Halloween Candy Corn Votives

Jack-o'-lantern bright and trick-or-treat sweet, these easy-to-assemble candy-corn votives will shed a festive orange light on Halloween high jinks. Fill the bottom of a plain glass jelly jar with a handful of candy corn--enough so that when you set a smaller glass votive on the surface of the candy, the top of the votive is flush with the top of the glass. Place a candle inside the votive glass, wick pointed upward. I like to use tea lights, which give off a glow from the center of the votive, since they are shorter than traditional votive candles. Fill in the space between the circumference of the votive and the edges of the jar with candy corn so that the votive itself disappears. You'll need about a cup of candy corn per light. Nibble only when you've blown out the candle.

Sweet-and-Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Some families often challenge one another to create the year's scariest jack-o'-lantern. Roasted pumpkin seeds, seasoned with a generous sprinkling of salt, are a bountiful by-product of this annual competition.

I've updated this seasonal favorite by using such flavorful seasonings as coriander, cinnamon, ginger and freshly ground black pepper. For best results, pumpkin seeds must be dried in the oven before tossing them in the spices.

Whether for cooking or carving, choose an unbruised pumpkin that feels heavy for the size of the pumpkin; it will keep, uncarved, in a cool, dry place for up to a month.

RECIPE

SWEET-AND-SPICY PUMPKIN SEEDS

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds from 1 medium pumpkin (about 5 to 6 pounds)
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Open pumpkin from the bottom, removing seeds with a long-handled spoon. Remove pumpkin seeds from flesh and set seeds aside; discard flesh. Spread seeds on baking sheet in an even layer. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 50 minutes. Let cool.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 4 tablespoons sugar, salt, coriander, cinnamon, ginger and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook until sugar melts and the pumpkin seeds begin to attain a golden color, about 1 minute. Transfer seeds to bowl with spices using a slotted spoon and toss seeds in spices to coat. Let cool. Seeds may be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week. 

Halloween

Pumpkin Carving

Discover a ghoulish beef goulash for All Hallow's Eve. Plus, discover the art of creating carved pumpkin creations and a technique for flavored roasted pumpkin seeds. 

Halloween III

Peanut Brittle

All the tricks and treats you'll need for a bewitching Halloween party: Peanut brittle, spooky sweets and more, including some very scary surprises your guests won't forget.

Halloween

Caramel Apples with Chocolate Coating

Halloween treats and sweets--learn Michael's secret for sensational Caramel Apples with Chocolate Coating. Plus discover a Halloween Jack-o'-Lantern Cookie perfect for trick-or-treating and a haunting way to light up the Halloween sky.

Halloween Pumpkins

Halloween Pumpkins

Join expert Joost Elffers for pumpkin madness. Get fantastic ideas for carving your Halloween pumpkins. Plus, glowing candle creatures and more great and inventive ways to celebrate Halloween.

Halloween-Themed Cocktails: Graveyard Ghoulada and Ice Cube Eyeballs

These glasses are sure to elicit some blood-curdling screams. Plus, toast your Halloween guests with ghoulish flair by adding floating eyeballs to their drinks.

GRAVEYARD GHOULADA

Usually, glasses are rimmed with salt to help flavor cocktail favorites like margaritas. But at Halloween, rims coated with vampire's blood are much more appropriate for the holiday. If you experience any difficulty extracting the blood of an unsuspecting victim, you can substitute 1 teaspoon light corn syrup and about 2 tablespoons red food coloring--a mixture that is sure to give your lips a hideous, vampirish gleam. Pour the corn syurp mixture onto a small plate, slowly twirl the glasses into the mixture to coat the entire rims and turn the glasses upright. Let the "blood" drip slightly for a ghastly effect, then fill the glass with a bloody good drink.

RECIPE

Graveyard Ghoulada

Makes 2 medium drinks

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice, plus more if needed
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons good-quality rum (optional)

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients. Place 1 scoop crushed ice in a blender, and add drink mixture. Blend until the mixture is smooth; add more pineapple if mixture is too thick. Carefully pour drink mixture into prepared glasses; serve.

ICE CUBE EYEBALLS

At Halloween--the one time of year when the gory, grotesque and gruesome take center stage--use the occasion to conjure up your wicked imagination with just the type of drink Dracula might have sipped at cocktail hour. With medium-size radishes and blueberries, you can prepare a batch of hair-raising ice cubes that seem to resemble eyeballs--ideal for a horrifying Halloween martini or in a gruesome glass of flavored water for your young ghouls and gals.

Pumpkin Dinner

Individual Chicken Potpies in Pumpkins

Join Michael for Halloween recipes for an Orange-Pumpkin Flan, Chicken Potpies in Pumpkins and Crunchy Pumpkin Seed Salad.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe



Michael displays a tray of pumpkin seeds.



