Happy Hallowe’en!
We like to sometimes be a bit contrary down here in Australia – doing things arse about face, to use the proper vernacular.
Whilst many friends I know that grew up in countries such as the US and Canada that actively celebrate Halloween say that it’s just not the same to celebrate it as an adult compared to the excitement of dressing up as a child and going Trick or Treating, things seem to be quite different in countries such as Australia that do not have a Halloweening culture.
I never got dressed up for Halloween as a child, nor did anyone in my neighbourhood ever go Trick or Treating. It just wasn’t something that people did, although one year we had a few kids from up the street turn up on our doorstep asking for chocolate in pretty sad attempts at costumes, and all we had to offer them was one muesli bar and a couple of apples. Luckily for us their haul before reaching our front door consisted of a couple of oranges, a banana and a fun size Mars Bar so our contribution didn’t seem so lame in comparison.
This is where they take little boys and girls who rot their teeth with too much Halloween candy...
As I’ve grown older however, Halloween has turned into an excellent excuse to get dressed up and have a party, and I’ve been lucky enough to have friends do all the hard work of hosting parties over the past few years. This year was no exception, and last night saw all manner of totally freakin’ awesome costumes on display at my friends L, K and J’s house.
Our hosts were Chilean miners, and we also had the Spice Girls (some of whom were a little hairier than I remember), an amazingly believable Buck from the United States of Tara, Max from Where the Wild Things Are, Sandstorm from the Mighty Boosh, and the Doctor complete with a shiny little K-9 just to name a few. Would love to share the awesomness of everyone’s costume efforts with you but given my lack of media release forms I’ll just share my costume with you. My prize winning costume!
I can't feel my face! (you know, wearing a bum bag aka fanny pack to a party is actually really useful - you have everything at your immediate disposal, for instance eyelash glue lest your seeds come unstuck)
For those who don’t know who I am channelling, check out this YouTube video..
I had not done any Halloween baking before, so thought I’d contribute to the party by trying out a couple of the Halloween recipes that I was particularly taken by after seeing them on Not Quite Nigella. That is, the ones that I was particularly taken by that didn’t involve anything to do with spiders, or require a skull or brain mould.
One of my favourite Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books was a mummy one, but none of the endings let you eat the mummies. Disappointing oversight.
Mummified Hallow-wieners
Recipe adapted from Not Quite Nigella and Picky Palate
Makes 32 Hallow-wieners
Ingredients
- 2 x 375g packets of cocktail frankfurt sausages
- 2-3 sheets of premade puff pastry, or some pizza/bread dough
- Mustard
- Tomato sauce, to serve
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 190c/375F. Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray.
2. Slice the pastry into 5-10 mm strips (if using dough, stretch or roll it out so it’s a few mm thick then slice it into strips). Wrap each sausage with strips of pastry/dough until it is nicely clothed in ‘bandages’, making sure to leave a gap at one end for the eyes to peek out. I used roughly two strips of pastry per cocktail frankfurt.
3. Bake on prepared baking tray in oven for 15 minutes or until pastry has puffed, or dough has cooked.
(I am a bit of a dork when it comes to using unfamiliar ovens and I had some trouble baking mine – the pastry was undercooked in areas but browning too much in others so I wasn’t happy with how mine turned out, but at least you should get the picture of how they should be!).
4. Remove from oven and use a toothpick to dot mustard as eyes. Serve with bloody tomato sauce.
You could easily argue that frankfurts with tomato sauce are a disturbing enough food without adding any mummification, but they’re just such a crowd pleaser. It’s like they’re so wrong they’re right. These were no exception, and were wolfed down (ha!) pretty quickly despite my less-than-ideal baking efforts.
Boo!
Ghost Meringues
Recipe from Not Quite Nigella (adapted from Donna Hay)
Makes approximately 30 ghosts
Ingredients
- 150 mL egg whites
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- ~60 silver cachous for eyes
Method
1. Preheat oven to 120c. With a perfectly clean mixer and beater, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar and vinegar until it becomes thick and glossy.
