed apple, place 10-20 cinnamon red hot candies and a pat of butter or margarine. Bake at 300°F. until soft. To serve the Rotten Monkey Brains, place in shallow bowl and drizzle with vanilla, half & half or whipping cream for “oozing pus.” Left over “brains” can be reheated in a microwave and topped with cream or ice cream, and then served as “baked apples” for the less adventurous sorts.

Baked Baby Toes
Using small smoked cocktail sausages or Vienna sausages, wrap them in strips of crescent roll dough and bake until golden brown. Dip one end in barbeque sauce for a “bloody” touch and arrange on a platter.

Road Kill
Pieces of beef or turkey jerky placed in a bowl make excellent “Road Kill.”

Gruesome Dips for chips

Cream of Bug Guts=Guacamole
Pus with Maggots=French Onion sour cream dip

Make up small cards for each dish with the gruesome name and place in front of the dish to serve them buffet style, which works well whether its for a family Halloween dinner or a large party.  3x5 recipe cards cut in half, then folded tent-style make excellent signs to describe the dishes being served.  Have fun with your holiday preparations and may a ghoulishly good time be had by all!