When eaten out of hand, pumpkin seeds make a healthy, flavorful snack. Learn how to turn the remnants of pumpkin carving into a seasonal treat.

Full of vitamins A and C, pumpkin seeds are nutritious. They don't require much but a sprinkling of salt to bring out their natural nutty flavor. If your pumpkin is particularly striking, you may choose to save some seeds for planting in the garden in the spring; the rest of the seeds can be turned into a delectable snack. After you've finished carving out your pumpkin, separate the seeds from the pulp and spread the seeds in one layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Discard any seeds that appear shriveled or pitted. Avoid the temptation to wash the seeds with water--washing will only take away the inherent flavor from the seeds. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds lightly with coarse salt or, for a sweet alternative, use granulated sugar. Place the pumpkin seeds in a 350 degree F. oven for 5 to 10 minutes. The fragrance of the toasted seeds will indicate when they're ready to be removed from the oven. Let cool and enjoy a tasty autumnal snack.

Pumpkin Dinner

Join us for Halloween recipes for an Orange-Pumpkin Flan, Individual Chicken Potpies in Pumpkins and a Crunchy Pumpkin Seed Salad.

Although it predated the arrival of colonists, the pumpkin became associated with settlers from Europe during the colonization of the Americas. Today, it's a Thanksgiving tradition to have pumpkin pie with roasted turkey. However, pumpkins shouldn't be relegated to traditional dessert offerings like pies, which is why I incorporated pumpkin into the salad, main course and dessert of this holiday-inspired meal.

Inspired by the theme of thanksgiving for the growing season and harvest, we've used all parts of the pumpkin in these dinner recipes: the flesh, the outer shell and the seeds. Canned pumpkin puree is the base for the orange-pumpkin flan recipe, a twist on pumpkin pie. For the individual chicken potpies, use small sugar pumpkins for the serving containers. The sugar pumpkin has a sweet, firm flesh that won't become soggy when baked. Don't use large sugar pumpkins; small sizes work best to hold individual servings of a hearty chicken potpie baked inside the pumpkins' interiors. Pumpkin seeds, known as pepitas in Mexican and Latin American cuisine, add crunch and flavor to a healthy salad of fresh lettuce and crispy green beans.

RECIPES

ORANGE-PUMPKIN FLAN

In this custard-based dessert, pumpkin pie (a popular Puritan dish that traces its origins to Colonial America) combines with flan, a traditional Spanish dessert.

INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN POTPIES IN PUMPKINS

A family-dinner favorite everyone enjoys during cool weather, chicken potpie is baked and served inside a hollowed-out pumpkin.

CRUNCHY PUMPKIN SEED SALAD

Full of vitamins A and C, pumpkin seeds are nutritious and make a great snack. Called pepitas in Mexican cooking, the seeds are great when toasted and added to a salad.

Floating Hands and Faces in Punch

Use these ghoulish ice cubes to keep Halloween beverages such as a macabre blood punch cold and creepy.

Watch Halloween guests become terrified as they sample your witch's brew with a ghoulish touch: hands and faces floating in punch. These icy anatomical structures will perfectly chill your brew. Just prepare your favorite blood punch (a macabre mixture of red fruit drink and ginger ale) and float the body parts in the punch. Or, you can fill a bucket with an assortment of these icy creations to keep bottled beverages chilled.

Floating Hands and Faces in Punch
MATERIALS

• Powder-free clear plastic gloves
• Twist ties
• Baking sheets
• Cornmeal
• Molded-plastic face masks
• Wide duct tape
• Plastic shoe box
• Bubble wrap
• Scissors

For Ice Hands

1. Rinse gloves thoroughly, inside and out. Add enough water to fill the gloves loosely but not so full that the fingers will not move. Fasten the gloves tightly with a twist tie. Place cornmeal on a baking sheet and lay the hands on the cornmeal. Freeze.
2. When hands are frozen solid, rinse off cornmeal from gloves, carefully cut off the gloves with scissors at the rubber band. Peel away from ice hands. Float hands in a bowl of punch for scary fun.

For Ice Faces

1. Select a mask with distinct features for the best effect. Rinse the mask with water and dry off. Tape closed all the openings (eyes, nose, mouth) inside and out with duct tape.
2. Line a plastic shoe box with bubble wrap to support the mask while freezing. Place the mask face down in the box, and fill the mask 1/3 full with water, leaving space along the top for shifting. Freeze the mask for 2 days.
3. When face is frozen, loosen the mask from the ice form by quickly placing it in a bowl of warm water. Release the mask from the ice form and float the ice face in the punch bowl.

SOURCES
Powder-free clear plastic gloves
Available at pharmacies and housewares stores

Check out some more creepy Halloween drinks to serve to your ghosts and goblins.