Have you already got enough candies and chocolate in reserve? Have you already decided where you’re going to place these big pumpkins? Oh! Hope you haven’t forgotten about absolutely outstanding costumes for your nearest and dearest, and for yourself, of course?

No? Phew! Then you’re almost ready to celebrate the sweetest national U.S. holiday. And we aren’t talking about St. Valentine’s Day now, seriously. If you are native to New England, you probably know it as Cabbage Night. You are highly likely to call it Devil’s Night if you live in Detroit. Or it might be more familiar to you as Gate Night if you come from the Middle West. Fortunately, in any case you mean no other holiday but Halloween! Or the night of October 30th and 31st, to be precise.

Having originated in Ireland more than 2,000 years ago, Halloween has turned from a Celtic harvest festival, Samhain (sah-win), into a widely observed and globally known celebration. It was renamed All Hallows’ (or Saints’) Day under the significant influence of Christianity. The two traditions, pagan and Christian, appeared to merge quite harmoniously. They gradually spread all around Western Europe and even crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

What has Halloween become today? Just think what you’d associate this holiday with – that’ll be the answer. Myriads of sweets and so homey smell of some pumpkin dish. Bobbing for apples and trick-or-treating. Funny outlets and spookily glowing jack-o’-lanterns all around the neighborhood. Is there anything missing?

Halloween dinner! That’s when you can apply all your culinary creativity and bring the freakiest ideas into being. So, what to start with? You aren’t limited with any traditional food ideas. Let’s experiment and create something truly outstanding this year!

Marky’s has selected a few scarily delicious Halloween treats for your holiday menu! They will definitely surprise any of your guests, or, probably, even scare them a bit. So, make sure none of your potential visitors is deadly afraid of toy spiders, bats, and other creatures which are must-haves of every Halloween party. Maybe, you should even notify them in advance that you’re going to use those as decorations.

Still, let’s see how to make your celebration really spooktacular!

Hauntingly Flavorful and Cozy Cookout

If the weather forecast for the last two October days isn’t going to trick all of us, why not spend some wonderful hours outside your house and office? Bet you were planning to decorate your yard for this holiday. So, it’s a good idea to turn it into a creepy beautiful spot for a BBQ.

Prepare warm woolen plaids for your guests not to feel chilly in the cool fall air, while they’re waiting for those honey glazed pork ribs. Make sure there are enough morsels to heat up their appetites. And if you happen to have any extra peach pumpkin, turn it into an organic and flavorful bowl for, say, apple cider. It will serve both as a decoration and a great source of warmth for your whole bunch.

And while your guests are waiting for the main treat, let them try these ghostly guys!

Ingredients:

• your favorite spaghetti
• 4 zucchinis (cut them into noodle shape)
• 4 (or more) bell peppers
• 1 large hot house tomato
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (soak them in hot water for 10 minutes)
• 1/4 red onion
• 2 tbsp. sunflower seeds (soak them in water for a few hours)
• 1 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 red pepper or red pepper sauce to taste
• 1 pitted medjool date
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• ground black pepper to taste

And don’t forget your pumpkin carver!

Directions:

1. Prepare spaghetti and set aside.
2. Carve faces in the peppers carefully. First, cut a round section on the top of the vegetable. Take and throw away the seeds, scrape away the insides. Then carve the jack-o'-lantern faces. Set aside.
3. To prepare the sauce, put all the other ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Mix for 1 min. or until the medley gets smooth. Then transfer it to a larger bowl, add spaghetti and stir to coat.
4. Divide the sauced pasta amongst prepared peppers.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Home Celebration – Addams’ Family Style

It looks like Halloween dinner is the best occasion to remember this series and borrow some of its eerie style. By the way, you could also have your family celebration in the outlets of the main characters. And don’t forget about the Thing – yeah, that creepily nice hand, “played” by outstanding Christopher Hart. Guess you can purchase it at some Halloween stores.

But if you still want to decorate your sitting room with something less…, well, scary than artificial human hands and plastic skulls, what about glow-in-the-dark roses from 1-800-FLOWERS? Covered with a special topping that absorbs day light, they will radiate a soft green glow in the darkened room. Add some candles and pumpkins to complete the whole Halloween atmosphere around you.

Yet, let’s go back to the menu. It must feature something really themed. So, would you mind this pasta?

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. squid-ink pasta
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes or tomato cream to taste
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Parmesan cheese grated (for the dish itself) and shaved (for garish)
• 8 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to the instructions. Just don’t add salt, as it has a naturally salty taste. After it’s ready, drain and return to the pot. Tossing with butter to lubricate and set aside.
2. In a pan saute cherry tomatoes (or tomato paste) and garlic with olive oil until the tomatoes burst or the garlic turns golden.
3. Add pasta and toss to coat. Keep it warm in a chafing dish before the party starts.
4. Accompany with scallops, shrimps, mussels, or any seafood you like. Or you can try the octopus salad from Kiele.

Creepily Awesome Party That’s Gonna Be Legend

Before you start planning the Halloween party menu, ask your guests if they’re afraid of spiders. Oh, and make sure you personally can treat these creatures fairly well. No, we don’t mean any exotic Asian dish now. Though it’s considered that spiders are a good source of natural proteins. Whatever, we’re going to use not real live spiders, but small plastic ones.

To make the atmosphere even more impressive, you can drop these guys in an ice cube tray, cover them with water and freeze for a few hours before the party. Such ice cubes will add even more flavor to any cocktail.

Now let’s think about the dishes. How about a baked dough spider with sauce on the festive table? Here it is.

Ingredients:

• 2 balls pizza dough (thawed if frozen)
• 2 oz. grated Parmesan (Cheddar or Pecorino)  
• 1 large egg
• 2 cup marinara sauce or hot red pepper spread from Esti
• pitted black olives for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Meanwhile, create the edible spider. To do this, cut 1 dough ball in half. Shape one half into a ball – this is the body of your spider. Cut the second half in half again (sorry for tautology). One part is the spider head. Cut the other part into 8 approximately similar strips and roll each of them into a rope – these will be legs.
3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. On one of the sheets make a spider, pressing carefully all pieces of dough together. Brush the figure with the egg and sprinkle the legs with cheese. Place two small slices of an olive on the spider head for its eyes and two slices for its pincers. Bake your creature for 25-30 min. until it gets golden-brown.
5. Cut the remaining dough into 8 pieces, roll each into a rope, cut the roped into different lengths, slightly taper and bend them to make leg sticks. Brush them with the remaining egg and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15-20 min.
6. Warm the sauce. After the spider is baked, hollow out its body with a knife and fill with the dip.
7. Serve with leg sticks. Some sliced ham would also be a good company.

Enjoy your spookily great party! Bugs and hisses to all of you over there!

Happy Halloween from Marky’s!