2. Place mixture in a plain 1.5cm nozzle fitted piping bag and pipe ghosts using a swirl action onto a baking tray lined with non stick paper. With tweezers place 2 cachous in place of eyes and bake for 25 minutes. When done, turn off the oven and leave to cool with the door ajar.
Note 1: I followed these directions, then went and did some shopping while they cooled. When I returned and checked on the meringues, I found them far too soft so I baked them for another 15 minutes and then was very happy with the results.
Note 2: Last night was also the Pride Parade in Perth, so I figured I’d best make some Pride Parader ghosties with 100s and 1000s ‘skirts’ and a Parade Leader with an entire 100s and 1000s costume.
Pride Parade Ghosties and their Glorious Leader
Every little ghost was special in its own way, but a few stood out…
Cutest ghost ever, and kinda reminiscent of the Ghostbusters symbol guy.
Anyone else seeing the little curvy mouth under his right eye, and then getting the Trap Door theme in their head? No?
I took a photo of this guy cos he looks like a poo with eyes, but he also reminds me of another character (non poo related) that I can't put my finger on....?
Enough of the poo talk. Another reason to celebrate this particular day is the very first Your Best Recipe (YBR) roundup. This is a new initiative by Nancy of Spicie Foodie and is a way of rounding up those recipes that participating bloggers feel have been their best for the month. A nice little monthly scooping of the cream off the top off a number of blogs that you may not otherwise have checked out. I’ve chosen to include my King of Ice Cream recipe in this month’s roundup, and I suggest that you check out the other creamy numbers by clicking on the pic below. Great idea Nancy!
{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
haha brilliant! Your mummys and ghosts look wonderful Conor and yes that ghostie is particularly cute! And you know that watermelon footage makes me husband laugh his head off. The poor thing! Love your outfit with the pips. I’m going to show him this post :P
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last [type] ..Bistro Bruno- Balmain
Thanks Lorraine! My mummies are nowhere as good as yours with my oven issues, but I was really pleased with how the meringues turned out :)
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of seeing her cop that watermelon in the head. I swear it would have broken my nose if it were me, but I guess my nose is a little more generously proportioned than hers ;)
Haha! I showed hubby and he loved your costume! :P On the youtube video someone pointed out that it looks like her head exploded and I agree, it does ! :o
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last [type] ..Bistro Bruno- Balmain
:D Thanks Mr NQN and thanks Lorraine for sharing my silliness ;) It totally looks like her head explodes. There is just a spray of juice and chunks where there once was a head. I guess it’s watermelon juice and chunks, but you could definitely believe it was head juice and chunks. Wow, that’s a really gross sentence. Sorry.
Well done Conor, great costume idea! I read a few choose your own adventures as a kid, but always ended up choosing bad endings.
There are Trick or Treaters in my neighbourhood as we found out last year. I’d better get to the shops, as we only have granite wall tiles to offer otherwise! Hah.
Thank you Gcroft :) Yeah, I always cheated with choose your own adventures.. I could never make a decision without holding my finger in the last page. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.
Maybe you could get the trickers to rip up your red carpet for a trick, haha.
conor
haloween has no future here (neither past!)in France ; so I am hermetic to this celebration but I am not to your humour ! gosh these mummys and ghosts are so deliciously hilarious ! why didn’t I have this idea before ?!!!
have a good fun down under !!
Paris is celebrating the indian summer this is just gorgeous !!
Pierre
pierre´s last [type] ..Légers mini-menhirs à la soubressade
Pierre, it is up to you to throw a Halloween party for your friends then! Hehe, glad you like my mummies and ghosts, I hope they don’t give you nightmares tonight :D
Oooh, Indian Summer? Excellent! We’re both enjoying the warmth then. Let’s drink to that :)
I couldn’t stop laughing at the pictures!!
Happy Halloween!
Iron Chef Shellie´s last [type] ..Mountain Meatballs A Killer Mac ‘N’ Cheese
Haha thanks Shellie! Happy Halloween!
GREAT GREAT GREAT costume and the weiners and ghosties are adorable!
To be honest, one of the ghosts with the really pointy head reminds me of a KKK member and, if that’s not utterly frightening, what is?
