Halloween food - do you make anything special?

[Morning Glory]

I don't usually make anything special for Halloween these days as my kids are grown up. But I do like to have one or two treats at hand in case we get 'Trick or Treaters' coming to call. Here is a really easy idea that kids should like:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/frozen-banana-ghosts

This is a link to a recipe. But I didn't want to prefix it as a recipe because this thread is really about Halloween and what kinds of things you make.

 

[kgord]

Those are cute. I don't usually make special Halloween foods, as I have no children in my life at this time. I might consider something though if I was going to host a Halloween party. They have so many cute options in terms of foods. I would really make some of them if I was going to go to a party.

 

[cupcakechef]

Sometimes I'll make decorated cupcakes or cake balls for my husband's work - but that's about it! Our little one is too small to really enjoy Halloween just yet, but maybe when she's older I'll also bake treats for her school friends and things like that!

 

[Corzhens]

This may sound off tangent because we have no Halloween in our tradition. However, the next day is All Saints Day for us when we honor our dead (supposed to be All Souls Day on November 2). In our house, the usual menu is the afternoon snack of chicken porridge. It is what we serve to the house guests who came from the cemetery. It is like a reunion for us on that day. With Halloween, we are just starting. There are villages conducting treat or trick for the kids but it is more of organized (by the village authorities).

 

[Morning Glory]

This may sound off tangent because we have no Halloween in our tradition. However, the next day is All Saints Day for us when we honor our dead (supposed to be All Souls Day on November 2). In our house, the usual menu is the afternoon snack of chicken porridge. It is what we serve to the house guests who came from the cemetery. It is like a reunion for us on that day. With Halloween, we are just starting. There are villages conducting treat or trick for the kids but it is more of organized (by the village authorities).

I've heard of this before and its not off topic. All Hallows day is closely connected to Halloween of course. Halloween is a contraction of All Hallow's Eve. But I've been meaning to ask you about your 'porridge' for a while. To Western ears chicken porridge sounds strange as we think of porridge as a breakfast cereal often sweetened with sugar or honey (unless you are Heston Blumenthal of course! http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/snailporridge_74858). So can you explain how it is made?

 

[L_B]

I am also very curious about this chicken porridge. I have never heard of such a thing before.

When my children were younger we use to have awesome Halloween parties. It was always fun preparing the food for the party. Those banana ghosts are really cute. I will have to make some for my grandchildren for Halloween. I know they will love them.

 

[ReadWriteLearnLove]

My kids look forward to some kind of "creepy" snack on Halloween. This year should be fun since it falls on a Saturday, giving me all day to plan and prep! I usually do simple things that turn out to be fun: donut holes turned into eyeballs with a little bit of red icing, string cheese and olives "carved" to look like zombie fingers, deviled eggs turned into black olive spiders.

 

[Diane Lane]

I've made some homemade treats in the past, when my nieces were younger. I will keep some store bought candy on hand for trick or treaters, since they warn here about taking homemade treats (what a shame that nasty people have ruined that), and will probably make some sort of pumpkin treat as a nod to the holiday. These hands were fun to make back in the day.

Those banana ghosts look cute, and yummy with the coconut!

 

[Pat]

Kids in our area will not accept anything that is not store purchased which is sad. When I was a kid we did candy apples and other treats like cupcakes. There have been too many issues where there was a dangerous item in the food. We check the candy the kids bring home even if it is still in the wrapper.

Home parties are the only time the kids would get a homemade treat.

 

[Berties]

We don't celebrate Halloween now at all my lads are well past the trick and treat stages,but my wife and sister n law have taken on making toffee apples for the village bonfire committee ,about 300 plus of the damm things they stand in the kitchen hours dipping and wrapping

 

[Morning Glory]

Kids in our area will not accept anything that is not store purchased which is sad. When I was a kid we did candy apples and other treats like cupcakes. There have been too many issues where there was a dangerous item in the food. We check the candy the kids bring home even if it is still in the wrapper.

Home parties are the only time the kids would get a homemade treat.

Such a shame that home cooked might be deemed dangerous!

 

[Corzhens]

I've heard of this before and its not off topic. All Hallows day is closely connected to Halloween of course. Halloween is a contraction of All Hallow's Eve. But I've been meaning to ask you about your 'porridge' for a while. To Western ears chicken porridge sounds strange as we think of porridge as a breakfast cereal often sweetened with sugar or honey (unless you are Heston Blumenthal of course! http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/snailporridge_74858). So can you explain how it is made?

Porridge is called Lugaw that is a dish inherited from the Chinese. It is not a cereal though with glutinous rice as the main ingredient that is cooked in water. For the flavoring, a sautee of crushed garlic, sliced onions and strips of ginger (this is very important because this gives a distinct taste). When the onions are cooked, pour 3 tablespoon of fish sauce and let it simmer a bit before mixing in the chicken meat, can be filet or chicken parts. Frying in the sautee mix gives the chicken meat more flavor. When the chicken is cooked, that's the time to add everything to the porridge. Happy eating.