This is a guide for planning a festive and fun party menu! All of these recipes are simple to make, delicious to eat, and look really awesome presented on your table! I already listed one on one of my blogs, so please feel free to go there and copy that one as well... I won't repeat it here. It's a "Jack-O-Lantern Cheeseball" served with crackers or breads. Yum!

"Eyes of Newt" 

Flour Tortillas

2-3 Pkgs. Cream Cheese

Roast Beef, Ham, or Turkey (thin sliced)

1 Jar Each of Black and Green Olives (w/ pimiento) Sliced Thin 

1/4 Roasted Red Peppers

1 Batch Fresh Grown Alfalfa Sprouts

Garlic, Onion, Artichoke Hearts (chopped up)

Spread cream cheese over each tortilla. Top with variety of meats (1 for each tortilla), and various veggie toppings, as desired. (add any others you like, or eliminate those you don't! this is a flexible recipe). Roll up tortilla (jelly roll fashion). Trim off uneven ends. Slice each tortilla into 3/4" slices. Spread more cream cheese on top of each slice. Attach slice of green olive w/ pimiento or black olive w/ red pepper to look like an eye. Makes appx. 4 dozen.

*Variations" add guacamole and salsa for a spanish zest, make vegetarian ones with added spinach, shredded carrot, chopped cucumber... be creative as you like!*

 "Spider Web Dip"

1 8 oz. Pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)

1 8 oz. Jar Salsa

1/2 Cup Guacamole

2 Tblsp. Sour Cream

Place cream cheese & salsa in blender. Blend til smooth. Spread cream cheese on round serving dish or plate. Smooth guacamole over top, leaving a 1/2" border. Place sour cream in a small resealable bag. Cut off tiny corner of bag. Pipe sour cream in circles over guacamole, starting with a tiny one in center, then working your way out and around to the edge. Run tip of knife through sour cream to make the "spiderweb". Serve with next recipe....

"Spooky Tortilla Chips"

Corn Tortillas

Shortening or Oil, Melted Hot!!!

Cookie Cutters (shaped like bats, ghosts, pumpkins, anything you have and want to use!!)

Cut out shapes on the tortillas with the cookie cutters. Deep fry til puffy and golden. Drain on paper towel. Store cooled chips in a giant ziplock bag, lined with paper towels, til ready to serve. Serve with the spiderweb dip!

*Variation... 3 pkgs. 8" flour tortillas. Preheat oven to 350. Spray baking sheet with any oil. Lightly spray the shapes, as well. Sprinkle w/ seasalt or any seasoning. Bake 5-7 minutes or til edges begin to brown. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely and store. Using 3" shapes, this makes around 90.

"Graveyard Grub"

Prepare Spaghetti Noodles and Pesto sauce. Mix and blend well. Serve hot or cold.

"Pesto Delle Streghe" (The Pesto of the Witches)

1/2 Cup Pine Nuts (almond or sunflower seeds, good substitutes)

1/2 Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 Cup Butter (room temp) *optional

3-4 Lge Cloves Garlic

1/2 Tsp. Seasalt - Pinch Cayenne

Scant 1/2 Cup E.V. Olive Oil (3/4 cup if no butter)

2 Pinches Fresh Marjoram (or 1 pinch dry)

1 Overflowing Cup of Fresh Basil Leaves (firmly packed)

Lightly dry roast the nuts in pan, til golden. Chop lightly. In bowl, hand mix nuts, cheese and butter. In blender, blend garlic, salt, cayenne, marjoram. Blend thourally. Intoduce basil, bit at a time. Blend to a smooth green aromatic paste. Pour into bowl and mix well with the nut-cheese butter mixture. toss with hot pasta. 

"Spiced Pumpkin Soup in Tureen"

Cut top of pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and flesh til clean. Use as serving bowl with nice "handled" lid (top of pumpkin

2 Tblsp. Olive or Nut Oil.

1 Cup Onion (diced)

1 Leek (sliced)

1 1/2 Tsp. Curry Powder

2 - 14 1/2 oz. Cans Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth

1 - 29 oz. Can Pumpkin Puree

2 Tblsp. Unsalted Butter

3/4 Cup Milk

2 Tblsp. Brown Sugar (or Maple Syrup)

Salt, Blk. Pepper and Cayenne (to taste)1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (whipped)

Chervil Leaves or Snipped Choives (garnish)

*optional... Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In 3 qt. Saucepan, heat oil over med. heat. Add onion, leek, and curry. Cook for 10 mins, being careful not to brown. Add broth & pumpkin puree. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer 5 mins. Add pumpkin mixture and butter to blender filling to 4 cup capacity. Remove or open center of lid and begin blending at lowest speed. Blend in batches if necc. Blend til smooth. Return to saucepan. Bring just to a boil, over med. heat. Mix in milk and brn sugar. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Add whipped cream. Garnish with chervils or chives and/or pumpkin seeds.

"Candied Popcorn"

12 Cups Popped Popcorn

3 Cups Variety Nuts

1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Marg. or Butter

1/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

Divide popcorn and nuts between 2 ungreased rect. pans (13x9x2). Cook brown sugar, marg.,syrup, and salt over med. heat, stirring ocassionally until bubbly around edges. Continue cooking 5 mins. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda til foamy. Pour over popcorn and nuts, stirring until well coated. Bake uncovered in 200 oven, stirring every 15 minutes for about 1 hr. 15 servings (1 cup each) (300 calories per serving).

"Hot Cocoa With Floating Eyeballs"

16 Lge. Marshmallow

Black Licorice Candies (Panda works great!) 

Hot Chocolate

16 Lollipop Sticks

 Make a slit in center of each marshmallow; insert licorice into slit. Insert lollipop stick in center of bottom of each "eye". set aside. Make hot cocoa. Place 2 "eyeballs" in each mug. Fill with cocoa. serve immediately.

I hope you and your families will enjoy making these fun recipes. My guests always love them!!! They all disappear very quickly! 

Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen!

Love, Audi