Halloween 2021 finds us celebrating in a spooky garden. Ghoulish gardeners delight in the odd and carnivorous plantings, some of them even edible. I've included a Where to Find section at the end of this post and I hope you enjoy your stroll through the garden.
Every special dinner starts with an invite and this year's was composed of a mossed filled miniature clay pot planted with a special packet of "Enchanted Pumpkin" seeds with Japanese konpeito candy, creepy lollipops, Monarch butterfly, and a menu card.
Dinner details were printed on the back of seed packet. Observant people will notice that our dinner was set for Saturday night, but due to work schedules, we celebrated on Friday night.
I started purchasing carnivorous and unique plants in the spring, so they would look full and larger by fall. Forward to plan B, carnivorous plants are tricky to grow and they are very slow growing. I had some glass apothecary jars that I placed the smaller plants in and that took care of the small plant dilemma. Start shopping very early or just purchase larger plants with a larger price tag.
Placecards created from a handpainted wooden eye, German crepe paper, and wire. The specimen tags were printed on gray card stock and the remaining bottom of the wooden skewers for the eyeballs were painted with silver paint.
Unusual and creepy pumpkins were perfect props for a spooky garden, along with some real plants like aloe, nepenthes (pitcher plant), and ivy. Our beautiful 16 year old Harry Lauder walking stick bush succumbed to Eastern blight this year, so some of the unaffected branches were saved and found a place on the table.
I had purchased two different sets of "firefly" lights on Amazon and both were returned. The color matches a firefly, but the slow blink function was either not slow enough or cycled through multiple colors. After some digging on Goggle, I found the company Firefly Magic. Their lights really simulate fireflies and they have multiple power options. Check out the video below to see fireflies.
Watch the video to see the fireflies in action.
The "snake" is a hose that almost made it into the trash. As the hose was on the ground next to the trash can, I thought it would make an interesting snake for this year's dinner. The head of the snake has a vintage brass nozzle, painted wooden eyes, and a red ribbon tongue. I couldn't believe my good fortune to find a Halloween colored metal watering can on Amazon.
The dishes are from Bordallo Pinheiro's "Green Cabbage" line, but any botanical themed plate would do nicely. Majolica comes to mind if you are lucky to have a collection. If the shovel forks & spoons look familiar, they were used in last year's dinner. I had galvanized plate chargers and green Villeroy & Boch glass goblets from Christmas 2020 that were reused. The clear mushroom glasses are from AliExpress and I was thrilled to discover them because honestly, how perfectly do they fit the theme?!?
The menu slanted towards vegetarian dishes with a delicious Venus Pie Trap to end the meal. If you like your meals on the more adventerous side, escargot would be a perfect main course.
I LOVE ARTICHOKES! I did a test run in the summer for these artiCHOKEme Bites and found that the regular canned artichokes were too small. If you can find large or extra-large artichoke hearts, frozen or canned, they work much better. I used the Cento brand with 5-7 hearts per can and made sure to drain them thoroughly. Blue cheese is just the perfect ingredient for a Halloween dish and makes a nice dipping sauce. The diced celery was omitted from the dip recipe since it was originally paired with Buffalo wings.
Ghastly Greenhouse Greens were argula, Boston lettuce, black dyed hardboiled eggs, roasted pepitas, yellow cherry tomatoes, cucumber snails, crunchy sprouts, and cut-out carrots. I used a cilantro lime dressing.
Bread of the Dead was a fun take on flat bread and was made by Cameron. We had to deviate from the original recipe and saved some uncooked skull mushrooms to place on top once the flat bread was done baking. I would saute the mushrooms skulls with the faces pointing up or you'll lose the facial detail. Sliced leeks were added for color since I didn't use the pesto Gouda that was called for in the original recipe. Instead of the pesto Gouda, smoked Gouda was substituted.
I used Jamie Oliver's spicy pork goulash recipe and added several varieties of mushrooms. I live in a house full of spice boys and the spicier the better. It's always easier to be able to start the main course the night before by the use of a slow cooker (thank you very much to MIL Judy for the awesome birthday present).