Thank you Kath!
Oh god you’re right about the KKK thing. I actually commented about it at the party to a friend who was wearing such an erm, non-PC costume. I’d rather imagine a nice little poo than a KKK member, I think.
Oh my lord. How did she not die?! Fantastic costume – trust you to come up with something so ingenius :D
I’ve yet to go to a Halloween party as a grown-up. I lack all the right friends, clearly :( Shall have to relive my American trick-or-treating days instead!
P.S. Pride Parade ghosts are pretty much the cutest thing ever.
Hannah´s last [type] ..Askinosie San Jose Del Tambo 70 Dark Chocolate
I know! I mean, I don’t know! I would believe it if you showed me that and told me she died (cause of death: lack of head).
Oh Hannah you have to fix this next year! You have 12 months to get new friends :D
P.S. Thanks thanks :)
Hilarious! The mummified Hallow-weiners. I would definitely be knocking at your door at Halloween. Although what to wear as a costume? ….
Adrian in Food Rehab´s last [type] ..Breakfast Indigestion 2- Eating My Way Through Melbourne’s Cafe’s
Yes Adrian, you wouldn’t be getting any weiners or ghosties unless you were in costume! You could come knocking on my door dressed as the Napisan man, haha!
Gosh… you had seeds stuck all over you… hahaha! Love the Hallow-weiners with eyes peeking out. More cute than scary
Luckily they weren’t too hard to get off at the end of the night! Aww, don’t let the weiners hear you say that ;)
Oh my gosh, I love all those creative, fun Halloween treats!
Simply Life´s last [type] ..Vegetable Pot Pie!
Thank you! :)
Conor I think you would have been a big hit at school on Friday where it was Hallowe’en madness from the time school started until it ended 7 hours later. So much sugar, so much craziness! You would have fit right in!
Love the wieners and the ghost meringues but I would suggest if the poo meringue reminds you of something not to put your finger on it until you remember what it is. Cos it could just be a poo, you know!!!
Hallowe’en here tonight and we will be handing out candy on the porch and laughing at some of the costumes (“I’m a teenager” – uh huh, go home you’re too old to trick or treat) and hoping that Jesus pays us a visit like he did last year!!
Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite´s last [type] ..Rosewood Estates- Tasting Notes and Harvest!
Mardi that sounds like it would have been pretty tiring by the end but SO MUCH FUN! Count me in for next year?
Thank goodness I’ve got you around to stop me from shoving my finger into random possibly-poo-filled items. Some things just can’t be washed off. Reasonably confident I wouldn’t have poo in my kitchen, much less being baked in my oven, but you can never be too safe when it comes to these things.
Say hi to Jesus for me if he comes! And possibly ask him to take away the cold I woke up with this morning, if it’s not too much trouble. Thanks!
I love your Halloween goodies, especially your little mummies. These have been a fav of my children since they were toddlers. I especially love your little ghosts. I’m really a bit sad because I won’t be celebrating in Nottingham this year. After many many years of training, they finally got the idea and throw a really great party.
Karen Harris´s last [type] ..Birthday gumbo and my CSN winner
Thanks Karen :) I bet they would be an exciting treat for kids, and particularly useful to make if you child should happen to be afraid of mummies hiding under the bed! Hmmm, surely you can still celebrate by buying all the usual treats and just eating them yourself? Or better still, gatecrash!
nice scary recipes indeed. I was in a fright when I saw them.
Funny how you mention the lack of Halloween culture in Oz as we had an Aussie friend last night at our party and we could tell he was trying to overdose on the power of Halloween…it’s like his 3rd one here though! Funny we had a Chilean miner too at the party he he.
Ah really good thing you included the you tube link to your costume cause I thought it was a bad chicken pox costume lol.
It still makes sense Evelyne, even if it was his third one there, as I don’t think you ever quite recover from missing out on it in childhood ;)
I know, I was thinking the same thing looking at the photos! One of the guys at the party kept having to stop himself from telling me I had something on my face, hehe.
