Halloween party food

Here are a few ideas for some savoury Halloween party fare.

Bloody Eyeball Soup

1. Take some cherry tomatoes, cut in half and scoop out the seeds
2. Place a mozzarella pearl into each shell then make a small incision
3. Take a basil leaf and roll into a tight cigar shape
4. cut a slice of the basil leaf and press into the incision in the mozzarella
5. Warm up some tomato soup, and serve with two 'eyeballs' floating on top

Witches Fingers

1. Make a batch of the soft pretzel recipe I used here. 
2. Instead of forming them into the common pretzel shape, form them into small sausages, slightly longer then your longest finger
3. Boil in water and bicarbonate of soda, then place on a baking tray.
4. Using a knife, make some knuckle indentations at the one third and two third mark
5. pinch the 'fingers' a little above and below each knuckle to give that gnarly and bony finger effect. 
6. Brush with an egg wash, and sprinkle with rock salt if you like
7. Press an almond into the end to be the fingernail
8. Bake in a hot oven, Gas 8/230c/450f for 10 minutes or until golden brown

Slimy Worms in a Bun

1. Take a packet of cold hot dogs.
2. Cut length ways, then cut each length again so you have 4 long strips
3. Drop into boiling salted water for about 3 mins
4. Drain the place into a bowl and coat generously with barbecue sauce
5. Serve the 'slimy worms' in a nice kaiser roll or any roll of your choice.

Gravestone Wedges

1. Cut cleaned sweet potatoes into wedges leaving the skin on
2. drizzle over some olive oil
3. Sprinkle in some salt, cumin, paprika and black pepper (or whatever mix of spices you prefer)
4. Rub the oil and spice mix over the edges ensuring that they are all coated
5. lay them out on a baking tray and cook at 200C/gas 7 for 40 mins, or longer if needed to make them crispy

Mini Mummy pizzas 

1. Take one packet of English Muffins and cut each muffin in half. These will form the base of your mini pizzas
2. Smooth a layer of tomato purée over the top of each muffin
3. Take some slices of mature cheddar and cut into strips about 2cm wide
4. Lay them over the muffin pizzas to look like bandages
5. Cut two slices from a pepperoni (or an olive for vegetarian version) and place as eyes
6. Bake in an oven at Gas 5/190c/375f for about 10 mins or until the cheese is bubbling and golden

 Mummy Sausages

1. Take one packet of pork chipolata sausages
2. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry, and using a pastry wheel cut into thin strips about 1cm wide
3. Lightly wet one side of the pastry to help it stick
4. Wrap each sausage in one or two strips of pastry leaving a small space about two thirds up for eyes
5. Bake in the oven at Gas 6/200c/400f for 15 to 17 mins
6. Once cooked, place on a cooling rack then put two small dots of mustard for eyes

Soft Pretzels

Some time ago, I decided to make some pretzels. As soon as they were out of the oven, and I mean they were still surface-of-the-sun hot, my husband and brother descended on them. Within moments, all that remained were a couple of sheepish faces and a few leftover crumbs.

To be fair, these are best when warm, so be prepared to fight people off as they come out of the oven.

The glossy finish is due to boiling them in a water and bicarbonate of soda, then egg-washing before baking.  Commercial bakers use a food-grade sodium hydroxide, but sadly I cannot get hold of that in small quantities, so baking soda will have to do.


Ingredients:

• 250ml warm water or milk (or half milk half water)
• 1 tbsp instant yeast
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp cooking salt
• 440g strong white bread flour
• 5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 egg

Method:

1. Pour warm water in a mixing bowl
2. Stir in the yeast and sugar and leave for a few minutes to bloom
3. add in the salt and flour
4. Once mixed, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins until dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Place in a bowl and cover with clingfilm and leave to double in size, about an hour.
6. Turn out onto floured surface and divide into 4,6,8 pieces depending how big you want your pretzels. This mixture will make 4 large pretzels.
7. roll each portion into a long rope, then form into a pretzel shape (see here for tips on folding a pretzel).
8. when you have all your pretzels formed, boil 1½ litres of water with 5 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
9. add each pretzel individually and boil for 1 min on each side the place on a lined baking sheet
10. once your pretzels are all boiled, brush with an egg-wash and then sprinkle with rock salt or sesame seeds
11. bake in hot oven Gas 8/230c/450f for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown

You can eat these just as they are or try serving them with a spicy tomato or barbecue dip.