It’s almost Halloween, but before my favorite fright night of ghosts arrives, I get to celebrate my wedding anniversary this Friday the 13th! When Michael and I chose our date, we looked forward to the years when our special occasion would land on the day many consider unlucky and spooky. Of course, my husband and I love Halloween and all things spooky, so it’s only fitting that we celebrate with the theme of Friday the 13th and get in the spirit of the Halloween season.  

This year we will be spending the evening at home watching scary movies. I’ve planned a creepy cocktail, scary charcuterie, haunted dinner and frightful dessert. Here are a couple of the recipes and fun surprises I’ll be incorporating in our celebration. They are perfect for you to try this Halloween. Enjoy! 

Black widow cocktail

The Black Widow Cocktail is a sleek and sinister Halloween beverage with a sharp bite. The smooth black currant liqueur mixed with the black-colored vodka and coffee-flavored Kahlua makes an unforgettable cocktail.

• 2 ounces Blavod Vodka
• 3 ounces Cream de Cassis
• 1 ounce Kahlua
• 1 ounce Ginger Beer
• 2 Blackberries

1. Muddle the blackberries in the bottom of a rocks glass.
2. Pour the vodka, Cream de Cassis and Kahlua into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into glass.
3. Splash the top of the cocktail with the ginger beer and garnish with lychee eyeball.

Spooky charcuterie 

Not really a recipe, it’s more about the design elements. Select your favorite cured meats, cheeses, spiced nuts (recipe below) and fruits.Then make sure that you plate it with Halloween- themed elements such as plastic bones, bugs and spiders. Use peeled Clementines and a small pretzel stick to create mini pumpkins on the board. Or press cream cheese into a silicone brain shaped mold, freeze, unmold and cover with red pepper jam. For a gross effect, I cover a plastic skull in prosciutto and use as the centerpiece of my board. (See photo.) 

Jack-o'-lantern chicken and sweet potato potpies

Adapted from Women’s Day
Yield 8 Servings

A frightfully tasty main course for Halloween, this sweet potato dish is also a comforting choice throughout winter. Serve it in ramekins as mini pumpkins, or as one big pie with uncut puff pastry on top, baking until it turns golden.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sweet potatoes (about 2)
• 1 large onion
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 small rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
• 1 large egg

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Oil eight 6-oz ramekins (3 1/2-innch round).
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes, onion, salt and pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the wine and then the broth and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, parsley and nutmeg. Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins (about 3/4 cup each). Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Using a 3 3/4-inch pumpkin cookie cutter and a 3/4-inch triangle cookie cutter, cut out pumpkins and their faces from the puff pastry. Place a jack-o'-lantern on each ramekin, brush with the egg and bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Black magic cake

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

This deep, dark chocolate cake is the perfect canvas for a scary holiday dessert. Top it with a spider web or a mummy made from melted and stretched marshmallows.

Cake

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the baking pans
• 1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Filling and frosting

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch fine salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Spider web or mummy decoration

• 2 cups mini marshmallows (about 4 ounces)
• Cooking spray
• 1 or more candy spiders or 2 candy eyes, for decorating

For the cake

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and grease the parchment and the sides of the pans with oil.
2. Stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl and let sit to bloom for 5 minutes (this step intensifies the chocolate flavor in the cake).
3. Whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the bloomed cocoa, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the cocoa mixture into the sugar mixture and stir until smooth (the batter will be thin). Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake until the cakes bounce back when pressed in the middle and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pans on a rack.

For the filling and frosting

1. Heat the cream in a double boiler over low heat, whisking occasionally, until it begins to steam. Whisk in the cocoa powder, chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla and salt until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated. Let the frosting cool completely.

To assemble 

1. Put 1 cake, bottom-side up, on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top but not all the way down the side. Top with the other cake, bottom-side up, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.

For the spider web or mummy decoration

1. Microwave the marshmallows in a microwave-safe medium bowl until they swell and are soft enough to stir, about 1 minute. Let sit a few minutes until cool enough to touch. Spray your hands with cooking spray. For a spider web, pick up a tablespoon-sized blob of the melted marshmallow and stretch it over and around the cake; repeat so that the strings of marshmallow crisscross one another in many directions, and continue until you have what looks like a spider web. For a mummy, stretch the marshmallow so that all the strings on the top of the cake run in the same direction, leaving a small gap between strings for the mummy's eyes to peek out. Garnish with a candy spider or several candy spiders for the web cake or candy eyes for the mummy cake.

About

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.