Halloween is an invitation to serve foods to die for. Here are some particularly devilish recipes.
Spooky Eyeballs will peek back at you and send chills down even the bravest child’s spine. But once they taste the tender meatballs with green olives, their fear will disappear.
Same with Spiderweb Pudding for dessert. The smooth creamy texture will win them over once they sample it.
Spooky Eyeballs
1 egg
125 ml (1/2 cup) dry seasoned breadcrumbs, divided
175 ml (3/4 cup) shredded white cheddar cheese
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 ml (1/2 tsp) each dried basil and thyme leaves
1 ml (1/4 tsp) fresh ground pepper
500 g (1 lb) extra-lean ground chicken or turkey
1 jar (375 ml/12 oz) pimento-stuffed green olives, drained and rinsed
Pasta sauce (optional)
Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together egg and 45 ml (3 tbsp) of the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, basil, thyme and pepper. Add chicken. Using your hands, mix well to combine. Place remaining breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Using about 15 ml (1 tbsp) of the chicken mixture, roll into a ball and then roll in breadcrumbs and place on baking sheet. Repeat until chicken mixture is all used.
Push 1 olive into each meatball and reshape as necessary to form eyeball. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and no longer pink inside. Serve with heated pasta sauce, if desired.
Makes 30 meatballs.
Note: For more meatballs, double or triple the recipe.
Spiderweb Pudding
Web Topping
45 ml (3 tbsp) sour cream
15 ml (1 tbsp) icing sugar
Pudding
750 ml (3 cups) 2 per cent chocolate milk
50 ml (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
30 ml (2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
3 eggs
175 g (6 oz) high-quality semi or bittersweet (dark) chocolate, chopped
Web topping: In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and icing sugar. Spoon into a small piping bag fitted with a small round tip or into a small plastic bag, cutting a small hole in 1 corner of the bag. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pudding: In a medium saucepan, heat 625 ml (21/2 cups) of the chocolate milk over medium heat just until steaming and bubbles form around the edge. Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl, whisk sugar and flour together. Whisk remaining 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk slowly into dry mixture until smooth. Whisk in eggs until blended.
In a thin, steady stream, gradually whisk about half of the hot milk into egg mixture. Gradually whisk back into saucepan and cook, whisking gently, for 6 to 10 minutes or until thickened enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Pour pudding into 8 shallow serving dishes or ramekins.
Using sour cream mixture, pipe concentric circles around the edge of each serving dish on top of the pudding.
Drag the tip of a knife or a toothpick through the circles starting from the centre out toward the edge, creating a spiderweb effect. Cover loosely and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until cold and firm. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Makes 8 servings.