Halloween Recipes
People often look to Halloween as a great way to theme a party. More parties are thrown on Halloween than any other holiday. Chances are you are either going to a party or are perhaps throwing a party yourself. It is sometimes tough to create a Halloween themed menu and still maintain a high level of flavor and quality in the food... Finding good-tasting, gross-looking food can be a challenge!
At City Catering Company, we first make a winning menu and then look for ways to punch up the theme. Here are 5 great tasting, themed items for your next Halloween feast. Sangritas -- meaning little blood -- make a wonderful cocktail. Pumpkin soup shots and lamb lollipops with a pomegranate demi bring the theme to the meal. For dessert, try mini candy apples (all the fun, none of the mess) or cat-box cake (a truly good-tasting, gross option).
Pumpkin Soup Shots
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs sugar pumpkin
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. fennel seed
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. coriander
- 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 qts. water (vegie or chicken stock also works)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup cream (optional)
Preparation
Prepare the pumpkin: Cut the top and bottom off the pumpkin. Carefully peel with a knife. Once peeled, cut through the pumpkin from top to bottom. Scoop out the insides, place the insides in a pot, cover with water (about a quart) and bring to a boil. You'll use this to add a little more flavor to the soup. Cut the pumpkin into cubes.
Sauté the onion in oil over med-high heat until it softens. Add the pumpkin cubes and all the spices. Sauté until fragrant. Add the remaining water to the pot. Strain the boiling pumpkin water into the pot. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer until pumpkin is soft. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. If you want to add a little richness to the soup, stir in the optional ¼ cup cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare garnish: while the soup is simmering, pull the pumpkin seeds out of the strainer. Toss with a little olive oil and salt. Bake at 375° until they brown a little. Remove from oven and let cool.
Serve the soup in small glasses or shot glasses garnished with the pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
Serves 8
Lamb Lollipops with Pomegranate Demi
Ingredients
- Lamb Rack -- see notes
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup sherry vinegar
- 1 shallot, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1½ tsp. pepper
- 2 cups demi-glace -- see notes
- 1 cup pomegranate molasses -- see notes
Preparation:
Marinate Lamb: Mix olive oil, sherry vinegar, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper together. Place lamb rack up in a pan just large enough to hold them or in a large zip lock bag. Add marinade. Make sure the meat is covered. Marinate over night.
Make pomegranate demi-glace. Put demi-glace and pomegranate molasses in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer until reduced to 1½-2 cups.
Cook Lamb: Preheat oven to 450°. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large sauté pan. Sear lamb rack, fat side down until well browned. Turn, sear other side. Place lamb rack in oven cook to 115-125°. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let rest. Cut the rack into chops or lollipops. Serve with pomegranate-demi.
Notes:
Lamb: The lollipop term comes from the look of the lamb. You want to buy a rack of lamb that is "Frenched." Your butcher can do this for you. The bones are stripped down and the loin is left at the end. The finished dish will resemble lollipops once you cut the rack into individual chops.
Demi-Glace: you can buy this thick, rich brown sauce at well-stocked grocery stores.
Pomegranate Molasses: while you are at that well-stocked grocery store, you can also buy a jar of pomegranate molasses. Sometimes you can find pomegranate concentrate -- which is even thicker and will require a little less reducing time.
Sangrita
Ingredients
- 2 oz. Fresh Orange Juice
- 2 oz. Pomegranate Juice
- 1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
- 3 dashes hot sauce
- 3 oz. Sparkling White Wine
Preparation:
Shake all ingredients except sparkling wine in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with sparkling wine and a slice of blood orange.
Mini Candy Apples
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 ¼ cups light corn syrup
- 1 ½ cups water
- red food coloring
Preparation:
In saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat slowly on low heat, stirring constantly.
Once mixture starts to boil, stop stirring and leave boiling until candy mixture reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount of mixture dropped into cold water separates into breakable threads.
Remove from heat and stir in food coloring. Wait until mixture stops bubbling.
While sugar cools down use a melon baller to scoop out pieces of apples, making sure to keep some of the skin intact.
Insert wooden skewer or lollipop stick into apple through the skin, but don't go all the way through the apple.
Dip each apple into the mixture while mixture is still hot, swirl to cover apple evenly. You will need to work fast to get all the apples dipped before mixture becomes too hard.
Place dipped apple on a silpat or greased cookie sheet.
Cat Box Cake
Ingredients
- 1 large cake -- see notes
- Frosting -- see notes
- 1 pack Vanilla cream cookies (we used Mother's brand)
- 6-10 Tootsie Rolls
Preparation:
Cake and Frosting: Place the cooled cake into the new cat box. You may need to cut it into pieces to properly fit the box. Neatly frost the cake.
Kitty Litter: Pulse the cookies in a food processor until they resemble kitty litter. Cover the frosting with the cookie crumbles spreading the "litter" in an even layer.
Making it Real: unwrap the tootsie rolls. Microwave each for 3-8 seconds. Mold the roll to, well, resemble something that looks like it should belong in a cat box. Artfully place the tootsie rolls on the litter.
Serving: serve the cake with a new kitty litter scoop.
Notes:
Cake and Frosting: You can use any cake you want for this dish. Make a favorite from your recipe file or buy one at the store. If you use a store bought cake, you may need to use a little care keeping the frosting neat as you fit it into the new cat box.