Homemade pie crust and blueberry filling were the base of the Venus Pie Traps. They were created from a tried-and-true, no spread vanilla sugar cookie recipe using oval cookie cutters. The Venus' spiny protrusions are slivered almonds. Sugar work would have made better spines, but that is above my pay grade and I had to go with something more simple. The cookie fly traps sat on a bed on edible moss and have little blueberries to simulate flies.
Cameron was once again tasked with creating the evening's signature cocktail and the mushroom glasses were perfect! Cameron made Mushroom Coladas. He used frozen pineapple, fresh lime juice, coconut cream, white rum, and the mushroom cap has added frozen strawberries, maraschino syrup, and red food gel. The white spots are melted white chocolate dabbed on to the cap portion prior to pouring.
Aloeween Juice is aloe juice, which naturally has some aloe chunks in it, is found at most Asian grocery stores and I added frozen kiwi bugs.
After we finish our meal, I always have a trivia or game that represents that year's theme. This year, we played a gnome game. I like to provide prizes, some really good ones and some tricks, for the group. Fun ending to a nice evening.
I purchased most of the items on sale or using retailer's coupons. As easy as Amazon shopping can be, it's not always the least expensive, so shop around. I found the light green moss to be much cheaper at JoAnn Fabrics than on Amazon, especially when you can use a 50% or 40% coupon.
Taquitos are always a crowd pleaser & roasted little honey gold potatoes on the ends gives them just the right amount of Halloween goodness. The chicken taquitos were purchased from Costco & the whole box could easily serve 6-7 people. These bones were made by my youngest son Cole & I think he did great! We served two bowls of salsa on the side, one regular red salsa & a green guacamole salsa.
Roast the mini potatoes with EVO, kosher salt, & cracked pepper on parchment paper for 35 mins in a 400 degree oven. Let cool to the touch on a plate.
Bake taquitos according to box directions, but take out two minutes prior to total baking time. Place two roasted potatoes at each end of taquito and secure with toothpicks. Place a half slice of cheddar cheese over each end of the taquito. Place back in 400 degree oven for 2 mins. Let cheese cool & slightly harden to remove toothpicks.
Skull votives by Dept. 56 (no longer available for purchase) Try online auction sites.
Spooky start to the day with a simple Halloween breakfast. Hardboiled eggs were created by using the Fred Egg-A-Matic skull mold and use only medium or large sized eggs. The butter brains used melted better in a silicone brain mold. You could even add a drop or two of red gel food coloring to give the brain butter a more realistic touch. Toast was cut into pumpkin shapes with a cookie cutter and any type of bread and spooky cookie cutter would work. A Frankenstein head shape with the brain butter would be really cute.
Salad plate is Fiestaware in butterscotch and apple cider is served in a vintage swanky swig. The Fred Egg-A-Matic mold is not currently available for sale, but can be found on auction sites.
Sometimes this hapa girl just wants a spooky bowl of ramen. Black rice ramen noodles are perfect for Halloween week! A fried tofu ghosts sits atop with chives, red kamaboko (steamed fish cake), and boiled carrot cut-outs. Back in the late 70s, you could order a bowl of ramen at McDonald's in Hawaii and you would get a couple of pieces of kamaboko on top. Don't know if they still offer that now, but I always thought that was cool. I had purchased some Enoki mushrooms, but forgot to use them. They would have added a great spooky touch.
The matcha cake monsters have piped dark chocolate with candy eyes and blanched almond teeth. The crescent moons are Japanese cheese cake cut into shape.
The products below are found at Asian grocery stores. The kamaboko is found in the frozen section and the matcha cake is in the refrigerated area.
Fire bad? Not if it's used to melt shredded market-bought rotisserie chicken and cheese to make Frankenstein quesadillas. Using a large Frankenstein cookie cutter on spinach tortillas, I added the shredded chicken and cheese. One sheet of nori was cut to resemble Frankenstein's hair and adhered with a little egg white wash to the tortilla. On very low heat, I placed the tortillas with the nori face-side down for about 1 minute to cook egg white wash. Using the second Frankenstein cut-out, place one piece of sliced cheddar cheese, shredded chicken, and top with one more piece of cheddar cheese. Place face side tortilla on top and with a hot skillet on medium heat, place quesadilla (face up) in skillet for 90 seconds. To keep the green color of the tortilla, there is no need to flip quesadilla.
