An Elegant Halloween Party -- Part 1

Halloween is my absolute most favorite holiday of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I start decorating my house in August {actually I begin by mentally decorating my house somewhere in July...}.  I plan Halloween costumes the year before and lately I’ve been DIY-ing them which is super fun and keeps me in the Halloween spirit.  

The one thing that disappoints me about Halloween is that it’s not a holiday known for it’s food.  When I google “halloween food” I’m let down when I see peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into the shape of a ghost or hot dogs wrapped in dough to look like mummies.  Let’s get a little creative!  For this Elegant Halloween Cocktail Party I decided to disguise “normal” food as creepy food, choosing appetizers that fit the Halloween holiday but were sophisticated enough to work in with the “elegant” part {example: Bacon Wrapped Roaches = Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates}.  Half of the recipes and decor will be in this post and the other half will be up on Monday!  

As far as decor tips go, the first thing I do when decorating is walk through my house with an open mind and try to use things I already have in a different way.  I have some fantastic candle holders in silver and black that I put white pumpkins on instead of candles.

To keep the price down, I hit up the dollar store and scored some pretty hideous plastic skeletons.  Nothing a little spray paint won’t fix right up!  By using a high gloss spray paint, I was able to make dingy skeletons look amazing and trendy.  

While sifting through the dollar store, I picked up some cheap wooden picture frames and went ahead and used that same high gloss black spray paint...  it completely transformed them into something fabulous!

In keeping with my “silver, black and white” color scheme, I decided to spray paint some mini pumpkins black, cut out the stems and add a tea light for a unique little candle action.

Now on to the food!

Toe Jam and Scab Pizza

{Pimento Cheese Pizza with Crispy Bacon}

1 ball pizza dough or store bought crust

1 recipe Pimento Cheese

5 slices good quality bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 450.  If using raw dough, place pizza stone in oven to heat up for 10 minutes.  Stretch dough out to fit pizza stone and bake dough for 7 to 10 minutes.  Do not let the crust start to brown.  Remove from oven.  If using a store bought pre-baked crust, place crust on pizza stone and proceed to step 2.
2. Smear the crust with a thick layer of pimento cheese and top with crumbled bacon.
3. Bake pizza for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust begins to brown.

Shrunken Head Sliders

{Tapas-Style Meatball Sliders with Sriracha Mayo and Sprouts}

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 c. ketchup

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 c. soft bread crumbs

1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

3 tsp paprika

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1 lb. lean ground beef (90% lean)

2 1/2 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1 container sprouts

slider buns

Glaze:

1 jar orange marmalade

1/4 c. orange juice

3 green onions, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

Sriracha Mayo:

1/2 c. light mayo

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tbsp sriracha sauce, or to taste

1. Combine first 10 ingredients, and mix well.  Divide into 8 portions, rolling into tight meatballs.
2. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan.  Bake, uncovered at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes or until no longer pink.  In a small saucepan, heat the marmalade, orange juice, green onions and jalapeno.
3. Pour glaze over top of meatballs and stir to coat.
4. Combine all ingredients for sriracha mayo and spread one side of each slider bun with the mixture.  Place one meatball on each slider bun and top with sprouts then top of bun.  Serve.

Blood and Puss Puffs

{Brie and Raspberry Puffs}

3 tbsp raspberry jam

2 tbsp dried cranberries, finely chopped

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

3 tbsp whole grain mustard

1 (6oz) wedge brie, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.  In a small bowl, combine jam, cranberries and mustard.
2. On a floured surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll pastry dough into 16 x 16 inches.  Cut into four 8 inch squares.  Lightly brush squared with egg wash.  Cut each square into 2 rectangles.  Place 1 cube of cheese on one side of rectangle and top with 1/2 tsp of cranberry mixture.  Wrap dough on top and seal edges by pressing with a fork.  Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

Halloween Snack Mix

{It is what it is}

8oz white chocolate baking bars, chopped

4 c. corn or rice chex cereal

2 c. bite sized pretzels

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. salted peanuts

1 c. candy corn

1/4 c. halloween candy decorations

1. Microwave chocolate until melted and smooth.
2. Gently stir in cereal, pretzels and raisins until coated.  Stir in candy corn and halloween decorations
3. Spread on waxed paper to harden.