October 27, 2014

Spooky Halloween Decorations and Appetizers

The countdown is on: Just four day until ghosts, goblins and other ghoulish creatures take over the streets. Are you ready? There’s still time to plan some Halloween fun. Here are some simple decorating and appetizer ideas, along with a frighteningly delicious KORBEL recipe.

Crime Scene

Turn your porch or walkway into the scene of a crime. A chalk outline of the “victim” is a must, and yellow crime-scene tape is a nice touch. You could create bloody handprints on the front door or windows with red glass paint, which is available at craft stores.

KORBEL Jack O’ Lantern

  • 1 oz. Jack Daniel's® Tennessee Whiskey
  • 2 oz. orange juice
  • 4 oz. KORBEL® Brut
  • Black licorice stick

Pour whiskey and orange juice into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass (over ice). Top with KORBEL. Garnish with a stick of black licorice.

Devil-Eyed Deviled Eggs

  • 12 eggs
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Green food dye
  • Red food dye
  • Black olive slices

Boil eggs. Let cool. Carefully peel eggs. Cut in half lengthwise. Scoop yolks into a bowl and mix with mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and salt. Add green food dye until you get the creepy color you desire. Fill egg whites with yolk mixture, and top each egg with olive slice to create an eyeball. To create a bloodshot look, dip a toothpick into red food dye and squiggle lines onto the eggs.

Mummy Pups

  • You could easily adapt the recipe by using veggie dogs.
  • 1 package refrigerated breadstick dough
  • 12 hot dogs, cut in half across width
  • Wooden toothpicks (optional)
  • Mustard

Heat oven to 375°. Unroll dough and separate at perforations to make 12 breadsticks. Cut each in half lengthwise to create 24 “bandages.” Wrap a bandage around each hot dog half, leaving space at one end of each hot dog for the mummy’s face. Secure with toothpicks, if necessary. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add two dots of mustard to each face to create the mummy’s eyes.

Ghoulish Cheese and Crackers

A simple, but fun way to serve an old standby.

  • Slices of your favorite cheese
  • Olive pieces
  • Crackers

Use Halloween-themed cookie cutters (bats, ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns, for example) to cut out pieces of cheese. Place cheese on crackers and decorate with olive pieces, for example, using slivers of olive to form the eyes and mouth of a jack-o’-lantern.