Thursday, October 27, 2011

[Real Detroit Weekly] Halloween Party Foods


Christmas is for kids. Valentine’s Day is for breeders and people who’ve had lobotomies. But Halloween? Halloween is the ultimate adult holiday, from the socially acceptable skimpy costumes to the part where you eat candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner WHY? Because you’re an adult and you can. What better way to honor this most important celebration of the seven deadly sins than with a ghoulishly gluttonous fetish-y fete? Now, we’re no Martha Stuart and we also know the only reason you’re doing this is to (a) show off your skimpy costume, or (b) see all the chicks you invited in their skimpy costumes, so we’re going to keep this as simple as possible with these ready-made recipes.

Spiked Apple Cider
One gallon of Michigan apple cider to one quart of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum. Too strong? Pussy.

Pumpkin Beer
You simply MUST have some on hand, and one of the best on the market is Michigan Brewing Company’s Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale, available wherever Michigan craft beers are sold.

Candy Caramel Corn
Take a bag of candy corn and toss it with a bag of caramel corn in a large serving bowl. Done.

Candy-Coated Caramel Apples
Halloween is a time for treats, so take the classic fall culinary delight of caramel apples (make your own with DIY kits sold in cider mills and grocery stores) and add a little something extra: after rolling the apple in caramel, then roll it in a mix of plain Halloween-colored M&M’s and Reese’s Pieces for a festive orange and black that tastes like summer diets shot to hell.

Day of the Dead Cupcakes
Get some standard Devil’s Food cake mix and chocolate frosting (we like Duncan Hines’s Creamy Home-Style Classic) from the store and make a few batches of cupcakes. To decorate in your Halloween theme, skip the fancy carved jelly candies and piped buttercream frosting; buy some skull candies from the store (your best bet will be grocers that cater to a Hispanic clientele), or make your own in advance following these simple steps:

Ingredients

Skull molds (optional)
Decorations of choice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 small egg whites (or whites from 1 large egg)
1 tsp. light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch

Directions

1. Sift powdered sugar in large mixing bowl and combine corn syrup, vanilla and egg whites in small bowl until well blended. Add liquid mixture to bowl containing sugar.

2. Use hands to mix sugar and liquid together until it begins to form a soft, gritty dough. Shape into a large ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Pull off 1 heaping tbsp. of dough at a time and form each into the shape of a skull, or press the sugar dough into each mold. Use cornstarch on hands and surface to keep dough from sticking. Set the sugar skulls in a cool, dry place to harden overnight.

4. Decorate your sugar skulls the following day using a small paintbrush dipped into food coloring or sugar frosting with a pastry bag or frosting tip.

Roasted Pumpkin Fondue - we've already covered this earlier this week with Y Kant Nikki Cook

See the original story here.