Spooky Spread - what was hot, what was not part 1

So after two parties, I am evaluating the success of the spooky spread, what was eaten and what was left to rot upon the table. I do however, need to break this blog into parts or else it will be huge.

The spread consisted of these items

1. Brain dip - served at the first party not at the second.
2. Cupcakes - three kinds - pumpkin with cream cheese frosting, chocolate with white buttercream, vanilla with chocolate buttercream.
3. Gory Guacamole
4. Red devil Salsa
5. Green Goo Salsa
6. Pineapple - Mango Salsa
7. Spooky Stomboli
8. Devilled Eggs
9. Moldy Cheese tray including Monster Cheese
10. Trolls eyeballs
11. Chips
12. Cheese pumpkins
13. Rice crackers
14. Triscuits
15. Veggies and dip

So lets start with number 1 - Brain dip. 

Beautiful presentation, yummy dip but it makes a ton.  So much so that after the first party, his Lordship and I ate it all week, still threw half and I could not bring myself to make it again. We were tired of Brain dip and it is not inexpensive because it calls for crab meat.  Perhaps I will look for a smaller brain mold so I can halve the recipe. I forgot to take a picture of my brain dip but it basically looked like this:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxbUOeVSNOY-YdewdhrK_Brkb7N5Jj0QgnB4tVG9wblOwkrrtefux_xsw2-5ljXn8U7yLUcsSKQxW6eRBLggKYLFB3GUv43aFy4_1fJ9q_dm7uOHveRnsvxiJ910-Cdh2NlWKon8130CL/s1600/Shrimp+Brain+Dip.JPG


I hate to leave it out because it is so much fun to say "hmmm brains" with your party guests. But I also don't want to eat the whole thing.  I think the only solution is to have more friends - a lot more.

2. Creepy Cupcakes

Again I went overboard and made a ton of creepy cupcakes - but then my sister sent me all these gorgeous cupcake toppers so what could I do?  The beauty of cupcakes, however, is that they freeze.  So any frosted cupcakes leftover from the two parties just went straight into the freezer.  His Lordship and I have been enjoying one for dessert every night this week.  However, I think for next year, I would half every recipe as I made too many.  I made everything from scratch this year and was delighted to find out how easy this was.  So no more boxes of cakes or cans of frosting for Lady M. The toppers from Michaels were cute as a button and made a delightful presentation.  As for the yum factor, not so much.  I just pull them off and skip the calories.


Cupcake toppers from Toggs - beautiful to look at but not so good to eat

So I used these to make three kinds of cupcakes - chocolate with buttercream vanilla icing



Pumpkin with cream cheese icing

 

And vanilla with buttercream chocolate icing.  Those are the Day of the Dead faces.

 

 

3. Gory Guacamole

 Guacamole was generally a hit and I would serve it again.  Plus his Lordship and I just made sure we ate fajitas the next day to use it up since a couple days in the fridge is all it does.

 

If you don't make it let me give you my homemade recipe as it is sooo easy and looks all green and gooey thus has a nice presentation on a Halloween table.

 

I start with about 4 avacados.  They must yield to gentle pressure upon squeezing them or they are not ripe.  If they are too squishy, they will be brown.  So choosing perfect avacados makes your guacamole.  I cut these in half, remove pits, scoop out insides with a spoon and mash with a fork.  Then add 3 finely chopped green onions, a 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, two mashed cloves of garlic, a splash a Worcestershire sauce, about 1/2 teaspoon of dried cumin, and about 12 cherry tomatoes cut in half.  Add salt to taste and the juice of a lime. Chill in the fridge covered with saran wrap - exposure to air will turn it brown.

 

Let me know if you need any of these recipes as they are all online (except my guacamole) and I can share the links.  Keep in mind the baking is high altitude as I live at 6,700 feet above the sea.