LESLIE BUDEWITZ: When I spotted a tray of rattlesnake breadsticks in Country Living magazine, I ripped out the page and through it in my “Future MLK recipes” folder. The inspiration recipe used refrigerated pizza dough cut in strips, brushed with olive oil, dotted with poppy and sesame seeds, with forked tongues cut from dried chiles.
Cute, and scary-fun.
I created this version using puff pastry, which is perhaps a tad less predictable, but then snakes are unpredictable. (I’ll spare you the story of my own close encounter with a rattlesnake, as this is a family show. Suffice to say Mr. Right says he has never seen anyone else jump that high and backwards at the same time.) You might bake these little guys and discover that one turned tail, or flipped upside down, or opened up a bit where you twisted it.
Trust me, no one will mind, especially the younger set. And if a rattler truly misbehaves, show it who’s boss. Eat it.
I used a red bell pepper for the tongues; dried red chiles or a slice of pimento would work well, too. These are great accompanied by tomato soup—plenty of options here on the blog, including my own Tomato-Basil Soup from The Solace of Bay Leaves.
Oh, in case you’re wondering, we here at MLK decided eons ago that using frozen puff pastry is not cheating. It’s smart.
Such a treat!
Past holiday fun from my kitchen: Veggie Skeleton with Brain Dip
And Mummy Pizza Puffs, still a hit in our house.
Halloween fun! Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of a Spice Shop mystery by Leslie Budewitz!
Puff Pastry Rattlers
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 tablespoon water
poppy seeds
white sesame seeds
4-6 black olives, whole or about 2 tablespoons, sliced
red bell pepper, a dried chile, or pimento
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Like a baking sheet with a silicon sheet or parchment paper. Beat egg and water in a small bowl, using a fork or whisk.
Unfold the thawed pastry onto a lightly floured cutting board. Roll into a 14X10 rectangle. Cut into 12 strips, just a little more than an inch wide. Twist each strip four or five times, starting at the straight edge of the pastry, leaving a flat piece at the pinked or zig-zagged end, about ½ to 1 inch long. (This is the head.) Brush the twisted strips with the egg mixture. (Cook the rest for breakfast tomorrow.) Sprinkle poppy seeds over the main part of the body and sesame seeds at the tail.
Slice your olives if whole. Cut each slice in half twice and place two olive pieces on the head for eyes. Transfer to lined baking sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes or until rattlers are golden brown.
While your snakes are baking, eat the leftover olives. Then, cut the tongues. If you’re using a bell pepper, cut a strip about half an inch wide; cut at one end and spread open, cutting a triangle out of the center if you need to, to make a Y. You may want to shave the fleshy side of the stem of the Y so it’s thinner and inserts into the head better. If you’re using jarred pimento, cut strips into Y shapes; depending on the length, you may want to cut the strips in half first.
When the snakes are baked, use the tip of a paring knife to poke a hole into the end of the head and slip in the stem end of the tongue. (The layers will separate easily.)
Then go scare your family. Oops. I mean, go treat your family.
Makes 12 snakes.
Let's talk Halloween fun! I know, this year is scary in a whole 'nuther way, but let's remember the good times -- food, costumes, pranks! Leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win your choice of a Spice Shop mystery. (US addresses only; winner to be chosen Thursday, October 22.)
From the cover of THE SOLACE OF BAY LEAVES, Spice Shop Mystery #5, out now in e-book and audio, in paperback October 20, 2020 (Seventh St. Books and Tantor Audio) :
Pepper Reece never expected to find solace in bay leaves.
But when her life fell apart at forty and she bought the venerable-but-rundown Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, her days took a tasty turn. Now she’s savoring the prospect of a flavorful fall and a busy holiday cooking season, until danger bubbles to the surface ...
Between managing her shop, worrying about her staff, and navigating a delicious new relationship, Pepper’s firing on all burners. But when her childhood friend Maddie is shot and gravely wounded, the incident is quickly tied to an unsolved murder that left another close friend a widow.
Convinced that the secret to both crimes lies in the history of a once-beloved building, Pepper uses her local-girl contacts and her talent for asking questions to unearth startling links between the past and present—links that suggest her childhood friend may not have been the Golden Girl she appeared to be. Pepper is forced to face her own regrets and unsavory emotions, if she wants to save Maddie’s life—and her own.
A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.
Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.
Photo of the author as hobo, circa 1968.
