Welcome, foolish mortals, to the deadliest dinner party you may ever attend – or host! Step inside and take a seat at the gothically spooky and bloodthirstily vampiric scene we’ve set for you…it might be your last! The room is dark and mysterious, the candles are flickering, and the menu is filled with make-ahead ghoulish delights (picture human ribs, mini brains, and pumpkin parfaits topped with creepy crawly spiders)!
Be careful though…it seems one of the spiders has made its way onto the table…
If you’ve been looking for a way to bring friends, family, and members of the spirit-realm together for a haunted Halloween celebration, look no further! We’ve pulled together the easiest, and coolest seated dinner experience that all of your guests will be dying to join in on. And look! We’re just in time for the weekend of the 31st. So prepare those invitations and get to shopping – we’ve got a deadly meal to create! *Bone* appetit!
1. Plan your date.
To start, you have to pick when you’ll be hosting this Halloween spook-tacular. What would we suggest? This Saturday, so you have plenty of time during the day to prepare your elements, or Sunday, so you have EXTRA time and are even closer to Halloween itself. If you’re struggling to choose between the two, consider your invitees. Are they more of a Saturday group, where you can drink as many poisoned cocktails and blood-infused red wine as you like and not have to worry about work the next day, or Sunday, where it can be more casual and relaxed, but can liven (ironic – haha) up those Sunday Scaries.
Either way, your first step is to select that date and let your guests know where and when they’re supposed to arrive.
2. Time to shop!
The menu is the highlight of this dinner party – of course – so in that, we have to make sure it’s BY FAR the best part of the evening. So, to do so, we need to plan ahead regarding where we can get all of the elements for the meal.
Many of these things can be prepared ahead, such as the barbecue sauce, GF wonton wrappers, chile dipping sauce, and spider cookies. So, keep that in mind for your shopping timeline.
Also, some of these elements are not readily available in stores. For those pieces, we’d suggest creating a big order on Amazon and making sure you can get everything on time. The liquid smoke and ancho chile powder, for example, could be tough to find in a pinch!
We didn’t add any type of cocktails or wine suggestions to our menu, so keep in mind that you’ll need to grab those too!
Pro tip: Make sure you have plenty of fridge space set aside!
3. Whatever you can make ahead, make ahead.
As we mentioned above, plan to make some of the pieces and parts ahead of the ballgame! It will save you time, energy, and stress on the night-of. You’re meant to enjoy the party too – don’t forget that!
With making these things ahead, it’s more of a layering and pulling together process the day of instead of a mad dash to create everything from scratch. So, look into the recipes below and see what you can do when, depending on your personal timeline.
Pro tip: Do NOT try to make all of these dishes in one day (or worse, like we did, the day of!). Trust us, it’s not worth the stress…and most importantly, you’re not able to enjoy the products of your efforts nearly as much as you should!
4. Decorate your table.
Below you’ll find what we bought for our table this year. What our go-to has been lately is to utilize pieces from previous years that we’ve loved and repurpose them to fit the theme of the current year! For example, the spider candle holders and dying roses were perfect for the gothic alter we were envisioning this time around, but last year, they were used more as decor pieces throughout the house and less of a centerpiece. As you curate your own collection, you’ll be able to see and use things in new ways too! Keep in mind, you don’t have to buy a million things to make something spectacular. You just have to get a little creative!
NOTE: Some of these items are no longer available, but we wanted to link them just so you could see a better visual of what we used, and could find a dupe of your own!
- Pottery Barn Spider Candlestick
- West Elm Halloween Spellbound Optic Stoneware Salad Plate Sets
- Black Dried Roses
- Amazon Red Chopsticks
- Etsy Black Butterflies and Moths
- West Elm Skull Table Cloth (sold out EVERYWHERE, but this JoAnn Fabrics dupe is a perfect stand-in!)
- Ralph Lauren Wyatt Napkin Rings
- White Pumpkins (from our local farm!)
5. Throw on the apron.
Time to cook! Throw the ribs on the grill, create your dumplings, and make anything you didn’t already ahead of time. This is the fun part – especially for those of us that get more and more excited as the process comes to a close. Plus, you get to taste-test as you go!
Follow the recipes below for detailed instructions.
