Tricks and Treats

I've been working on THE DIVA HAUNTS A HOUSE. Hmm, you didn't guess that it takes place at Halloween, did you?

There are so many fun recipes for Halloween. One of my favorites in THE DIVA HAUNTS A HOUSE is Chicken Scaryaki. But don't look for it just yet. It won't be out until next fall!


In the meantime, you can have fun playing with Hard-Boiled Monster Eyeballs. If you're a Southwestern food fanatic, substitute sour cream for the mayo, lime for the lemon, and add a dash or two of cumin.

They passed muster with my adult tasters. Mileage with children will depend on fussiness about certain ingredients. The good news is that they can be made earlier in the day. They still looked fairly good about six hours later.

Hard-Boiled Monster Eyeballs

6 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 an avocado
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon lemon
3/4 teaspoon mustard (I used horseradish mustard)
1/2 teaspoon salt (really to taste, start with 1/4 teaspoon and add more if necessary)
3-4 olives (black or green, whatever you like)

1 drop ketchup
1 drop light corn syrup

Slice the eggs in half. Puree the egg yolks with the avocado, lemon, mustard, salt, and mayonnaise. Spoon into egg whites and smooth with your finger. Place a slice of olive in the middle of each.

Mix the ketchup with the corn syrup. Use a toothpick to draw lines on the "eyeballs." If you squiggle the lines, they'll look like blood, if you make them straight and uniform, they'll look like eyelashes, which might be less scary for very small children.




After all that hard work handing out candy, you might find that you need a little treat. (How cool is this picture? Why are black and white pictures scarier than color ones?) So I'm including two drinks to try. Make Julie's Bloody Shirley for the kids, but try a Green Ghoul or Night Rider Cider for the adults. The Green Ghoul is a spooky lime color, but quite sweet and fruity. Night Rider Cider packs a little kick. It's less sweet, but very refreshing. In the mood to play a trick? Peel a grape "eyeball" and drop it in the Night Rider Cider. It will disappear at the bottom of the drink and won't be visible until your victim has consumed nearly all of his drink. Bwahahahaha! Oh! And don't miss Cleo's Ghostly Car Ad, just scroll down a bit. Hehehehehe.

Green Ghoul

Ginger Ale
Hypnotiq Liqueur
Cointreau

Pour a cup of Ginger Ale into a wineglass. Add two ounces of Hypotiq and one ounce of Cointreau. Stir and enjoy!

Night Rider Cider

Apple Cider
Goldschlager Cinnamon Schnapps Liqueur
Green Apple Vodka
grapes (optional)

Pour cold Apple Cider into an average size martini glass. Add one ounce of Goldschlager and one ounce of Green Apple Vodka. Stir and drop in one peeled grape.

Happy Halloween!