These pictures were so funny. We don’t have Halloween here in Greece but we have carnival in February and we get dressed funny as well. It’s so good for everybody to just be able to enjoy in this way soemtimes.
Oh yes Katerina that’s another fantastic excuse to get dressed up that we miss out on as well! I might have to throw my own Aussie Carnival party next year. My birthday is in Feb actually so I think it might just happen!
:-D The ghost meringues look so cute!
Maria @ Scandifoodie´s last [type] ..Sweet Basil and Chocolate Crepes
Thanks Maria! Probably should have aimed for scary but it’s hard to go past cute :)
What a fun post! Loved the wieners and the ghost meringues; so cute, so fun and so easy! Brilliant, bravo, very well-done!
Thanks very much Joumana! Yes, it was all certainly nice and easy which was a definite bonus when I had my costume to worry about as well.
Brilliant costume, and the meringues are so cute! I wish I had the inclination and opportunity to go all out for Halloween, but frankly, I couldn’t be bothered to act my shoe size (sz 5) rather than my age. We had a suspiciously quiet night at home with no visitors, though I was wondering if the neighbourhood kids were silently outside grafitti-ing the house of the unsmiling witch with small feet who doesn’t dress up for Halloween.
OohLookBel´s last [type] ..Home-lovin Chocolate mousse marshmallow pie
Haha, I can imagine you pretending you’re not home, sitting inside in the dark eating your marshmallow pie with dainty little hands to match your little feet :D
Thanks!!
Wowww you make those little ghosts look so pretty!! NOM.
Kimba’s Kitchen´s last [type] ..Crispy Roast Pork and Asian Fried Rice Stuffed in Grilled Capsicum
Thank you! Not pretty enough to not eat though :D
Conor your costume is awesome! I couldn’t stop laughing at the video and then your photo, oh my god that is such a great costume. It’s no wonder it’s an award winning costume, haha! Your mummies and poo treats are so cute. Sorry I had to say it :)
Thanks you so much for helping get the word out and for being a part of the YBR. I know you’ll join us again next month with one of your delicious recipes. Happy Hallowe’en! (I can’t stop laughing!)
Nancy/SpicieFoodie´s last [type] ..Your Best Recipes YBR October Roundup- Yum and Wow!
Thanks Nancy! I was pretty excited when I came up with the costume idea, and it was worth the mess of the watermelon juice. Very happy to be the bringer of laughs :D Ahhh poo treats, I guess I could have actually coloured them brown and that would have been a suitable Halloween-y treat as well. So very wrong yet maybe also kinda a bit right?
Absolutely my pleasure to be involved in the YBR, looking forward to next month too!
Love your costume! Hope no one asked for a complete re-enactment! The mummies and ghosts are sooo cute too – almost too cute to eat…almost…
Andrea@High/Low´s last [type] ..Easy Entertaining Halloween Baby Shower
Thanks Andrea :) Thank god no one thought to ask, and I didn’t have a spare watermelon handy anyway. Probably for the best, my nose is a little more breakable than hers I think!
I just dont “get” halloween as a tradition – I guess because it’s american and it’s not something I grew up with. It was more used as an excuse to vandalise things when you were a teenager. lol A few kids came knocking last night but I didn’t have ANYTHING to give them… so I pretended I wasnt home. I’m like the halloween grinch hahaha.
I love those meringue ghosts Conor! YUM!
Liz @ Breakfast in Perth´s last [type] ..Toscaninis
Liz I think that’s the smart thing to do.. it will be a lose-lose situation if you answer the door empty handed. It reminds me of that Far Side cartoon where it’s the Blob Family at home in their lounge room, and Jehovah’s Witnesses come knocking at the door so the Dad tells the others to act like bean bag chairs. (not that I’m suggesting you resemble Ms Blob :D)
My God.
You are truly a dream boat, those pride ghosts are the cutest thing EVER!!!
Annette @ Wellness WA´s last [type] ..Beauty & Wellbeing Routine- Bethany Cecins- Ksubi Store Manager
Oh goodness, I don’t think I’ve been called a dream boat before. That’s something else I’ll have to get made into a shirt.