Pro tip: To make the ribs look especially sinister, take a little extra time and cut away the meat near the top of each rib, leaving the meat at the other end. This will expose more of the bone and make it look like actual ribs! Arrange as seen above for the ultimate spooky scene. And! Make sure to save the meat you discarded for someone who loves the meat itself, but not the messy biting process ;).
6. Music!
Playlist suggestions? You’ve got it! On our menu above we’ve listed some of our faves for a devilishly evil dinner party, but head to my Spotify profile (@tdonelon) for your pick from dozens of eerie, fun, classically Halloween playlists.
Thinking more along the lines of spooky ambience? We felt that way too as the night went on. Look though YouTube for ambience videos, they’re everywhere! You can even search things such as “Haunted Mansion Ambience” or “Spooky Forest on Halloween Ambience” to find that you’re searching for. It’s super fun.
7. Final touches on the table, and serve!
Lay out your plates, put your napkins in rings, and set the chopsticks askew overtop. Then, call everyone to sit, and serve!
8. Finish the night with a spooky movie.
At the time we did our Deadly Dinner Party, Hocus Pocus 2 was newly released. So, in true Moments fashion, we had to get the matching Squishmallows to sit alongside us as we watched the movie outside. Then, halfway through the movie as everyone was looking towards dessert, we brought out our pumpkin parfaits. The perfect treat! It was creamy, pumpkin-y, and delish with the added gingersnap spider.
Let us know if you host your own haunted dinner party evening! We’d love to hear of any new additions you brought to the table, thoughts on the recipes, and whether or not your guests made it out alive (we’re hoping not!).
Until our next post, Happy Halloween!
xoxo, Kim & Tess
Charred “Human Ribs” Beef Rib Cage
Equipment
- a grill (optional, can use the oven)
Ingredients
For the ribs:
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 7-8 lbs beef back ribs (1 rack) membrane removed and racks cut into about 13 individual ribs
- 2 cups cola
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
For the barbecue sauce:
- 2 cups ketchup
- 2 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 cup canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup your favorite hot sauce (we prefer Frank's Red Hot)
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp ancho chile powder, or chile powder
Instructions
Cook the ribs.
- Place the ribs in a large stockpot. Pour in the cold and add enough water to just cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. As the liquid is coming to a boil, add the salt and peppercorns. Once at a boil, reduce the head to low, cover, and gently simmer until the meat is tender but not falling off the bone, which is about 2 hours. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the ribs to the baking sheet. Discard the cooking liquid; remove the paper towel form under the ribs and discard it.
- Lightly coat an outdoor grill. Heat the grill to medium-high (or adjust an oven rack 10 inches from the head source and pre-heat the broiler to high).
Divide the barbecue sauce among three bowls.
- Use one bowl for mopping over the raw ribs, one for mopping over the ribs as they cook, and the last bowl for serving alongside the cooked ribs. Working in batches, use a brush to mop the ribs with the barbecue sauce (instructions for barbecue sauce below). Discard that bowl of BBQ sauce when you're done. Transfer the ribs to the grill – or oven – and grill until lightly charred on all sides, turning them and brushing with more barbecue sauce as you go, 10-12 minutes total. Transfer the ribs to a platter. Serve with the remaining barbecue sauce alongside.
Notes
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, tomato sauce, tomato paste, hot sauce, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, mustard, and ancho chile powder and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and glossy, about 15 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container if not using immediately.
“Mini Brains” Pork Dumplings with Chile Dipping Sauce
Equipment
- 1 steaming attachment for pots, or bamboo steamer
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 3 tbsp Asian chile-garlic sauce
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, or rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp mirin (Chinese rice wine) or sweet sherry
For the dumplings:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
- 5 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps thinly sliced
- 4 large scallions, white and light green, parts only, finely chopped
- 8 oz baby bok choy, finely chopped (about 1 2/3 cups)
- 1 small carrot, coarsely grated
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 4 tsp)
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp mirin (Chinese rice wine) or sweet sherry
- 1 tsp Asian chile-garlic sauce
- kosher salt
- 2/3 lb ground pork
- 30-50 round wonton wrappers GF recipe linked below
Instructions
Make the sauce.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, chile-garlic sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and mirin. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside (the sauce will become redder and more ghoulish as it sits).
