Here is the final menu of food and drink offerings for our party coming up next weekend. Right now, I'm expecting about 30 people and I may cut one or two items if that ends up being the final number. But, the number could still grow to 60+, so I want to have my plans in place in case that happens. I've provided links for those recipes I pulled from the Internet, in case anyone would like them.

* Zombie Slush
(Pina Colada Punch http://www.perfectentertaining.com/page1306.html)

* Swamp Slime Surprise
(http://cocktails.about.com/library/blswamp.htm)

* Chips & Dracula's Garden Salsa
(Nacho Chips & Salsa)

* Brain Food
(Seafood Dip served with crackers)

* Mold & Mildew Dip
(Spinach Dip served with bread rounds)

* Baked Monster Eyes
(Bite-sized tacos http://www.perfectentertaining.com/halloween/hr139.htm)

* Poppin' Witch Fingers
(Jalapeno Poppers http://www.recipedude.com/recipes/stuffedjalapenos.html)

* Deviled Peepers
(Deviled eggs)

* Select Organ Cuts with Dip
(Cut fruit with cream cheese/cool whip dip)

* Chocolate Covered Spiders
(Chocolate covered strawberries)

* Bloody Good Cupcakes
(Chocolate cupcakes with rasberry filling)

* Ground Ghoul
(Bread budding with bourbon sauce and Brittle Merangue Bones, recipe for bones is here http://www.britta.com/HW/HWr.html#bones)

* Almond-cheesecake brownies... still thinking of an appropriate name for these - any ideas?

Hmmm... based on my posts, can y'all tell I really like food?

Please let me know what y'all think about the menu.

UMM BEER?

1,2 Freddy's coming for you 3,4 better lock the door 5,6 make a crucifix 7,8 better stay up late 9,10 never sleep again.

LOL You'd think so, wouldn't you? But, the last two parties we've thrown, we've just ended up with a lot of leftover beer. Which my husband doesn't really mind that much....

But, in the interest of saving money, we decided to skip the beer this year. We're going to provide a variety of soft drinks, in addition to the 2 punches. Though our experience there has been that most people only use the soft drinks to mix with the liquor. <g>

It all sounds really Yummy llondra! Looks like you have a great party ahead of you!

"What an awful name. Willard. If you had a stronger name, Frank Martin wouldn't push you around. Or maybe you've found a girlfriend if you'd had a more handsome name. Mark or Klye. Clark. From now, Willard, your name's Clark."

My Halloween Galleries

I go through a lot of schnapps and a lot of rum. I got 2 cases of Yuelngling (sp) and had to go out during the party for more. I guess it depends on who is there and what they drink

1,2 Freddy's coming for you 3,4 better lock the door 5,6 make a crucifix 7,8 better stay up late 9,10 never sleep again.

Fabulous!!!!
You friends and guests will love it!!!

Happy Haunting!!!

llondra, thanks for planning my party menu! No really, you gave me some great ideas. My husband's 40th birthday is this year on Halloween. In Halloween parties past, I've always had people bring a dish to share. But I don't feel that I should do that this year, so I've been putting off planning it all because it seems terribly overwhelming. We've been focusing so much on the outside, which is what everyone gets excited about anyway.

http://halloweengallery.com/index.php?cat=10149

Great ideas, we're going with a pirate theme so ours is mostly,

Peg Legs (grilled seasoned chicken drumsticks)
Barnacles (crab stuffed mushrooms)
Cockroaches O' the Sea (cold shrimp and cocktail sauce)
Vegetable Planks and Deck Swab Dip
(vegetable sticks and onion dip)
Hard Tack and Bilge Rat Snax (assorted breads, crackers and cheeses)

Every room in our house is a different theme but I just havent' come up with the menus for those rooms yet. I've got to make menus for the Dia De Los Muertos shrine, and the Mad Scientist labs, too.

llonda, here's an alternate version of that monster eye recipe. I've been making "taco balls" since a starving college student, and that recipe making 32 servings just seems a bit odd to me. Here's a slightly more filling version, slightly less than a regular Taco Bell taco, that some of my friends will eat as a main course instead of an appetizer, and a bit easier to prepare, but otherwise essentially the same recipe:

1 pound 90+% lean ground beef
1 1.25oz packet taco seasoning
2 Tbsp water
1/2 C shredded cheese (monterey and/or cheddar)
1 C crushed tortilla chips (see tip below)

1 C sour cream
12 whole olives
red and green taco sauce (La Victoria, for example)

Mix first 5 ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions (approx 1 heaping Tbsp) into standard muffin pan. Form meat mixture into cup lining muffin hole, approx 1/4" thick. Divide sour cream into equal portions (approx 1 heaping tsp) into center of meat cups. Insert olives, hole up, into center of sour cream. Fill olives with taco sauce. Bake 15 minutes at 375. Remove from oven, right any tipped olives, allow to cool several minutes, remove by scooping with soup spoon.

Tips/Options:

Use index and middle finger of each hand, back to back, to form a "square" depressing tool, press down and out to shape meat mixture into muffin cups.

Create a makeshift pastry bag for the taco sauce by putting 1 Tbsp sauce in the corner of a standard sandwich bag. Apply light pressure to inflate the corner, set flat on cutting board, poke tiny hole in tip with tip of a knife.

Use green taco sauce in olives, drizzle red sauce outward in sour cream to form blood vessels.

Surround edge of sour cream (on meat "rim") with diced tomatoes.

Don't mix the cheese, layer on top of meat cup as per the other recipe. Simply more work, no effect on flavor, minimal effect on texture.

Suggestion for your first trial batch: just before adding chips to meat mixture, divide in half and add 1/2 C tortilla chips as usual to one half, but add 1/2 C Frito corn chips to other half. See which you prefer. (me? Fritos, baby!)

I usually make 1 per guest, then round up to the next pan. Best thing is that the recipe is exactly one muffin pan, so it's easy to prepare a pan in advance then just pop in the oven when more are needed.

These are also great for Super Bowl parties.

Glad I could help someone else

My husband always says that people will be just fine with some chips and dip (even though he oohs and ahhs at the end results along with everyone else), and in my heart of hearts I know he's right. But, I *like* doing up the dandy food durn it! <g>