Graveyard Dirt Pudding for Share a Spoon!

Thanks Think Tank Momma for another FUN Share a Spoon!



I am not a baker ... I like to consume baked items but baking them does not stir my whisk. Give me a risotto any day to create and I am happy :) but I do love to do fun and easy things that the kids love so a few years back we started making the graveyard dirt pudding! 

Most of the fun is in creating it - the kids love to do it themselves!

Graveyard Dirt Pudding

• Make the chocolate pudding according to the package directions and spread it in the plastic containers - we use plastic clear cups.
• Place one or two gummi worms in each container with the top half of the worm sticking out.
• Crush oreos in a lock-seal bag with a rolling pin to make "dirt."
• Sprinkle a little of the crushed cookie "dirt" on the pudding.

One year we also made the entire graveyard in a glass casserole. 

The kids covered cookies with frosting for the tombstones and we added little candy pumpkins and spiders to complete the look.

We also recommend eyeballs and marshmallow ghosts!

Happy Halloween!

There is a Goblin in my Fridge!

Halloween is a great holiday to have a blast with food - we can give our food creepy names and dress it up too! Or make it very squee and cute!

We do a family Halloween party and one of my Halloween Favorites is the Cheeseball Goblin - not only does he LOOK adorable but he tastes good!

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature, plus 2 (8-ounce) packages whipped cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups shredded mixed cheeses, such as cheeses for tacos
• Green food coloring
• 2 large tortilla chips
• 1 whole pepperoncini pepper
• 2 pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1 bell pepper, cut 2 thin strips and 6 small triangles
• 6 pitted green olives
• 20 small carrot sticks
• 3 cups shredded red cabbage
• Toothpicks

Directions

Place 2 packages of cream cheese, butter, and milk in a mixing bowl, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add the shredded cheese and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Remove the chilled cheese mixture from the refrigerator. Place the mixture on a piece of waxed paper and form the cheese ball into a head-like shape. Place 3 pieces of waxed paper around the edges of a serving plate, leaving open space in the center. Place the cheese in the center of the platter so some of it is right on the platter, but the edges are on the waxed paper. This will ensure that the platter does not get dirty while you make your goblin.

In a medium bowl, stir the remaining softened cream cheese until totally smooth. With a spatula, spread the whipped cream cheese over the head. It's O.K. if it's not totally smooth - this will give your goblin spooky skin.

Place a few drops of green food coloring in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix well. With a pastry brush, paint the tortilla chips with the food coloring until they are the desired color. Set aside to dry for a few minutes.

Once the chips are dry, press them into the sides of the cheese ball to form ears. Skewer the pepperoncini with a toothpick and then attach it to the center of the head to make a nose. Press the pimiento-stuffed olives into the head to form eyes. Use the 2 red bell pepper strips to make eyebrows. Take the pepper triangles and insert them into the holes in the pitted green olives. The green olives will serve as toes, and the red pepper strips will be scary toenails. Once the olives are assembled, press them into the bottom of the head to form the toes.

Press the carrot sticks into the head to form teeth. Leave them sticking out a bit to make scary teeth. It's O.K. if your carrot sticks are different lengths and thicknesses. Hold the head onto the platter with a spatula and gently pull away the waxed paper. Finally, press the cabbage into the top of the head to make hair.

Serve with crackers and assorted vegetables.

Original Recipe from Paula Deen

11 Scariest Foods to Eat in the World

1.  Fried Brains

Apparently, brains are not just for zombies - in St. Louis, Missouri they have a sandwich made from fried calves' brain and served on white bread or a hamburger bun.  Beef brains (sesos) are also used in tacos and burritos so make sure you clarify when you order a taco!

2.  Haggis

Haggis does not look too scary but take into consideration that the traditional Scottish is made with the minced heart, liver and lung of a sheep mixed with onion, spices, oatmeal, salt and stock, and boiled in the sheep's stomach for a few hours. Larousse Gastronomique, a popular encyclopedia of gastronomic delights, claims that haggis has "an excellent nutty texture and delicious savory flavor." Back in the day, it was served in the sheep's stomach ... this does not really say YUM to me ... but now they use artificial casings.

 
3.  Bugs

 We have all seen the reality shows that have contestants wolfing down tarantulas or grasshoppers or other squirmy things that we would normally shriek and squish but in Thailand, the street vendors lay out their wares so that you can buy them.  on purpose.  and eat them.  on purpose.

4.  Rocky Mountain Oysters

This is kind of a tongue in cheek name because there are no oysters in the Rocky Mountains since there is no ocean in the Rocky Mountains so beware because Rocky Mountain Oysters are actually ... testicles.  The good news is that you can still have the cocktail sauce! The testicles are peeled, boiled, rolled in a flour mixture, fried, and then served with a nice cocktail sauce.

6. Camel Hump

I first saw this on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations when he was in Saudi Arabia.  The camel hump was cooked and then set out for an enormous amount of people.  A foodie blogger, Anissa, shares her camel experiences here.  I was taken aback in the UAE that they advertised camel's milk as "camelicious" but this takes it to a whole new level, or depending on the humps, two levels.   

7.  Fugu

Fugu is the poisonous puffer fish, filled with enough of the poison tetrodotoxin to be lethal. There is no antidote to the poison so this is a thrill seeker dream for food.  The liver is the most toxic part and the sale of the liver has been outlawed in Japan but still there are those that have lost their lives to it by preparing improperly.

 
8. Casu Marzu

Allow me to break this down simply - Casu Marzu is maggot cheese.  It is a traditional Sardinian cheese infused with live insect larvae.  To make your eating experience even more interesting, the larvae can launch themselves up to six inches.  while you are eating the cheese.  Larvae and launch should never really appear in the same sentence.   According to Sardinian foodies, you should never eat it when the maggots are dead as this would be unsafe.  right.  got it.

9. Sannakji

In Korea - sushi and sashimi are never considered as fresh as sannakji - live baby octopus.  Live as it is going into your mouth but you better swallow quickly and be alert because their active suction cups can be a choking hazard as they can stick to your throat,  you know, while you are swallowing them.

10. Balut

Balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell.  Balut is very common in the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam and usually sold by street vendors. It has ascended to the ranks of haute cuisine though in these countries which apparently call for eating a baby chicken fetus.  It is said that the legs provide a bit of a crunch.

11.  Baby Mice Wine

 

And where would we be without a nice beverage to wash down our brains and bugs and testicles? Probably less queasy but may we recommend the pairing of a nice bottle of ... baby mice wine. Take a bottle of rice wine, go raid the nearest mouse house and kidnap the wee buggers at the not so ripe age of 2-3 days (no hair) and pop them all into a bottle of that rice wine. The bottle then sits in the cellar for at least a year while the mice ferment. and there you have it. if you can stomach it.

What is the scariest food that you have ever tasted?