Make the dumplings.
- In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, scallions, bok choy, and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and chile-garlic sauce and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Season with salt (you won't need much). Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set a small bowl of water next to your work station.
- Remove the bowl of vegetables from the fridge and stir in the pork until incorporated. Place 3 wonton wrappers on a cutting board and brush the edges with water (GF wonton recipe linked). Spoon a scant tablespoon of the filling onto the center of each wrapper. Fold the wrapper over the fulling and press the edges to seal, pressing the dumpling wrapper directly against the filling and pressing out any air pockets as you go. Use scissors to trim the wrappers as desired, leaving a 1/4-inch border around the filling. Transfer the dumplings to the prepared baking sheet, cover with a damp towel, and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Keep in mind that they don't have to look perfect – you're making brains!
- Line both tiers of a two-tiered bamboo steamer with parchment paper cut to fit and brush the parchment with vegetable oil. Fill a wok or a large skillet with 2 inches of water and bring the water to a boil. Fill the tiers of the steamer with dumplings, making sure the edges don't touch (otherwise they could stick together). Cover the steamer, place it in the wok, and steam the dumplings until the filling feels firm, about 6 minutes. Transfer the cooked dumplings to the bowl with the sauce while you steam the remaining dumplings.
- Carefully use a spoon to completely coat the dumplings with the sauce, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the dumplings to a serving platter. Serve the remaining sauce on the side in a beaker or spooky plate.
Creepy Crawly Pumpkin Parfaits
Equipment
- 1 spider-shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
For the gingersnaps:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (or Cup4Cup if GF)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
- 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw
For the pumpkin mousses:
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (4 oz)
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
Instructions
Make the cookie dough.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, cloves, salt, and allspice.
- In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and cook, swirling the pan often, until it starts to bubble and foam, about 3 minutes. Cook, stirring continuously, until brown flecks appear, about 2 minutes more.
- Pour the browned butter into a medium bowl and whisk in the grated ginger and molasses. Let cool for 15 minutes, whisking occasionally, then whisk in the egg. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Dust a clean work surface with flour, then roll half the cookie dough into a 1/4-inch thick sheet. Use your spider cookie cutter to cut out around 16 spiders. Reserve the scraps.
- Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each one. Place the baking sheet in the fridge while you roll out the rest of the dough.
- Press the dough scraps into the other half of the cookie dough. Place a piece of parchment paper the same size as a baking sheet on your work surface and roll the dough directly on the parchment into a 1/4-inch-thick round. Slide the parchment onto a second baking sheet (you aren't cutting cookies out of this portion). Remove the baking sheet from the fridge and sprinkle the cut cookies and uncut dough round with the turbinado sugar.
- Place the baking sheet with the uncut dough round on the lower rack and the cut cookies on the upper rack and bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pans front to back midway through baking, until the cookies have puffed and no longer feel tacky. Remove the baking sheet with the cookies from the oven and move the large uncut cookie to the upper rack; set the sheet of cookies on a wire rack and let cool. Bake the large uncut cookie until puffed and no longer tacky, about 10 minutes more. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, set it on a wire rack, and let the large cookie cool completely, about 30 minutes or more.
- Break the baked cookie round into large pieces and put the pieces in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and use a rolling pin to crush the cookie pieces into fine crumbs. You should get about 4 cups of crumbs. You can also use a food processor, if that's easier for you!
Make the pumpkin mousse.
- Sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cream and use the whisk attachment to whip on medium speed until the cream forms medium peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the mascarpone and whip until the cream forms stiff peaks, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer half the mascarpone whipped cream to a medium bowl and set aside. Add the maple syrup and pumpkin to the mixer bowl and whip until it forms stiff peaks. 1 to 2 minutes.
Make the parfaits.
- In eight short 8-ounce juice glasses, layer 3 scant tablespoons of the pumpkin mousse, 2 heaping tablespoons of the cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons of the whipped mascarpone cream, 2 heaping tablespoons of the cookie crumbs, 3 scant tablespoons of the pumpkin mousse, and about 1 tablespoon of the mascarpone whipped cream. Top each with a spider cookie and serve.