The copycat Panera black bean soup recipe is from bitrecipes.com. Extremely easy to make and very tasty. I substituted the one lemon in the recipe for one lime and topped with the remaining spinach tortillas, salted & roasted pepitas, and reserved 1/2 of the red bell pepper. The sliced remaining spinach tortillas were fried in a little vegetable oil to give the soup more crunch & color. Using an icing bag, I piped "eek" with some sour cream.
Ooh or oui? Some hot French onion soup on a chilly fall night. Recipe is courtesy of Lorena Salinas of Cravings Journal. I must admit that I didn't spend time making the beef broth by scratch, but used a high quality pre-made one. After spending several hours in a large antique mall, I didn't feel like driving around finding the ingredients that were called for in the recipe and the market we stopped at didn't carry. No Gruyere, so I substituted with a horseradish cheddar and no baguettes! What decent market doesn't stock baguettes?!?!? I had to make do with a ciabatta loaf, but it was similar in texture, so it worked out fine. The downside of the ciabatta is it was too large for my bowls. Our family enjoyed the soup and it was not overly salty.
If you like a bit of a kick and horseradish, this cheese was tasty.
A yummy mummy pork loin wrapped in phyllo dough. I came across this recipe while perusing old Halloween recipe magazines. The mummy is from The Taste of Home Halloween 2009 issue and the recipe was submitted by Georgine Blume.
I purchased the seasoned pork loin that can be found in the meat section. There are always several varieties and I went with the garlic mustard flavor. There are two packages in the phyllo box and I only needed one to wrap the pork loin. Cous cous reminded me of sand, so I did a layer of it around the baked mummy. The shopping list is:
One seasoned pork loin about 1 lb.
One box of phyllo dough
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. fresh minced thyme
Couple of tsps. of olive oil
6 Tbs. of melted butter
One small apple peeled (I used a Granny Smith)
In a small pan, bring cream & mustard to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 10-15 mins or until mixture is reduced to about 2/3 cup. Remove from heat & stir in thyme.
Place pork loin in a shallow baking pan and brush with olive oil. Broil 6" from the heat for 6 minutes. Remove from oven & cool slightly. Change oven temp to 400 degrees.
Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface & brush with butter. Keep remaining phyllo dough covered with plastic wrap & a damp towel to prevent drying out. Repeat layers four times. Place pork on one edge of phyllo dough; roll up tightly to form mummy's body & tuck in ends.
Place another sheet of dough on work surface & brush with butter. Repeat layers three more times. Cut into thin strips & wrap around tenderloin.
Cut remaining sheet of phyllo dough in half & brush with remaining butter. Cut a 1" cube from apple & wrap in prepared dough. Position at the wide end of bundle for a head.
Place mummy bundle in an ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Transfer to a serving dish & let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
I've always wanted to try Ina Garten's famous Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe and when the new silicone mold arrived, I knew it was time. That recipe has over 2,400 five star reviews and it did not disappoint. The chocolate cake recipe is outstanding and I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake. The skeleton hand is boxed white cake mix. Paired it with some vanilla ice cream and Fancy Sprinkles.
Silicone hand mold is from Michaels and it's on sale for $2.99 right now! Purchase HERE
I'm back! After spending a luxurious three night, all-inclusive stay at Cleveland Clinic's Main Campus, I'm happy to be back in the kitchen. These witch broomsticks were inspired from a shopping trip to Trader Joe's with my son Cole. I saw those Pumpkin Spice Batons and knew I had to make something with them. The "straw" is Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix topped with Fancy Sprinkle's purple Easy Candy. Once the bread loaf has completely cooled, I cut it into thirds, with the bottom two thirds being the thickest. The batons are 7/16" wide, so your layer needs to be at least 1" for the batons not to break the bread. I had a broomstick cookie mold, but you could cut any shape for the straw. I mixed a small batch of marzipan with black gel food coloring for the bands and black licorice strings would work nicely as well. Cole gave these two wands up! I think they would be super yummy with a side of good quality vanilla ice cream with a nice caramel sauce.
The black metal and orange cat & witch lanterns are from Target circa 2001. The witch's shoe is from Dept. 56. The black Opalhouse Jungalow plate can be found HERE.
A simple midnight snack for the night owl in your life. Gingerbread owl cakelet with ginger snap cookies and enchanted hot milk. Gingerbread cakelet is from the box mix below and the gingersnaps were purchased at the market. The brand is Stauffers and it's a good cookie. While the cakelet was hot out of the oven, I placed one piece of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the eye sockets. After 10 minutes, I placed a second chocolate chip and placed a small sugar sprinkle in the center. The beak is a piece of orange candy coating that has been cut into a triangle.
The enchanted hot milk is whatever type of milk you like to drink. I used a 2% milk and added a few drops of violet food coloring. Pumpkin pie Smashmallows were cut in half and then I used a small star cookie cutter. Real whipped cream is topped with edible gold stars and gold diamond dust. Both of the edible gold toppings can be purchased from Amazon.
Cauldron Cups using my vintage Hazel Atlas pieces. Marzipan frogs peeking out from the witch's brew of large pearl tapioca pudding, real whipped cream, and topped with Fancy Sprinkles. I used the recipe on the back of the tapioca bag, but I prefer the MinuteTapioca box recipe. I purchased the Mandelin marzipan from Amazon and it is good for a sugar-free version. I'm going to look for a pure white edible paste because the marzipan's natural coloring is a dark beige and it's hard to achieve vibrant colors. Fancy Sprinkles really has the best sprinkles. Their Halloween sprinkles never disappoint and you can see the whole line at fancysprinkles.com
Uh oh, I don't think these caterpillars are going to make it to the chrysalis stage...
Can of Pillsbury crescent rolls, green food coloring, and a small amount of the filling of your choice to make these yummy caterpillars. I had leftover rotisserie chicken, so I chopped it small and cooked it on the stovetop with finely chopped red onion and a small amount of curry paste. I let the filling cool and added shredded jalapeno jack cheese. The crescent dough is small, so you will only be able to get about a tablespoon of filling in each one. Roll up as directed on the can and bake in a 400 degree oven for 9-12 mins. Don't let them get too browned. To make things easy, I used the Wilton food color spray and one can covered the eight crescent rolls. If you want to add the black dot detail, I used a cotton swab dipped in black food gel and then used the flat end of a meat skewer dipped in yellow mustard. These make a fun appetizer or light lunch paired with a nice salad.
*If you are unable to find the Wilton food color spray, you can do an egg white wash or melted butter tinted with green food coloring prior to baking. The color will probably not be as vibrant. The food spray can be found at well-stocked grocery and craft stores.
Announcing the arrival of hundreds of babies! Marzipan spider sits atop cinnamon roll waffles with a Smashmallow pumpkin spice egg sac. Mini spider web waffle iron was purchased from TARGET. I have to say that was one of the best $10 purchases. Dash also makes a cute skeleton and pumpkin waffle maker for the same price.
The cinnamon roll waffle recipe can be found at createyum.com
I usually don't make a lot of fried desserts, but these screaming ghost donuts are so cute and super easy to make. A can of flaky biscuits, frying oil, small circle cookie cutters, and powdered sugar are all you need. Recipe can be found HERE. I read in the comments that someone used sugar & cinnamon before sprinkling the powdered sugar and that sounds delicious.
Raven loaf for a POEtic feast and by raven loaf, I mean ground turkey. Fill the Nordic Ware casket pan with your favorite meatloaf recipe and bake just shy of 30 minutes regular cooking time. Carefully, lift loaf from pan and place on a metal cooling rack over a casserole dish to catch drippings. Roll out puff pastry dough and use cleaned casket pan as a template for the top piece. Roll out second sheet of puff pastry and press into the bottom and sides of pan. Flip the partially cooked meatloaf and place in pan. Your ketchup topping will now be on the bottom of the pan. Take the cut casket puff pastry and lay over the top. Gather excess from sides and pinch shut. Cook for 30-45 mins in a 400 degree oven. I added roasted cherry tomatoes as a garnish.
Nordic Ware skeleton coffin loaf pan was purchased HERE
Mashed pumpkin patch potatoes are a combination of Yukon gold and sweet potatoes. Save one sweet potato and cut out pumpkin shapes and roast cutouts in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cut chives complete the pumpkin patch look.
Background Poe illustration is by artist Tracy Nuskey Dodson. You can find her work at TheVintageSister on Etsy and Instagram @tracynuskeydodson.
