# Creepy or Normal Food?



## scarychery (Nov 22, 2006)

I've got a cook book with a recipe called "Chicken 'n' Trimmings". I made it years ago for 
family and we ended up calling it "road kill" because it looks so gross. It's become a favourite Halloween
dish. Same with some coconut bars. They looked so ugly we nicknamed them "barf bars". Both recipes
are considered "normal" but they look so gross they're perfect for Halloween!


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## HalloweenGirl101 (Feb 22, 2009)

I always have all creepy/gross food. It's all that my haunt originally was (a haunted supper) and it still revolves around it heavily. I enjoy finding new recipes each year and making the food grosser and more realistic haha.


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## halloween4ever (Jul 1, 2009)

creepy definately!


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

I only do attractive/"normal" food and then do creepy names, like "ware wolf balls" for meatballs and "bloody baked brie" (some of my dishes are decorated but still normal, like a 7-layer dip made in a round pan with a hot sauce spider web piped on top). From my experience, the "gross" dishes do not do well. For example, one year I made a gray seafood dip in the brain mold, and people had about two bites out of it. I want people to love the food at my party, so I'm sticking to things that look appealing. You eat with your eyes first, and my eyes say no to "litter box cake". I tip my hat to those who have success with creepy food though!


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

I think it all depends on how adventurous your friends and family are. Last year (first Halloween party), I pretty much stuck to making more appealing dishes and giving them creepy names. But in years to come, I fully intend on presenting some nasty good eats!


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## Bella Betty (Sep 24, 2010)

We always do some delicious food and give it spooky names. With regards to the brain mold, for a couple of years I made a delicious shrimp mousse, but it looked so creepy that my party goers hardly touched it. For the last two years I've made the "Glowing Martian Brain" with lime gelatin and crushed pineapple in the mold and then placed it on a clear plate and lit it with a changing LED light from underneath and usually the brain is gone by the end of the party! If you need help with ideas, just ask--I'm positive that lots of us who rename our foods would be happy to share our names and even recipes if you'd like!


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## moony_1 (Sep 25, 2009)

I like to go with good foods that have strange names, etc...like spinach dip, serve it in a great halloween dish, and call it "stomach contents" or some such thing. Haven't ever tried to really gross people out with my foods. I'm a bit of a foodie, so I wouldn't serve something that would trigger the gag reflex


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## rosella_au (Sep 23, 2010)

As Halloween Scream said, you eat with your eyes first. I'm not completely opposed to some creepyness with food, but gross looking foods wouldn't be eaten by my crowd and I'd hate to waste $$ with uneaten food. 
I've made things like choc peanut butter eyeballs, which are eaten but there are always some who think even they are spooky. I do use a brain shaped mould filled with french onion dip and have it at the top of my veggie skeleton- this always does very well. Sorta like in this pic-- 








Other things on our menu are chicken wings renamed bat wings which go very fast! We've done a potato bake and called it creamy flayed flesh. Shortbread cookies called witches fingers. Names that are a bit spooky but not really gorey or stomach turning. I personally find that using spooky names is easier. As said previously tho, it really depends on your crowd.


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## SasyGrl31 (Sep 1, 2011)

I am gonna do a little of both this year and see how it goes.


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## witchymom (Oct 6, 2008)

for me, kinda a mix of both... afterall, my party goers are preteens/ teens  LOL

blood cakes (choc cupcakes filled with red pudding)
bat wings (chicken wings)
Monster Munch (popcorn. candy corn, pretzles, mix of other 'stuff'- kinda like a trail mix) covered in almond bark dyed green
cockroach clusters (chocolate covered potato chip sticks formed into flat balls)
gouged eyeballs (mini donuts dipped in white choc , then use food coloring gel to make eye ball - stick with a toothpick )
witches fingers (can be like a shortbread cookie finger shaped with red icing as a nail or cheese sticks with red bellpepper as nail)
Severed hand punch - fill latex glove with red water (or kool aid, juice, whatever) place in punch bowl. 

also serving pizza which i need a name for and am posting that ? in a minute LOLOL

might have other unnamed stuff, but i think that will be more than enough for my group


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## Halloween Scream (Sep 29, 2010)

> For the last two years I've made the "Glowing Martian Brain" with lime gelatin and crushed pineapple in the mold and then placed it on a clear plate and lit it with a changing LED light from underneath and usually the brain is gone by the end of the party!


Love this idea! Exactly what I was looking for to replace my "gross" brain seafood dip. Thank you!


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## Xane (Oct 13, 2010)

Most people will not eat a kitty litter cake.


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## witchymom (Oct 6, 2008)

Xane said:


> Most people will not eat a kitty litter cake.


i would.... lolol

and im a HORRIBLY picky eater... but as long as i can discern WHATS actually in it (and its things i generally like) ill try it!


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## dippedstix (Jul 2, 2009)

Bella Betty said:


> We always do some delicious food and give it spooky names. With regards to the brain mold, for a couple of years I made a delicious shrimp mousse, but it looked so creepy that my party goers hardly touched it. For the last two years I've made the "Glowing Martian Brain" with lime gelatin and crushed pineapple in the mold and then placed it on a clear plate and lit it with a changing LED light from underneath and usually the brain is gone by the end of the party! If you need help with ideas, just ask--I'm positive that lots of us who rename our foods would be happy to share our names and even recipes if you'd like!


I love this growing martian brain too! I might actually do that this yr!


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## MrsNightmare (May 6, 2010)

I do normal-ish food with a Halloween/fall hint! I made tuna/chicken salad sandwiches with pumpkin shaped bread by using a cookie cutter. The rest of my menue was pumpkin parfaits, creepy witch finger cookies, carmel apple cupcakes, guacamole with the blue tortilla chips, and bacon tomato cups. The cups arent anything associated with Halloween, they are just delicious and were requested by our guests. I have also made apple and pumpkin butter and used the same bread cut out with the cookie cutter.


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## Bella Betty (Sep 24, 2010)

If you opt to do the Glowing Martian Brain, I recommend that you either add 1 pkg of plain gelatin to the mix, or use to pkgs of lime or lemon and lime jello and reduce the water by 1 cup. Sometimes pineapple can 'loosen" the gelatin and it won't set up as well.


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## princess creepy (Oct 14, 2010)

Last year I had creepy-named food that looked more like normal food (i put the names on little signs with wooden craft sticks I painted and stuck them in each dish)
dead mens toes: little smokies in bbq sauce in the slow cooker
vomit: guacamole *this year the name is Vomit and Bloody Boogers*
bat wings: chicken wings
Moldy cheese: cheese ball rolled in parsley/oregano/shredded cheese ( I got lots of questions on the ingredients of this one haha)
martian body parts: bag candy that looked like body parts

several others I cant remember now...

this year im adding to the menu:
infected eyeballs -melon balls with a blueberry stuck on with yogurt/cream cheese mix oozing out under the "pupil"
I am stealing the idea for Stomach Contents: spinach dip *this will be displayed in plastic doll laying on the table with the stomach cut out
Kitty Litter Cake -I have plenty of friends who would eat this because of the gross name lol
Swelled Monster Brain- shave the green rind of a watermelon to the white part, then carve out "brain" squiggles, maybe sprinkle sugar over it to give it a little glazed-gritty look, or even put a little whipped cream inside the carved out parts

I got alot of these ideas from this forum (thank you everyone  and please feel free to steal from me 

Just want to say I love this forum and am definitely hooked on visiting daily to see new ideas!


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## boobear (Jul 2, 2009)

I love to host parties and want my guests to eat all the food I set out. I usually just put normal food out that I would like to eat and make playful, but not gross names. I was looking for new recipes online and realized I wouldn't eat most of the new stuff out there.


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## Primrose (Aug 27, 2011)

I like normal food with a slightly spooky presentation- a couple of olives thrown in for eyes, things cut and shaped like pumpkins or bats, have a spooky name to go with it, and I'm happy!


