Deviled Egg Eyeballs

Deviled eggs are such a great appetizer to have at dinner parties anyway, but  when you make them into spooky looking eyeballs,  then you've got a must-have for your Halloween party. They're not too hard to make in the first place, but you could  put your kids to work helping you pop out the yolks or stirring in the food coloring to make it even easier.  

By the way... Unlike the deviled eggs in this clip from  the movie "Toys" with Robin Williams, these eggs only look spooky.    :)

Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Jen. 


The Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
1/4 c mayonnaise
1-2 tsp yellow mustard
salt/ pepper to taste
black olives
red and blue food coloring
toothpick
piping bag

The Directions:
Slice your hard boiled eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop (or pop) out the yellow yolk into a small bowl.
Mash up the yolks with a fork and then add mayonnaise and mustard. Blend well to make as smooth as possible. Add salt and pepper according to your tastes. You may also want to add more mayonnaise or mustard depending on your taste. Add a couple drops of blue food coloring and mix well.
Spoon your yolk mixture into a piping bag and cut off a hole at the end. (it should be big enough for the thick mixture to come out, but small enough so you can control the amount coming out. Trust me, it's much easier to pipe the yolk mixture into the eggs than it is to scoop it with a spoon! And if you try to use a ziploc baggie, this mixture is so thick that the baggie may burst while piping. Um, so I have had it burst...a few times. Until I learned my lesson and used a piping bag)Pipe the egg yolks into the cavities of the egg whites.
Cut your olives into slices. You can choose to leave them round and have round black eyeballs in the middle, or cut smaller pieces of olive to represent the iris. I think that if you used the round slices it would be awesome to also add in some red pimento or red bell pepper to have red eyeballs. Place your olives in the middle of the yolk.
Squeeze a little red food coloring onto a plate or even a spoon to use. Take the tip of your toothpick and dip it in the food coloring. Now draw red squiggle lines to make it look like the eyes are blood shot.
Or if you just want to make regular deviled eggs, don't add the food coloring or olives. They're still just as tasty.

Click here to see a menu of all of our Halloween recipes in one place and be sure to stop by Recipe Shoebox every day this week for more fun Halloweeny recipes! 

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Fruit Custard

**Note from Lara--To get to know my new blogging partner Jen a little, check out her new profile on our About Us page. 

This is a great dessert if you're looking for something light and not too sugary. It reminds me of rice pudding just minus the rice. There is actually a dessert here in France called "Clafoutis aux Cerises" which is a custard or flan with cherries. Since I love all things cherry, I decided to give it a try. Then I thought "why not use other fruit?" This one is made with canned peaches, although I'm sure that pears, blueberries, or other fruit would be just fine. Give it a try and let me know!

Click here for printable recipe. 

The Ingredients:
1 (15-oz) can peaches, drained and diced
3 Tbsp flour
1/4 c sugar
3/4 whole milk (I suppose that 2% or maybe skim would be fine too)
2 eggs
pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

The Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray or butter a shallow baking pan like a Pyrex pie pan. Arrange diced peaches around on bottom of the pan. In a bowl mix together the flour and sugar. Add in milk and beat until smooth. Then beat in the eggs, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.Pour the batter over the fruit carefully so as to not move the fruit around too much. You want to keep it as evenly spaced as possible so each bite has its fair share of fruit.Bake in oven for 1/2 hour or until set and the edges are puffed and golden. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
Right before serving, sift powdered sugar on top. This can be served warm or cold. If served warm, you could add a dollop of whipped cream as well.

This is what the cherry one looks like. I used canned cherries. (Not cherry pie filling!) Just make sure they are pitted. If you want to use fresh cherries, just pit them, and mix them in a bowl with a little lemon juice first. If you're using tart cherries, then also mix them with a little powdered sugar.

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Red Pepper Quiche with Butter Herb Crust

Finding myself with a few red peppers in the fridge recently, I had to get a little creative. After the usual stirfry and fajitas, I decided they might work in a quiche. Turns out, I was right! We loved this quiche straight from the oven, but it was even better cold from the fridge the next day.

The filling is delicious, but the real standout here is the crust. I adapted the recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, where he advocates using butter in a pie crust, rather than shortening or oil, because of the flavor butter imparts. I'm a total convert now! The buttery herb-y flavor is simply to die for. Ever since I made this quiche, I've been dreaming of other savory fillings I can put in this crust! Just writing about it, my mouth is watering, and I think I'm going to make a chicken pot pie with this recipe tonight!

Click here for printable recipe.

The ingredients:

CRUST:
1 1/8 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 c. butter, cold
3 tbsp. ice water

FILLING:
1/4 lb. bacon
1/2 medium onion, sliced into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2-inch strips
3 egg yolks (save the whites for cupcakes!)
1/2 c. sour cream
salt and pepper
1 c. extra sharp New York Cheddar, grated, divided

For crust: Place flour, salt, basil, and thyme in a medium mixing bowl, and give it a quick stir. Cut butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Cut in using a pastry blender, two forks, or my new favorite method: with your hands. Using both hands, pick up some butter and some of the flour mixture and rub it between your fingers and your thumb, dropping it back into the bowl. Repeat until butter is incorporated and the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs. It will happen faster than you think! Alternatively, this part could be done in a fancy schmancy food processor, but I don't have one of those.

When your butter-flour mix is ready, sprinkle 3 tbsp. water over it. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to incorporate the water and gather the dough into a ball. When you can make the mixture into a ball with your hands, wrap it in plastic, flatten it into a small disk, and put it into the freezer for 10 minutes. This will help with rolling.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Take dough from the freezer, then roll it out, either between two sheets of plastic wrap (each sprinkled with flour) or on the countertop (liberally sprinkled with flour). Roll with light pressure, from the center out. Sprinkle flour liberally if the dough seems sticky initially. If it gets sticky after several minutes of rolling, return to the freezer to firm it up a bit. When you've got it about the right size, transfer to a pie plate, trimming the excess and fluting the edges with your fingers or a fork. Return to the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up again. Then start on the filling below before weighting the pie crust by placing a greased sheet of foil in the pie crust and filling with a pile of rice or dried beans. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove from oven and turn the heat down to 350°.


For Filling: With a sharp knife, dice the bacon into small pieces, and cook over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is at your desired level of doneness. I like mine crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, and saute the onion and pepper in the bacon grease. When the onion starts to brown, turn the heat down to low and cover the skillet to soften up the veggies. Now would be a good time to weight your pie crust and put it in the oven.

Mix together the egg yolks and sour cream; add half the grated cheese. Salt and pepper - always tricky with eggs, but I found that the cheese and bacon add their own salt to this dish, so it doesn't need much, just a couple of shakes.

When the onions and peppers are tender, remove from the heat, and stir in the cooked bacon. Place this mixture in the pie crust, and pour the egg mixture over it. Top with the remaining cheese, and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Enjoy hot from the oven, cold from the fridge, or reheated. Delicious all three ways!

Enjoy!

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