Heheh, “hallo-weiners”! Kitschy food with kitschy names for a kitschy occasion – absolutely love it =D
mademoiselle délicieuse´s last [type] ..Sugar Hit- Guylian Café- 22 Oct & Number One Wine Bar- 23 Oct 2010
Nothing says kitsch like little boys :D
It’s so much fun to dress up and have “adult” parties for Halloween! I really need to throw a shindig myself next year. Looks like you had a very fun time. :) BTW, love the ghost meringues.
bunkycooks´s last [type] ..Mountain Mondays
Thanks Gwen, with adult parties you can combine silly food AND alcohol. It’s a win-win!
Hey Connor, looks like you had a fun Halloween. I love your fanny pack and wonder why something so useful ever could have ever gone out of style??? I also love the mummies and cute little ghosts, very clever and sweet. I’m still recuperating from a house full of little goblins, their parents and an itchy pink wig last night. Have a nice week:)
It was super fun :) Oh I know, after wearing the fanny pack I’m secretly wishing they were fashionable again. Man they’re so practical! Unlike itchy pink wigs, I guess. Thanks, you too! :D
Awesome costume – I love the watermelon seeds on your face. The mummies and ghosts look creepy and tasty!
Pam´s last [type] ..Mediterranean Roasted Potato Salad AND the Giveaway Winners
Thanks Pam! Luckily the seeds were easy to remove AND I remembered to do this before I went to bed so I didn’t freak myself out in the morning :)
Cool Halloween creations! My daughter would especially love the mummies as sausages and puff pastry are two of her most favorite ingredients! She’s looking at them right now over my shoulder and giggling :)
5 Star Foodie´s last [type] ..5 Star Restaurant Review- Fountain Restaurant
Thanks Natasha :) Glad to elicit giggles!! Hard not to like anything wrapped in pastry, I think, especially when there is sauce to dip it in as well :)
Conor, these treats are all so fun and my Nieces and Nephews would have a blast with them :)
I am a bit frightened off by the harry Spice Girls (but to be honest they scare me a bit anyway)…Glad you decided to make your own party regardless of local ;)
Magic of Spice´s last [type] ..Roasted Pumpkin Seed and Halloween Fun
You are right to be frightened by the hairy spice girls – I agree that the non-hairy ones are scary enough. Hopefully next year will see another party.. I wonder how many years I can get by without having to throw the party myself :)
OMG!!! I honestly thought watermelon rebound girl would have died!! And Conor, you are wicked ROFL Love the ‘costume’!!!
Those mummy rolls are delightful, though I think you may have hurt the poopy ghost’s feelings ;)
Denise it looks like she does! Maybe she actually did but they got her secret twin to step in? Or maybe they clone all the Amazing Race contestants before putting them on the show? Aww, poor poopy ghost. At least he didn’t have to live long with hurt feelings as he was gobbled up soon after the photo :)
Great costume! And I love your cute Halloween-inspired food, especially the mummy weiners – so clever.
Cakelaw´s last [type] ..TWD – Peanuttiest Blondies
Thanks Cakelaw! Now, onto Christmas cooking? Eek!
After that Amazing Race clip, I’ve never looked at a watermelon the same way. Looove the costume and the mummies! So cute.
OMG TRAP DOOR.
Mei´s last [type] ..subi farmers’ market – subiaco
Me neither, Mei. I just don’t trust it any more.
Thanks!
Well even though you do not do the door-to-door routine, seems you have capture the Halloween spirit with these dandy ghostly treats!
Thanks CCR! I think I may be a little too old (or at least not young enough) to try my hand at the door-to-door routine. Perhaps I should borrow a small child to accompany me on this one year :)
What a great post, I love your little mummies, they looked perfect, and strangely disturbing as you mentioned :) (Now I know what the little boys were for!)
The ghost are just too cute, it would almost be sad to eat them, with their individual little personalities!
I am on my way over to look at your recipe of the month post, it sounds like fun.