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## 13ghosts (Aug 16, 2008)

I don't try to gross out my guests. I really try to choose good party foods, and try to present it to fit the occasion and give it a cute halloween name
So far the ones that cometo mind as going over very well, 

are my recipe for a cookie dough ball, which is a cream cheese dip with brown sugar and chocolate chips, I called it chocolate chip cemetary dip, and I used the wilton chocolate molds to make headstones, instead of making one large ball like my recipe calls for, I made 3 smaller long mounds and put a chocolate tombstone at the head of each, I served it with bone shaped scooby doo graham crackers instead of regular ones

I used my buckeye balls recipe, and I made my regular peanut butter buckeyes, but dipped them in white chocolate (actually white almond bark) instead of milk chocolate, and made them look like eyes

every year with my kids we make nutter butter ghosts with white almond bark too, nutter butters dipped in white chocolate, decorated either with mini m&M or mini chocolate chip eyes

And sweet n sour meatballs with a cute little sign with a big eyeball on it, and labeled them sweet n sour eyeballs


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## MissMandy (Apr 18, 2011)

13ghosts said:


> are my recipe for a cookie dough ball, which is a cream cheese dip with brown sugar and chocolate chips, I called it chocolate chip cemetary dip, and I used the wilton chocolate molds to make headstones, instead of making one large ball like my recipe calls for, I made 3 smaller long mounds and put a chocolate tombstone at the head of each, I served it with bone shaped scooby doo graham crackers instead of regular ones



This sounds really yummy  Would you be so kind as to share the recipe?


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## Cheebs (May 13, 2008)

I honestly try to do a mix of everything and some of it has gone over pretty well.
Our traditional dish is the Meathead, which our friends enjoy now after a few years of adjustment. We really work hard on it so its as gross looking as possible. 
This past year, I decided to create rat heads out of meatball mix and used black beans for the eyes. Then I put them into a crockpot with a sweet and spicy sauce. I made about 30+ and we had only one leftover at the end of the night. 
Some of the kind of normal things I make are a cheese/veggie dip in the shape of a skull, deviled eggs, and cupcakes that have some fun decoration to them like brains or eyes or my favorite: gravedirt (chopped up peanut butter oreos) with gummy worms (delicious).
After five parties, I think our friends are starting to get use to our strange food. This year I picked up some labels so I can just write everything down instead of having to explain the food.


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## hauntedgraveyard (Sep 8, 2008)

I make a pretty big spread of creepy looking foods and normal stuff with creepy names. Very much like many of the other posters.

I have to say, that my deviled eyeballs get eaten first! They do look creepy, with the yolk part with a small amount of green food colouring, a pimento olive for the iris, and I streak red food colouring for veins. I make them with a little more kick than regular deviled eggs, with a bit of habinero hot sauce in them. Everyone raves over them.

The witches fingers come out fantastic, they are easy to make too. 

My brain mould is used to make a big block of flavoured ice (I did a margarita type punch last year) and I use it to make a spread. I make a cream cheese/cheddar with red peppers etc in the mould as it is a fairly firm spread, it looks creepy but tastes great!

I have a blood bottle type dispenser to make our Canadian favourite in - Bloody Ceasars!


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## Rosetta28 (Sep 7, 2011)

This was my food set up last year. I plan on doing some of the same this year with some new stuff. All of it was a big hit and lots on fun to make.


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## 13ghosts (Aug 16, 2008)

Sure,
It's really easy, and everyone loves it, even if you don't make it creepy , LOL

Cookie Dough Ball
Beat together:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
then slowly add:
3/4 C powdered sugar
2T brown sugar
3/4 C mini chocolate chips

Refrigerate for 2 hours, then form it into a ball. I usually wrap it in saran wrap and shape it inside of there and seal it all up. Keep refrigerated, then roll in pecans when ready to serve. I think I either topped my grave mounds with more mini chocolate chips, or crushed chocolate graham crackers instead of pecans, I can't remember which right now. 
I normally serve it with chocolate graham crackers, but for halloween I used Scooby Doo bone shaped graham crackers


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## Hearts1003 (Aug 23, 2010)

This is fantastic! I am throwing my nephews and nieces a Halloween party! I'm the fun one. Anyways, it will mainly be 12 and 13 year olds. I want to do regular food but present it a little creepy with names. I will have mac n cheese. Was thinking about having chili, hot dogs, baked beans. Stuff for smores. ANY IDEAS WILL BE MOST APPRECIATED! Throw them out there. Give me some names please. I beg you! It's a zombie themed party too.


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