Halloween's a Scream!

A scream of horror!
In the Halloween frenzy
I forgot candy!


It's Halloween night.
Goblin hands reach for candy
To start flu season.

Halloween was a blast in our neighborhood. Our good friend Cate pulled out the stops and created a pot-luck spook-fest that was outta this world for kids and grown-ups alike. Being good neighbors, we brought a couple of treats ourselves. Debby went for creative and fun with the Screaming Man. Betsey for gory and fattening Bloody Eyeball Dip. Either way's a winner!

Bloody Eyeball Dip
2 cans refried black beans
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
Taco sauce
Pimento-stuffed Manzanilla or other medium-sized green olives

Thoroughly mix beans and taco seasoning in a bowl. Spread evenly in a 9x13 casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheese over bean mixture.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and beans are heated through.

Spread sour cream over melted cheese and beans.


Push olives into sour cream and beans, with red "pupils" facing up. (Having them "look" in different directions adds an extra creepy factor.)


Drip or drizzle taco sauce over olives and sour cream. (Practice on a few corn chips first if you want to hone the bloody technique.)


Serve warm or at room temperature with corn chips.

The Screaming Man (and a pile of bones)

Make the perfect man.

Shape and spice him with your hands

DO play with your food!

You can make this poor guy large or small; just adjust the recipe ingredient amounts and use an appropriately sized platter to splay him on. Serve a pile of skeleton bones with The Screaming Man: unroll a refrigerated tube of breadstick dough and separate into sticks at the perforation marks. Make 1 1/2-inch-deep slashes in the ends, and curl the cut edges into dog bone shapes. Place them on greased baking sheets and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. for about 15 minutes or until they are light golden brown.

1/2 cup minced red onion

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes

Boiling water

1 (10-ounce) log goat cheese, softened

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup finely chopped pitted Kalamata olives

For body: minced fresh parsley, finely chopped toasted walnuts or whole pine nuts

For fingernails and toenails: whole almonds

For hair: tiny fresh broccoli flowerets

For eyes: carrot slices or dried plum halves

For mouth: thin slice from a narrow red bell pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the minced onion in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with nonstick aluminum foil; bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let the onion cool. (You can skip this step and just put in the minced red onion.)

Let dried tomatoes soak in boiling water 15 minutes. Drain well and finely chop.

Mash goat cheese and cream cheese together in a medium bowl until very smooth. (Or you can use a food processor for this step, but transfer the mixture back to a bowl to stir in the remaining ingredients.) Stir in the onion, tomatoes, and olives. Refrigerate, if necessary, until the cheese spread is firm enough to mold.

On a platter, form the cheese spread into the shape of a man, with a rather large head and arms and legs akimbo. The more at odd angles his extremities are, the more he has cause to scream.

Sprinkle the nuts over his torso where his shirt would be; sprinkle the parsley over the lower region for pants, pressing them in lightly. Arrange almonds for his fingers and toes. Place small broccoli florets around the top of his head for hair; add carrots or dried plum halves for eyes. Add the pepper slice for his screaming mouth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 20 appetizer servings.