Thank you! Yes, the little boys were put to good use :D
Luckily the party guests had no qualms about taking the little ghosts to a better place and I didn’t have to bring any back home with me.
those ghost meringues are so cute!!! looks like you guys had a ball. I tend not to do anything at halloween, growing up in australia its never seemed so big as other countries.
Thanks! It was a great night, it’s always so much fun when people put an effort in with decorations and costumes.
Oh conor!! You had me in stitches with your outfit…but the question is…..did you smell like watermelon???
Sounds like an awesome party and I love you contributions!
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge´s last [type] ..Results – Gougères
Hehe, excellent Maria! Ummmm you know, I don’t think I did? At least, no one mentioned that I did. There was some seepage (ew) through my shirt but not enough to get up my nostrils :D
Mummified Hallo-wieners!!! I am dying here!!! Hilarious and awesome.
Love it. Love it.
Kat (Spatula, Spoon and Saturday)´s last [type] ..Roasted Chicken Wrapped with Streaky Bacon and Stuffed with Potatoes and Sage
Thanks Kat!! Love that you love it :D
I love the gay pride meringue ghosties! And yes, you’ve got me singing “don’t you open that trapdoor…”
You’re a fool if you dare!!!
Sandstorm from the Mighty Boosh… oh wow. It makes me want to have a belated Halloween party for no other reason other than to dress up in a suit made out of sandpaper. Not that I think it would be comfortable in the least but it would make me look suitably deranged and it would be good to see people’s reactions.
Those Hallow-wieners and meringues are hilarious and awesome and adorable. Not sure how adorable Halloween stuff is allowed to be, but I guess the Halloween Police don’t have to know. I much prefer stuff like this to some other Halloween fare I’ve seen – a friend showed my some brain cupcakes he found on Foodgawker, which as a neuroscientist I found kind of nifty. Until I realised that they had jam and a cherry inside them that was supposed to be a blood clot. I’ve got another name for that – it’s called stroke, and I don’t think it needs to be trivialised by being made into a cupcake. I don’t know, maybe my humour lobe got lobotomised for this, but working in a lab that partly researches the effects stroke and works with recovering stroke victims, i.e. the ones who didn’t die from their stroke… I can’t handle stroke cupcakes. But Hallow-wieners and meringue ghosts – YES PLEASE.
Don’t you open that TRAP DOOR… ’cause there’s something down there!
Jess, Sandstorm was a seriously good costume and very deserving of the other costume prize. Really terrible costume if you’re wanting to sneak up on anyone though, it’s quite loud. Probably fairly uncomfortable too, but at least you would not have to fear splinters from any surface.
I can’t see brain clot foods (how is this a category of food?) without remembering that anti smoking ad where they cut the brain with a knife and show the blood clot inside, so although I have no experience with stroke victims I’m not exactly a fan of stroke themed fun.
Poor old Berk, dealing with those trapdoor beasties AND him upstairs. What a life.
Lol I love the costume. Had to watch the video to understand, but a great idea!!! And how cute are those little ghosties!!!
Thanks Bryt! Not too cute to eat :)
Hi Conor! This is the most artistic ‘meal’ I’ve ever seen! Everything looks so cute – too cute to eat! Loved the pics, congrats
Thanks Food Lover!! So glad you like it, but not so sure I can agree about it being too good to eat ;)
Heh heh heh. I’ve seen that video a few times now, and it never ceases to make me cringe. And laugh. And then cringe again. Great costume, Conor!
Agnes, it’s one of those videos that is seemingly impossible to tire of. I still can’t believe she isn’t dead. Or walking around with a watermelon instead of a head.
Thanks :D
Hahah sooo cute! Love the little wieners and ghosts!!
Thanks cheffresco :D
I adore this post – everything is too cute to eat! Love those mummified sausages and those ghosties are so cute. Good call on the trap door character. Not sure that unidentified one would be welcome in the Bronx though.
Forager @ The Gourmet Forager´s last [type] ..The simple pleasures of artichoke – dips for all seasons
Thanks Trina :) I think you might be right about Mr-looks-a-bit-too-KKK-for-comfort. It’s for his own good that he is now eaten and unable to venture so far abroad.