HalloweenatthePierceHouse

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Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

These Infected Monster Toes are about as gross as Halloween recipes get. Copley News Service photo

Cut pumpkin open and scoop out seeds and fibrous, stringy tissue. Rinse and remove seeds from strings. (Some say not to rinse the seeds because it removes all the natural flavor.)

Spread seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Try to make an even layer; the less time they lie on each other, the better they will bake.

Add salt to taste and bake at 250 degrees until dry, stirring occasionally. Let bake for 15 to 30 minutes or until the seeds start to turn a light gold color.

Popcorn Balls
Serves 12

2 cups popcorn, unpopped
Salt, to taste
2-2/3 cups molasses
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Pop the popcorn and salt lightly. Set aside. In a large, heavy saucepan, cook molasses and sugar until you can spin a thread, or until mixture reaches about 90 degrees on a candy thermometer. Stir constantly. Add soda. The mixture will foam up. Pour mixture over the popcorn, and mix it quickly with a buttered spoon.

When you are sure it is cool enough to touch, butter your hands and shape into balls while still very warm.

(From "Pigtails and Frog Legs, A Family Cookbook," Neiman Marcus.)

Candied Apples
Serves 10 to 15

10 to 15 medium apples
3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
15 cloves
1 to 2 teaspoons red food coloring
Chopped nuts, optional

Push wooden craft sticks into the stem end of clean apples. Set aside.

Combine sugar, cream of tartar, water, lemon juice and cloves in heavy saucepan. Stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Add coloring. Boil, without stirring, to hard crack stage, 300 to 310 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and skim out cloves. Twist apples in syrup quickly. Place, upside down, on buttered cookie sheet or foil.

Dust half of each apple opposite skewered end with chopped nuts, if desired.

(From "Complete Holiday Cookbook" by Favorite Recipes Press.)

Spicy Witch's Brew

1 12-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 quarts apple cider
4 cups water
1 cup white grape juice
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 package cherry soft drink mix (for ice)
Large bowl
Ice trays (approximately three)

Mix the orange juice, lemon juice, apple cider, water, white grape juice and ground cinnamon together in a large bowl until well blended. Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving.

Make a pitcher of cherry soft drink and pour into ice trays. When frozen, add to the witch's brew to look like bloody ice.

(From "The Big Book of Halloween," by Laura Dover Doran.)

Ice Cream and Sweets

Pumpkin Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Milk Caramel (recipe follows, plus more for serving if desired)
6 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup cooked Pumpkin Puree (recipe follows)

Combine milk, cream and Milk Caramel in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer, stirring frequently as caramel melts.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water; set aside. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale, about 4 minutes. While whisking, very slowly add a little hot milk mixture to egg mixture. Add more milk mixture, whisking, until combined. Add vanilla, lemon juice and puree; combine. Strain into a clean bowl; chill in ice bath.

Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. After churning, transfer to freezer until firm. Serve with Milk Caramel, if desired.

(From Martha Stewart Living.)

Milk Caramel (for use with Pumpkin Ice Cream recipe)
Makes about 1 cup

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 small cinnamon stick

Combine milk and cinnamon stick in top of a double boiler over simmering water. Cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until milk has reduced by almost half and is thick and amber in color, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Remove from heat; discard cinnamon stick. Beat with a wooden spoon. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate up to several weeks, until ready to use.

Note: Cook caramel very slowly or it will scorch.

(From Martha Stewart Living.)

Pumpkin Puree (for use with Pumpkin Ice Cream recipe)
Makes 3 cups

1 3-1/2 pound pumpkin, cut in half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pumpkin cut side down on a baking pan, roast until tender, 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool. Using a large spoon, scrape out and discard seeds. Remove flesh; transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until completely pureed without any solid pieces, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Refrigerate up to several days or freeze up to 1 month.

(From Martha Stewart Living.)

