What to serve at your Halloween costume party

There are traditional Halloween foods and food items: pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie, candy corn, assorted chocolate and candy bars, and more. But this Halloween, you want to whip up something different for your family and friends. Whether it is for a Halloween costume party or for your kids Halloween costume adventures (trick-or-treating, school parties), here are some wickedly tasty Halloween recipes!

Amazing Appetizers, Monstrous Munchies

Last year, my friend held a Halloween costume party. For her Halloween costume, she decided to be a Black Widow spider, the poisonous spider with a telltale red hourglass on its belly. She coordinated a lot of her Halloween costume party cuisine with her spider costume. For an appetizer, she served Spider’s Nest Dip, which sounds a bit gruesome but is a definite crowd-pleaser. It also went perfectly with her spider Halloween costume! For this recipe, mix 16 ounces Cream Cheese with ½ a packet of taco seasonings and a cup of sour cream. Next, spread a layer of refried beans on the bottom of a oven-safe dish and sprinkle a handful of cheddar or jack cheese over the top. Place dish in oven at 300 degrees until the cheese has melted. Use either homemade or store-bought salsa and guacamole for this next step: layer salsa, then some of your cream cheese mixture, and last, some guacamole. Continue to layer your items until you run out of ingredients: beans, shredded cheese, salsa, cream cheese mixture, and guacamole. Last, when you have used up all of your layering ingredients, place a spoonful of sour cream in the middle—the “spider’s nest.” Place about ½ a cup of sour cream in a plastic bag—Ziplock, grocer bag, whatever you have on hand. Cut a hole in one corner and, carefully squeezing the bag, draw concentric circles around the spoonful of sour cream. Put as many circles as you can without them blending together. Finally, use a pointed object like a toothpick to drag lines from the “nest” to the outside of the web. It will create a lovely web design. Serve with your favorite chips and garnish with plastic spiders. It’s a great addition to a witch, spider, mummy, or vampire Halloween costume!

Devilishly Delicious Eggs at Your Halloween Costume Party!

Deviled eggs haunt many a picnic, brunch, and family gathering. But little do we realize how great these are for fare at a Halloween costume party! And like the Spider Nest dip, you can coordinate this next recipe with your devil Halloween costume—or even your witch or werewolf Halloween costume. Boil one dozen eggs until hardboiled, cool, peel, slice in half, and remove the cooked yolks. Using a hand blender or chopper, blend together the yolks with 4 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, two cloves minced garlic, a dash of hot pepper sauce, and, if you like spicy, throw in a few slices of jalapeno pepper. Blend until completely mixed together and creamy. Using a spoon, stir in a few drops of red food coloring and stir until the mixture has become your desired shade. Fill the empty egg white halves with the red yolk mixture, garnish with parsley or peppers, and enjoy! It’s a festive dish, and it works well for Halloween costume parties, holiday gatherings, and potlucks.
You can also substitute other food coloring—green, blue, yellow, whatever you wish! After your Halloween costume party, everyone will be asking for this recipe.

Paul Hulse writes for the Halloween Costumes online retailer www.incostume.com. Please visit their site for more information on Leg Avenue Costumes and many other costumes for Halloween.