Published: October 27, 2009 03:47 pm      

Brew up something spooky this Halloween

Boo! In the Halloween spirit yet? I hope so because I have some more Halloween recipes for you. Last week, I focused on ghoulish treats for parties. This week it's time to take a look at spooky sips perfect for the holiday.

"Halloween is the one time of year where you want your refreshments to look absolutely ghastly. Embrace the spirit of the occasion by having the grossest goodies on the block!" states the Web site www.allrecipes.com.

The site offers these tips to make putrid punch extra eerie:

• To make the brew have a mysterious glow, place a few glow sticks underneath the punch bowl.

• Float life-size zombie hands made from ice by freezing water in latex or rubber gloves. Prior to freezing them, wash them thoroughly with dish soap and turn them inside out. Carefully pour in water and use a rubber band to fasten tightly at the wrist. According to the Web site, the shape will turn out best if you hang the gloves, fingers down, from your freezer shelf. Plan to freeze your uncanny hands for at least one full day. When it's party time, run warm water over the gloves very briefly — just long enough to loosen the gloves from the ice — and carefully peel them off the frozen hands.

• Turn the punchbowl into a steamy, smoky witch's cauldron. For this project, you will need dry ice. (Never ingest it or touch it with bare skin, the Web site advises.) Mix your punch in a large bowl and place it inside an even larger bowl, pot or cauldron. Using tongs or extra-heavy-duty gloves, add chunks of dry ice to the bigger container. Then simply pour hot water over the dry ice to make the magic begin.

I hope you have a scary good time this Halloween! Happy sipping!



Boo Beverage

2 cups orange juice

2 cups milk

2 pints orange sherbet

4 ripe bananas

2 cups whipped topping

18 miniature chocolate chips

In four batches, process the orange juice, milk, sherbet and bananas in a blender until smooth. Pour into glasses. Cut a hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; fill with whipped topping. Pipe a ghost shape on top of each beverage. Position chocolate chips for eyes.

www.allrecipes.com



Ghoulish Punch

2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin

2 cups cold orange juice

1 bottle (1 liter) seltzer, chilled

Ice cubes

1 pt. (2 cups) orange sherbet, slightly softened

1 orange, thinly sliced

1 lime, thinly sliced

Stir boiling water into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in juice. Cool to room temperature.

Pour into punch bowl just before serving. Add seltzer and ice; stir.

Add scoops of sherbet and fruit slices.

Tips: Substitute 2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin for the 1 pkg. (8-serving size) gelatin. Another great substitute is club soda for the seltzer.

www.kraftfoods.com



Vampire Blood

1 gallon cranberry juice

1 gallon orange juice

1 cup raspberry sorbet

1 quart seltzer water

Ice

Mix the juices together. Add the sorbet, softened, and stir until it disappears.

Add the seltzer and mix, add ice and serve.

www.recipezaar.com



Spooky Punch

For the ice cubes:

2 packages gummy bear worms

1 (32-oz.) container cranberry juice

For the shrunken head straws:

6 plastic drinking straws

6 pitted prunes

18 whole cloves

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut

For the punch:

3 (12-oz.) bottles strawberry smoothies

2 quarts orange juice

3 cans lemon/lime soda

For the ice cubes:

Stick 1 gummy worm in each cube, with half of the worm hanging out. Pour cranberry juice into the ice cube trays. Place in freezer 2 hours before mixing the punch.

For the shrunken head straws:

Push a straw up through the center of 1 prune where the pit used to be, so it sits one-third of the way down the straw. Repeat with remaining prunes.

In a small bowl melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 second at 15-second intervals stirring between intervals. Take 12 cloves and dip the round ends into the melted chocolate. Place on a plate lined with waxed paper and allow chocolate to set about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile using a small brush or toothpick coat the top part of each prune with melted white chocolate. Carefully sprinkle the coconut on top of the white chocolate to resemble hair. Repeat with the remaining prunes.

Stick 2 white chocolate-coated cloves into each prune to create 2 eyes. Place 1 undipped clove into each prune under the eyes to resemble a nose.

For the punch:

Pour the strawberry smoothies, the orange juice and the lemon/lime soda into a large punch bowl and stir.

Take the gummy worm ice cubes out of the freezer, and add half of them to the punch. Place remaining cubes into glasses and fill each glass with punch using a ladle.

www.foodnetwork.com



Swamp Juice

1/2 cup small tapioca pearls (found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores)

Food coloring

4 Tbsp. sugar

8 gummy fish

Seltzer water

Lemonade

8 gummy worms

Make the eggs: Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add the tapioca pearls. Reduce the heat slightly and boil the pearls, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes.

Color the eggs: Divide the pearls, with the remaining water, between two bowls. Add 4 drops of food coloring (we used 3 drops of yellow and 1 drop of green in one bowl, and 4 drops of blue in the other) and 2 tablespoons of sugar to each bowl. Stir the mixtures, then allow them to sit uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and rinse the pearls with cold water.

Assemble the drink: Spoon 2 tablespoons of pearls into each glass and drop in a gummy fish. Fill the glasses with seltzer water, then add a splash of lemonade. Place a gummy worm around a spoon as shown.

www.familyfun.go.com



Black Halloween Punch

1 (.13 oz.) envelope unsweetened grape soft drink mix

1 (.13 oz.) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix

2 cups white sugar

3 quarts cold water

1 liter ginger ale

To make a frozen hand, wash a disposable glove, fill with water, seal with a rubber band and freeze until hard.

Stir together grape soft drink mix, orange soft drink mix, sugar and water until solids are dissolved. Combine with chilled ginger ale just before serving. Dip the frozen hand briefly in warm water, then peel off the glove. Float the prepared hand in the punch bowl for a ghastly effect.

www.allrecipes.com