Frightening Fingers
Makes 5 dozen cookies

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Red decorating gel
1/2 cup sliced almonds

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Divide dough into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into 1-in. balls. Shape balls into 3-in. x 1/2-in. fingers. Using the flat tip of a table knife, make an indentation on one end of each for fingernail. With a knife, make three slashes in the middle of each finger for knuckle.

Place 2 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 3 minutes.

Squeeze a small amount of red gel on nail bed; press a sliced almond over gel for nail, allowing gel to ooze around nail. Remove to wire racks to cool.

(This recipe from Taste of Home magazine.)

Variation: For Infected Monster Toes, mold dough into toe shapes and substitute a smashed green Fruit Gusher candy for the red gel and sliced almond. (From Jennifer Mastroianni, Copley News Service.)

Scary Spiders
Makes 40 spiders

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups California raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 cups (1 pound) powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, chopped nuts and/or chocolate sprinkles
Licorice laces or whips
Small candies

In large bowl, beat butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla extract together until creamy. Mix in raisins and nuts. Sift in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until mixture thickens. Turn onto board and sprinkle with powdered sugar and use hands to form dough. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar, finely chopped walnuts or chocolate sprinkles. Cut licorice whips into 2-inch lengths and shape into legs. Arrange four legs on two sides of each ball. Place on wax paper-lined tray. Top with small candies for eyes. Chill until firm.

(From Saimi Rote Bergmann, Copley News Service.)

Yummy Mummy Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 packages (10 ounces each) white chocolate chips
1 to 2 tablespoons shortening (do not use butter, margarine or oil)
Miniature semisweet chocolate chips, for garnish

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Refrigerate dough 15 to 20 minutes or until firm enough to handle.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. To form mummy bodies, using 1 tablespoon dough, roll into 3 1/2-inch-long carrot shape; place on an ungreased cookie sheet. To form the mummy's head, roll 1 teaspoon dough into a ball the size and shape of a grape, press onto the wide end of the body. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes, or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Place 1 2/3 cups (a 10-ounce package) white chips and 1 tablespoon shortening in microwave-safe pie plate or shallow bowl. Cook on high (100 percent power) for 1 minute; stir until chips are melted.

Coat tops of cookies by placing one cookie at a time on table, knife or narrow metal spatula; spoon white chip mixture over cookie to coat. (If mixture thickens, return to microwave for a few seconds.)

Place coated cookies on wax paper. Melt additional chips with shortening, if needed, for additional coating. As coating begins to set on cookies, using a toothpick, score lines and facial features into coating to resemble mummy. Place 2 small semisweet chocolate chips on each cookie for eyes. Store covered in cool, dry place.

(This recipe from Hershey's Cocoa.)

Frozen Witches
Serves 8

Tube of chocolate decorating gel
8 chocolate sugar cones
8 thin, round chocolate wafers
1 pint pistachio ice cream
Black shoestring licorice
Chocolate chips
Candy corn

For each dessert, squeeze a ring of decorating gel around the edge of the cone and attach the cone to a chocolate wafer "rim," then set it aside.

Using an ice-cream scoop, drop individual "heads" of ice cream onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.

Cut pieces of licorice to make hair and a mouth and arrange them in place on the ice-cream face. Add chocolate-chip eyes and a candy-corn nose. Top each scoop with a cone hat (flatten the ice cream slightly so the hat doesn't fall off.) Freeze for at least two hours, or until the hats are set in place.

Note: To avoid meltdown, make these desserts in batches of four.

(This recipe from Family Fun magazine.)

For Kids

Witch's Wagons

Cut celery into 2-inch pieces. Spread with peanut butter and dot with candy corn or gummi creatures. For wheels, slice carrots into thin coins and secure with toothpicks to celery. This is a healthy snack, plus kids love it.

Baby Jack

Draw jack-o'-lantern faces on oranges, then cut off top part and scoop out pulp. Pour in orange Jell-O that's not quite set. Add red cinnamon candies, candy corn and/or chocolate chips. Chill till set. (Put the oranges in muffin tins to keep them steady while they chill.)

