Halloween Hitmakers

Amanda Moutinho

So you have to throw a Halloween party, and you want to impress your friends with how Pinteresting you can be. Don’t fret. Nearly everything can instantly become Halloween-flavored with a little effort and some color dye.

Food

By using a little imagination, your classic recipes can easily become fun, festive body parts. Turn deviled eggs into eyeballs by placing some olives in the middle to make the pupil and adding streaks of red color eye to make them blood shot. Spooky fingers can be made out of  hot dogs, carrots, or cheese sticks. Cut a few slashes in the middle for knuckles and complete the look with almond slices as fingernails. Smother a head of cauliflower in red food dye and you’ve instantly got a brain.

Stuffed peppers can become jack-o-lanterns by cutting out eyes and a mouth. Pizzas are a versatile option. Lay down some olives as eyeballs and cut mozzarella into long strips to create a mummy. Or cut mozzarella into ghost-shapes. Don’t forget the toppings can also be strategically placed to resemble a jack-o-lantern.

Drinks

You can use dye to make your vodka or gin look more sinister, or add a splash of grenadine for a bloody cocktail. To make your drinks look radioactive, drop a glow stick in each cup. Put some plastic spiders, gummy worms, or googly eyes in your ice cube trays to include fun surprises for your beverages. For a fall-time centerpiece, grab a large pumpkin and empty it out. Fill it with ice and use it to chill your beers.

Desserts

This is the season for pumpkin everything. Add pumpkin filling or spice to any of your beloved baking recipes.

Dip strawberries in white chocolate and use black icing or sprinkles to paint on a ghost face. Cake pops can easily be transformed into Frankensteins, spiders, pumpkins, witches hats, or eyeballs.

No one likes biting into a candy apple on a stick. To make the experience a little less sticky, set up a candy apple bar. Cut the apples into slices and give everyone a bowl of caramel. Line up ingredients like nuts, candy, and sprinkles so your guests can create their own.

Jello is a very versatile and quick fix. You can buy creepy brain molds or even use a plastic glove to make a hand. Tightly pack a group of straws into a cup and pour the Jello into them. Stick them in the fridge and a little while later you’ll have a bunch of worms. Or use syringes as an inventive way to serve Jello shots.

Check out our other Halloween stories from this issue:

• Colorado’s Ghost Towns
• Ouija, Is Anyone Here?
• Five Haunted Hospitals
• Messages from Beyond the Grave
• Netflix Instant Screaming
• The Stanley Hotel: Colorado’s Premiere Spooky Destination
• Oh, Blucifer
• First stop for UFOs: the Watchtower in Hooper
• The Ghosts of Cheesman Park
• Scientology is Scary [Opinion]
• Halloween Hitmakers
• En Garde