Riots. Swarms of cops. Tear gas. Yes, it's that time of year'Mad-town Halloween. Amid all the fervor and excitement on campus, I am assuming people are generally not thinking about what type of food to prepare for party guests.
However, with a few easy treat and drink recipes, your party will have an edge over the hundreds of others that will be taking place this Halloween. Plus, it will be more festive than simply having an assorted mix of drunken nurses and Ninja Turtles acting belligerent in a small, confined space.
First, there's not a tastier, more festive Halloween treat than candy corn. I know it is sort of a love or hate kind of food, but if you are on the loving end of the spectrum, this idea will probably sound delicious.
Make a batch of sugar cookies (either home-made or store-bought) and just a minute or two before taking them out of the oven, place a few pieces of candy corn on each one. Imagine the sugary goodness this cookie will have to offer. Just make sure not to add the candy corn too soon or you will have nothing more than cookies smeared with orange, yellow and white gunk.
Candy corn can also be used to simulate a nut roll. Just mix a bag of candy corn with a container of salted peanuts, and voila! You have a concoction that tastes almost exactly like one of those candy nut rolls that are just amazing. This mixture would be really great if you put it in little containers scattered throughout your house or apartment for guests to munch on.
In regards to appropriate Halloween beverages, an awesome punch-like drink that I have had in the past is Bloody Bug Juice, which can be found at http://www.masterstech-home.com. All it entails is mashing thawed strawberries and mixing them with lemonade from concentrate and some ginger ale. You can also add in your preferred alcoholic drink if you want a spiked punch.
Put raisins and blueberries in a large punch bowl, pour the 'bloody' mixture over them, and watch the 'bugs' float to the top. You can also place gummy worms and any other creepy crawler candy along the rim of the bowl to give it a more putrid effect.
Adding some dry ice to the mixture would make the punch look like a witch's cauldron. However, you must make sure the dry ice is food grade (safe to add to beverages). Also, do not eat actual pieces of dry ice because it could be very dangerous.
One last drink recipe I have to offer is your standard Jell-O shots. Although not as creative, you can make them more festive by using orange and green Jell-O flavors. You can even use food dye to add black to the shot color scheme. Your guests might end up with black tongues and teeth, but maybe that's not a bad thing.
Whatever your plans may be for this Halloween, just make sure to be safe and have fun. However, it wouldn't hurt to have some candy corn and bug juice along the way!
Send your favorite recipes to Kat at krpeterson@wisc.edu.