Graveyard Pudding

Fill clear plastic cups with chocolate pudding. Crumble chocolate cookies on top to look like dirt. Stick Chiclets in to look like gravestones. Add sugar skeletons and tiny candy pumpkins.

An Apple a Day

Start with caramel apples made from kits. Let kids create their own monsters by adding marshmallow eyes, for instance, or licorice legs and arms. (If needed, use bits of icing or syrup to make the stuff stick to the apple.)

Frozen Floating Hands

2 cups hot water
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Red food coloring
Plastic gloves

Blend water and honey and lemon juice in bowl. Pour into clean rubber glove. Drop in a few drops of red food coloring for a marbled or blood vein look. Freeze completely.

To serve, peel off glove -- carefully -- and add to punch bowl.

(From Saimi Rote Bergmann, Copley News Service.)

For Grown-ups

Great Glogg

1 gallon dry red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
4 to 5 cloves
Peel of 1 orange, cut into strips
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup raisins
1 cup dry roasted, unsalted mixed nuts (no peanuts)
1 (750 ml) bottle fruity young red wine
1 pint brandy
Sugar
Additional nuts and raisins

Combine 3 cups dry red wine, cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel, kiwi, raisins and nuts in medium saucepan. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not allow mixture to boil. Remove from heat and let stand at room temperature 45 minutes to steep.

Strain into large stockpot. Add remaining red wine. Cover and cook over low heat until heated through. Do not boil. Stir in brandy. Stir in sugar to taste. Remove from heat and serve warm with nuts and raisins in mug.

(This recipe from Susan Janowski, Austin, Texas.)

Bloody Eyeball Martinis
Serves 1

Eyeball:
1 radish
1 pimiento stuffed green olive

Drink:
1 shot gin or vodka
1/4 shot dry vermouth (more or less to taste)

Prepare ice "eyeballs" at least a day before your plan to use them. Peel radishes, leaving thin streaks of red skin to represent blood vessels. Using the tip of the vegetable peeler or a small knife, carefully scoop out a small hole in each radish, roughly the size of an olive. Stuff a green olive, pimiento side out, in each hole. Place 1 radish eyeball in each section of an empty ice cube tray. Pare the radishes down a bit to fit, if necessarry. Fill the tray with water and freeze overnight.

To make drink, shake liquor in cocktail shaker and pour over two to three eyeball ice cubes in a martini glass. Or add liquor and three to four ice cubes to tall cocktail glass and stir.

(From http://www.fabulousfoods.com.)

Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Butter

1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 unsalted butter

Heat canned pumpkin in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it dries out (about 2 minutes). Let cool; then, by hand or with an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, fold puree, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon into room-temperature unsalted butter. Refrigerate up to two weeks.

(From Martha Stewart Living.)

Pumpkin Fritters
Serves 4

1 cup grated raw pumpkin
1 large egg
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Brown sugar (optional)

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt. Blend in the raisins (if using). Form the batter into approximately 20 loosely packed 1- to 1-1/4-inch balls.

In a large skillet, heat 1 inch of oil to 350 to 375 degrees. Drop the fritters into the oil, being careful not to crowd, and brown well on all sides. Drain the fritters on paper towels and, if desired, sprinkle with brown sugar.

(From "Jazz Cooks: Portraits and Recipes of the Greats.")

Smoky Pumpkin Soup
Serves 6

6 slices bacon, fat reserved after cooking
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
6 cups peeled cut-up pumpkin (1-inch pieces)
6 cups beef stock
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cook bacon until crisp, remove bacon and dice when cool. Pour reserved bacon fat into stockpot and heat, along with butter, on medium-high heat. Add pumpkin and saute for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the stock and simmer, covered, until the pumpkin is very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add Marsala, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Process the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Return to the stockpot. Add the bacon. Simmer 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

(From "The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.")