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devilish
delights
spooky treats for your Halloween fete by Yee-Fan Sun
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2 3 4
continued from page 1
vampires'
teeth
(spicy pumpkin seeds)
Don't throw out the seeds from
your jack-o-lanterns -- toast them to make these spicy party nibbles...
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds from
your carved pumpkins (rinsed of strings and goo, and drained)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne
¼ tsp. black pepper
¾ tsp. salt
2 tsps. olive oil
Preheat oven to 325F. Mix the
dry ingredients in a bowl for the seasoning. Toss the seeds with all the
seasoning, add the oil and toss some more. Spread out the seeds in a
single layer on a big baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes or so,
stirring a couple of times during the cooking period, until the seeds
are puffed-up and lightly browned. Let the seeds cool completely before
digging in or storing in a well-sealed container (the seeds should stay
good for a week or so).
eerie
eyeballs
(radishes stuffed with cheese and topped with olive)
A
take-off on the radish garnish used for the eyeball-tini, this stuffed
radish appetizer looks creepy but makes for a yummy bite.
24 whole radishes, not too
small
4 oz cream cheese
2 tsps. milk
1 Tbsp. capers
6-8 pimento-stuffed green olives
salt and pepper to taste
1 Chop up the capers as finely
as you can. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and milk. Add the
capers and stir some more. Season with salt and pepper.
2
Slice the olives into
quarters. If there are any sections that are missing pimento, discard
(or eat); you'll need to slice some more olives to make up for them.
3 Use a zester to roughly
scrape off some -- but not all -- of the red skin of the radish,
creating a sort of bloodshot effect. Insert the tip of a short paring
knife at an angle close to the stem end of the radish; rotating the
knife around the stem, cut out a conical cavity in the radish (the
diameter should be about the same as an olive). Slice off a little of
the radish at the opposite end of the hollow, to give the radish a base
to sit on. Now hollow out the rest of the radish as best you can -- I
use my 1/8 tsp. measuring spoon to scrape out the innards, but you might
also try a melonballer or a demitasse spoon. The more radish you can
remove, the more flavorful the appetizer will be as you'll be able to
stuff in more cheese; still, don't go so crazy as to puncture your
radish shell.
4 Use a butter knife to stuff
the cheese mixture into the radishes; don't fill the radishes all the
way to the top (as you'll need room for the olive). Top with an olive
slice to form the pupil. Arrange on a platter and serve. (It's best to
stuff shortly before serving. If, however, you must prep ahead, store in a
covered container in the fridge while you wait for party time. The
stuffed radishes will start to seep water as they sit in the fridge, so
don't bother pre-arranging them on the serving plate. When you're ready
to set them out, remove the radishes from the container, wipe off excess
liquid if necessary, and serve.)
keep
on scampering this-a-way...
--------------------------->
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