Do you love Halloween but have zero time to scare up a costume? How about throwing a wickedly fun pumpkin carving party instead. Follow our ideas below and you can celebrate Halloween in style without ever putting on a cape or fake fangs.
THE INVITE: Make it easy on yourself since time is short. Send out a simple evite or email blast notifying your guests of your upcoming party.
THE GRUB: It should be festive and fun but not time consuming or fussy. Create a grilled cheese bar offering different breads, all types of cheeses and delicious accompaniments such as caramelized onions or even pieces of short rib (YUM!) Place a bowl of melted butter with a brush for greasing the breads (*add a drop of white truffle oil to your butter). Position your panini grill or electric fry pan next to everything for melting. Serve with hot pumpkin soup (see below).
THE DESSERT: Take a traditional favorite and put your own spin on it. Carmel apples are a classic and can be infused with Halloween accents.
THE DRINKS: Whip up a batch of Witch’s Brew following this recipe:
1 gallon of orange sherbet ice cream
1 bottle of Orange Vodka
1 liter of Orange Sparkling Water
1 liter of Sprite
Frozen grapes as "eye balls" if you want to add some fun in the ice cube trays
For packaged drinks, hollow out a large pumpkin and place a Tupperware bowl inside filled with ice. Place drinks inside the pumpkin bowl.
THE MUSIC: Make a fun, festive Halloween playlist on your iPod. Some tunes to include are:
"Beetlejuice: Main Titles,"
"Ghostbusters”: Danny Elfman
"In the Midnight Hour”: Wilson Picket
"I Put A Spell On You”: Marilyn Manson
"Thriller”: Michael Jackson
“Munsters Theme Song”
"Witchcraft: Frank Sinatra
“Dead Man's Party” Oingo Boingo
“Bad Moon Rising”: Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Black Magic Woman”: Santana
“Monster Mash”: Bobby Picket
“People are Strange”: The Doors
“This is Halloween” (Nightmare Before Christmas)
THE CONTEST
Ask your guests to bring their own pumpkin and be ready to carve away!
Download stencils at:
http://www.zombiepumpkins.com/
Make sure you have enough room for everyone to carve and enough utensils for the job (these can be purchased at craft stores or grocery stores and you can supply the tools for your carvers). Pick out fun prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and a booby prize for fun!
THE GUTS:
Don’t forget all the treats found inside your pumpkin!
Pumpkin soup is divine. Scoop out the meat of your pumpkin and use it for your homemade soup. If you are feeling particularly crafty, serve the soup in small, hollowed out pumpkins for everyone or out of one large pumpkin which you can bring tableside at a dinner and ladle out soup from there.
Erica’s Pumpkin Soup
3 tablespoons butter
4 green onions, chopped
1 small onion, sliced
1 ½ pounds of fresh pumpkin, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt
*Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as flour and cream (from above) if needed.
Option for thicker soup
2 tablespoons flour, kneaded
½ teaspoon butter
Directions: Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pot with the green onions and onion; cook gently until almost soft but not browned. Add the pumpkin, chicken stock and salt and simmer until soft. Puree in blender and add salt and pepper to taste. Return soup to pot.
Note: If the soup needs thickening, in a small saucepan stir the flour and butter making sure not to burn the mixture. Stir until the color becomes a nutty color. Add some soup into mixture (in the saucepan) to make a stock and then stir back into the soup (in the pot).
Garnish with croutons if you’d like! Enjoy!
Pumpkin seeds should be eaten too! Roast them and flavor with your favorite spices! Below is a recipe we like: