Two favorite books that we pull out every year in the beginning of October are Halloween from The Best of Martha Stewart Living collection and Play with your Pumpkins by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann. Martha Stewar’ts book has great ideas for Halloween decorations, pumpkin carving, party treats, and costumes for adults and children. Play with your Pumpkins is an excellent photo book loaded with funny, scary, and interesting ways to carve and create faces on a pumpkin.
Here are a few fun recipes from Martha Stewart’s book that can be prepared for any Halloween gathering. See her book for more delicious tricks and ideas for a hauntingly fun Halloween party.
Eyeball Highballs
- 14 small radishes
- 7 pimiento-stuffed olives, halved crosswise
- 16 oz. of gin or vodka
- 1 oz. vermouth
Trim stem and root ends of each radish. Scrape the red skin from the radish, leaving just enough to give a veiny appearance. With a small melon baller,or pairing knife, cut a small hole in the radish about 1/2″ in diameter. Fit an olive half, cut side facing out, into the hole. Place radish in an ice cube tray. Repeat with remaining olives. Fill tray with water and freeze. Mix gin, or vodka with vermouth; stir with ice. Divide eyeball ice cubes among four chilled glasses. Strain martini; pour into glasses, and serve.
The Devil’s Salsa
The spiciness of the salsa will vary depending on the heat of the peppers you use. Add a little at a time until you reach desired spiciness.
- 2 ears fresh corn, kernels shaved from the cob
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 15-1/2 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1 hot red pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp. coarse salt
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place corn on a baking sheet brushed with 1 tsp. olive oil; roast until kernels begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Set kernels aside to cool. Place pepper on gas burner, roast until charred on all sides. Transfer to bowl and cover with plastic wrap. When cool, peel off charred skin with your fingers, and remove stem and seeds. Chop into 1/4 inch dice; place in large bowl. Add corn, beans, half the diced mango, hot red pepper, onion, lime juice, remaining oil, and salt; toss to combine. Finely chop remaining maingo until a thick puree forms; stir into salsa.
Tortilla Spikes
Make in two batches. Great to accompany Devil’s Salsa!
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 12 flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the oil and chili powder in a small bowl. Brush each tortilla with the oil mixture, and sprinkle with salt. Cut into 1-inch wide strips and arrange in a single layer on tow baking sheets. Bake until crisp and golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
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