Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which makes 31 October the perfect excuse to cook something wicked at home. You don't need special skills or props, just good ingredients and a little imagination. Here are three spooky-but-simple dishes the whole family can help make, all built around fresh meat and produce you can order from Mmmm! before the weekend.
1. Bloody Eye Meatball Spaghetti
The showstopper. Juicy meatballs simmer in a rich tomato sauce, then each one gets a cheesy "eyeball" with an olive pupil, staring up from a tangle of spaghetti.
You'll need: beef meatballs, spaghetti, tomatoes, garlic, onion, fresh basil, sliced cheese (mozzarella or cheddar) and pitted black olives.
How to: Brown the meatballs in a pan for a few minutes, then simmer them in tomato sauce until cooked through. Minced meat should reach 71°C in the centre [1]. In the last two minutes, lay a small round of cheese on each meatball, cover the pan so it melts, then press on an olive slice. Spoon over spaghetti and tuck in a few basil leaves.
Try: Mmmm House-Marinated Beef Meatballs (already seasoned, so no mixing needed), or roll your own with Fresh Grain-Fed Minced Beef. For the sauce: Beef Tomatoes, China Garlic, Organic Yellow Onions and Fresh Basil.
2. Frankenstein Avocado Dip
A green monster your guests will happily attack. Spread a creamy avocado dip into a rectangle on a board, then give it a face: blue or purple corn chips for hair, cream cheese and olives for eyes, and chopped olives for stitched-up teeth.
You'll need: ripe avocados, a lemon, salt, cream cheese, black olives and corn tortilla chips.
How to: Mash the avocados with a good squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. The lemon does more than add flavour: avocado browns when an enzyme reacts with air, and acid slows that enzyme down, so your monster stays green for longer [2]. Assemble just before guests arrive.
Try: Australian Hass Avocados and Fresh Lemons.
3. Amputated Finger Buns
Gruesome to look at, loved by kids. Sausages become "severed fingers" with an almond-slice fingernail, served in soft buns with plenty of ketchup "blood".
You'll need: beef franks or sausages, hot dog buns, sliced almonds and tomato ketchup.
How to: Cut a few shallow lines across each sausage to look like knuckles, and trim one end so it is slightly flat. Cook until hot all the way through, then press an almond slice onto the flat end as a fingernail, using a dab of ketchup as glue. Nestle into buns and drizzle generously.
Try: Classic Beef Frank Sausages for grown-up-sized fingers, or Chicken Cocktail Sausages for little ones.
At a glance
| Dish | From Mmmm! | From your pantry |
|---|---|---|
| Bloody Eye Meatball Spaghetti | Beef meatballs or minced beef, tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil | Spaghetti, cheese slices, black olives |
| Frankenstein Avocado Dip | Hass avocados, lemons | Cream cheese, olives, corn chips |
| Amputated Finger Buns | Beef franks or chicken cocktail sausages | Hot dog buns, sliced almonds, ketchup |
Spooky table tips
- Get the kids decorating. Eyeballs, monster faces and fingernails are perfect jobs for small hands.
- Thaw ahead. Move frozen meatballs to the fridge the night before so they're ready to cook.
- Decorate with dinner. A Mini Pumpkin (Bei Bei) or a whole Japanese Kabocha Pumpkin looks great on the table, then becomes soup or a roasted side the next day.
Ready to cook something wicked? Stock up from our Meat and Fruits & Vegetables collections and have everything delivered before the big night.
References
- FoodSafety.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature. foodsafety.gov
- Compound Interest. Why avocados turn brown, and how chemistry can stop it. compoundchem.com
Comments (0)
There are no comments for this article. Be the first one to leave a message!