Halloween Puns

[JungMann]

Halloween is on the way and I'd like to set my tables with tongue-in-cheek dishes for the guys and ghouls coming to celebrate the night. A selection of cheeses is a blasphemous pun waiting to happen, but other than devil's food, deviled eggs and a recipe for "gravelox," I haven't many other ideas. Any wits out there care to pick up my slack?

[greygarious]

On Martha Stewart's show this morning, she had a huge "Monster Buffet" with all sorts of clever dishes, the recipes for which will be on the website. Things I hadn't seen before, that would be easy, were the large pearl tapioca in a green-tinted bubble tea (Eye of Newt), and peeled radishes which were hollowed out, then stuffed with pimento-stuffed olives (Eyeballs - if you leave a little red when you peel, instant bloodshot effect).

Which led me to think of "Ratishes"...choose elongated radishes, if possible, then cut tails and ears out of jicama or white beet or more radish, cloves for eyes.

[JungMann]

There have been lots of great suggestion, too many to choose! Right now my menu is looking like (for 10 people):
Morcillas fritas (Sauteed blood sausages)
Triple scream brie
Monstrous Muenster
Devil's suppositories (Boulette d'avense)
Chips & dips (spinach, caramelized onion, ajvar)
Vampire's Blood (sangria and dry ice)
Blood orange margaritas
Salted oatmeal cookies
Curry coriander shorties
Deviled brownies

But I still think I need at least one more hot item, preferably a protein. Nor am I married to margaritas or brownies. Would "deviled mac-n-cheese" (spiced with chipotles and chilies) be dairy overkill? Ghoulash is not going to work because I will have non-red meat-eating guests. I had originally thought quesakillas, but the name made me groan and I don't want to be spending any more time in the kitchen than I would be crushing ice for margaritas.

[greygarious]

There's a Hungarian whine called Egri Bikaver, which translates as bull's blood.

Will your guests eat fish? BLACKened CATfish.

[rworange]

Veggie screech (quiche0

Individual quiche could be made ahead of time.

[Emme]

Chicken Fingers? Do them in a nice seasoned panko and parmesan crust.
Blood Eyeballs? Meatballs (chicken/turkey) in a bbq (blood) sauce
Monster Tacos? http://www.foodchannel.com/recipes/1339-spooky-eyeball-tacos-

These aren't protein, but how cute are these Potato Ghosts?? http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/...

[greygarious]

For children, Martha Stewart has a simple rigatoni in tomato sauce with mozzarella called "Riga-boney" and I think the cheese was supposed to be spider webs.

[Paulustrious]

You could have rigatoni with mortadella and call it rigamortis.

[rworange]

Cheese plate puns

Ghoulda
Monster (muenster)
Morbider (Mobier)
Triple scream brie
Monterrey Jack o lantern
Boooorsin
And lots of moldy blues

Some cheeses with Halloweenish names
Bad axe
http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BADAXE
Bandage Wrapped Cheddar
http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BANDAGE
Midnight Moon
http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MMOON

Cute idea for making cheddar cheese pumpkins ... or is that shudder cheese
http://www.ehow.com/how_4514782_chees...

[k_marie]

Maybe a plate of hollow wieners? Fill sausage casings with air and tie tightly.

[sarahjay]

Don't forget the fingers of a Rod Stewart fan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWNga1...

[CindyJ]

And for your table centerpiece...

[Paulustrious]

I like that one - that will be this years design.

[Paulustrious]

Lets have a look in the skullery...

We have trick or treat. Every fifth 'something-or-other' has a chili in it.
Fillet of soul
Sprite (with the aforementioned spirits.)
Leper Corns for goblin (lentils)
Brownies
Broomsticks - twiglets with 'shredded wheat' baklava tails
Hollow weenies
Gravey

[DallasDude]

Ha every other something has a chili in it...

When I make grilled bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos (and I do a lot), one of the jalapenos is not de-seeded. The guests are warned, and anxiously look for the hot one.

[chowser]

Not punnish but devil's breath cocktail:

http://www.drinkswap.com/drinks/detail.asp?recipe_id=9246

Restaurant 2941 has an "eye" scream dessert that looks great:

http://washington.bizjournals.com/was...

You could Hungarian ghoulish in a jackolantern/pumpkin shell that looks like its brains when you open the top.

[BobB]

Or you could just...cook some brains!

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/sear...

[nofunlatte]

A friend of mine used to bring a pasta salad made with radiattore to parties. She called it "Pasta Brains". BTW, these were not Halloween parties!

[fern]

I think if you served home (witches?) brew in frankensteins you'd find your guests goblin it up.
sorry.

eta: howlandaise sauce?

[cuccubear]

As an alternative to the aforementioned "Witches Fingers" - make them out of pretzel dough. I once made fingers, with creases at the knuckles even, making soft pretzels from scratch and pressing on almond halves painted with red food coloring as fingernails. They were really wicked!

[maplesugar]

Not a dish exactly but this melon "brain" from familyfun.go.com wins my vote for creepy :)

[BobB]

Try vampire tacos. Not a pun - these are real: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/497950

[smartie]

anything 'on the bone' or 'bone in'
liver

[Emme]

Witches Fingers - shortbread shaped like fingers with a sliced almond for a fingernail

Bloody Brains - spaghetti or spaghetti squash with tomato-based sauce

Ghoulash

Chicken Scare-oppini

Deviled Eyeballs

Mummies (Pigs in Blankets)

Marshmonsters (s'mores... dip the graham crackers in melted white chocolate tinted with orange food coloring)

The cutest site with pictures of carving foods to look scary... Love the bread carved like a face, with a knife in the mouth...
http://www.creativeconfectioneryblog....

[JungMann]

I love the mummies idea! Perhaps I could wrap soujuk in puff pastry with dukkah for "Egyptian mummies" and morcillas for "bloody mummies!" What are the deviled eyeballs? Eyeballs in curry?

[Emme]

Deviled Eggs -- The white is the white... the yellow looks like the iris, then top with a sliced olive for the pupil... or a caper if it fits with your deviled egg recipe better!

[Michelly]

Then pipe a little red gel lines on the yolk to make them look bloodshot.

[eamcd]

Or slivers of roasted pepper might work better on egg than gel.

[givemecarbs]

Great site and a fun thread! I like the half a watermelon with the dude emerging. If someone does the terrormisu please post pics.

[operagirl]

finger sandwiches (could use sliced almond pieces as fingernails)
blood sausage
ghoulash
terrormisu

[JungMann]

These are great ideas! I was thinking about serving a blood soup or morcillas, but decided these would just go uneaten. But I could certainly do ghoulash in vols-au-vent, or do you have any other suggestions?

[operagirl]

Thanks! Glad to be of help. The terrormisu definitely has to be decorated as a graveyard with little chocolate tombstones. Jussayin. Also, don't bother serving beer and wine; just spirits! ;-)

[nofunlatte]

Sandwitches

[jumpingmonk]

well on the devil tack

pumpernickel bread (from the German make's "nick" (aka Old Nick the devil) fart

As for the cheese plate if you can find it you have to incude Boulette d'avenses ( a French cheese) sice it's local nickname is "le suppositore du diable" (due to the hot paprika on the surface)

[scarsdalesurprise]

How about Horrors d'œuvre? :)