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October 31, 2014

Edible Earwax

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Edible Earwax

Edible Earwax

October 31: Halloween

For a disgusting dessert on Halloween, serve edible earwax! These simple sweets are made with mini marshmallows on a lollipop stick and dipped with melted peanut butter chips. Try these tasty treats with our gelatin eyeballs and brain, apple smiles, meringue skeleton bones, freaky finger cookies and BBQ ribs for a “body parts” party on a fun-filled Fright Night.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • Mini marshmallows
  • Peanut butter chips (or peanut butter, honey, melted caramel or cheese, yellow-tinted white chocolate, etc.)

Directions

On a short lollipop stick, position and shape a mini marshmallow on each end. Dip in melted peanut butter chips. Let set on a sheet of waxed paper. Arrange on a clean towel with a cotton swab (such as Q-tips brand packaging) sign and simply serve to grossed out guests!

Edible Earwax

Notes

  • Add a little vegetable shortening to the peanut butter chips if needed to thin out to a more liquid consistency.
  • Search our blog for other Halloween recipes.
 

October 31, 2014

Halloween Ribs

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Halloween Ribs

Halloween Ribs

October 31: Halloween

Before indulging in sweets tonight, eat something savory-scary: Halloween ribs! This main dish is meaty and messy and makes for a disgusting-looking but delicious dinner. If hosting a Halloween party, guests will gross out on this gruesome grub.

Preparation of the ribs is simple but the presentation can be spectacularly spine-chilling! Our version is basic—just pork spareribs smothered in our favorite flavor of BBQ sauce with a fresh red bell pepper, accessorized with a knife, plastic skull and bloody cloth. Add cold cuts to the skull (flaying flesh) and mini-sausages (intestines) for an all-out appalling yet appetizing and bloody good buffet.

Cook a creative yet creepy food—ribs—for a Happy Halloween!

Recipe

Ingredients

 Directions

Cut the ribs in half. Season them with salt and pepper. Bake the ribs in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F until cooked. Half an hour before they are done, remove from the oven. Baste one side of the ribs with the sauce. Return to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste the other side of the ribs with the sauce. Return to the oven and finish another 15 minutes.

Halloween Ribs

Arrange the ribs on a platter, placing a rack on opposite sides of each other (or slice between the bones and position them like racks). In between them, put a red bell pepper in the top center. Stick a sharp knife in the red bell pepper. Decorate around the platter with cheesecloth that has been stained with red food coloring. Place the platter on a table and position a plastic skull above the red bell pepper. Serve while the ribs are still hot.

Halloween Ribs

Notes

  • If using one rack of pork ribs, cut in half to make a shorter rib cage. We used St. Louis-style spareribs instead of baby back ribs for this recipe because they were larger and proportionate to the size of the plastic skull.
  • If serving more guests, use two racks of ribs for a longer rib cage. Although presentation is key, the ribs may be pre-cut and arranged on a platter for an easier self-serve buffet.
  • Optional: Below the bell pepper and under the spareribs, scatter some sausages (such as Lit’l Smokies) in BBQ sauce to look like intestines.
  • Optional: Cover a clean plastic skull with cold cuts (like deli-style, thin-sliced ham, roast beef, etc.) to look like decaying skin.
  • A plastic or toy knife may be used in place of the real sharp one for safety issues.
 

October 26, 2014

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

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Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

October 26: National Pumpkin Day

Remember the story of Cinderella where her fairy godmother transformed a plain pumpkin into a pretty carriage? Well, we also made some magic on a basic bundt and dressed it up in the glorious colors of autumn. Although it isn’t as simple as waving a wand, decorating the cake is actually do-able, even for beginners.

For this particular post, we baked a chocolate pumpkin spice cake, glazed it in decadent chocolate, drizzled it with a pumpkin-colored/pumpkin flavored confectioner’s coating (candy melts) and sprinkled it with seasonal nonpareils (fall leaves). Like Cinderella entering the grand ball, this cake is sure to be a showstopper at seasonal social gatherings as well!

Add your personal and magic touch to a plain chocolate pumpkin spice cake and get creative in decorating it. What a way to celebrate National Pumpkin Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn)

For the chocolate pumpkin spice cake

  • 1 box German chocolate cake mix (we used Duncan Hines brand)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup cinnamon chips

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chocolate cake mix, pumpkin and eggs.

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

Add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend well. Fold the cinnamon chips into the cake batter. Spread evenly into a greased bundt pan.

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, testing the cake for doneness. Remove from the oven. Cool completely in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack over a foil-lined lipped pan.

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

For the chocolate glaze and decorations

  • ½ cup (4 ounces) semisweet chocolate (baking squares or chips)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup orange candy melts (we used Wilton’s seasonal pumpkin flavor)
  • colorful seasonal candy sprinkles (optional)

Directions

In a microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate, butter and corn syrup. Heat until melted. Mix until smooth. Drizzle on the top of the cake and let the glaze run down the sides.

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

In a microwave-safe cup, melt the orange candy melts. Spoon in a decorator’s bag outfitted with a small round tip. Being careful not to burn your hand, drizzle on top of the glazed cake in a back and forth motion all around. Finish by sprinkling some colorful seasonal candies on top. Let the topping set. Serve at room temperature.

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

Notes

  • Add a teaspoon or two of vegetable shortening to the candy melts for a thinner consistency.
  • Sprinkles can be black and orange jimmies, Halloween nonpareils or autumn leaves (like we used for this recipe) to reflect the fall flavors and season.
  • Search our blog for other pumpkin recipes.
 

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