Crafty, creepy party treats

Martha Stewart’s mind may be tied up with a new costume this year, but there are a couple of other style mavens out there who are free to think up fun and food for Halloween. And they have.

You can find spooky, creepy, even cute ideas in two books now in bookstores. “Halloween Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family,” by Donata Maggipinto (Chronicle Books), is terrific. Beautifully photographed by Richard Jung, it is more cookbook than craft, filled with delicious recipes and charming ways to present them.

The other, “Halloween Parties: How to Throw Spook-tacular Soirees and Frighteningly Festive Entertainments,” by Lori Hellander (Stewart, Tabori and Chang), is heavy on the candy corn with a bagful of themed parties.

Miss Maggipinto, former food and entertaining director for Williams-Sonoma, gives ideas that all ages will enjoy and includes tasks even the youngest of helpers can do safely.

Her ideas for a Halloween lunchbox, including a salad of witch hair (shredded carrots) and goblin eyeballs (peeled grapes), should happily creep out school-age children. Likewise, grown-up goblins will appreciate an eerie yet elegant All Hallows’ Eve meal that starts with curried pumpkin soup, features roasted root vegetables with couscous, and winds up with a crackly topped pumpkin custard treat.

Miss Maggipinto uses miniature cookie cutters to cut ghosts out of flattened marshmallows for a hot cocoa topping, creates spooky spiders using Oreo cookies with licorice legs, and spirals black and white icing over cupcakes to create a web effect. Pumpkin seeds roasted with herbs are served up with a couple of glass eyeballs peering out of the pile.

Caramel-dunked pears or apples are stuck with craggy natural licorice sticks and rolled in granola. And who could refuse the offer of drinks called “devil’s breath” or “witch’s kiss”? (Both adult and child’s versions are included.) Craft ideas include spiders made from rocks, candy cauldrons, ethereal flying ghosts, leaf lanterns made from waxed paper and found fall leaves, and shrunken heads (relax, they are really apples) that can haunt your house, tabletop, office or classroom. The only lack is in ideas for costumes. There are none.

Miss Hellander’s book, on the other hand, includes costume ideas for each of six party themes, along with fitting invitations, entertainment, decorations and recipes.

Although an “old devil moon” party featured appropriate recipes — deviled eggs and deviled chicken wings — the recipes are nothing new. (Nor are other menus, with pizzas, cheese fondue, bloody Marys and mulled cider.)

It’s Halloween, so we want to be scared, or at least surprised. I did like her recipe for sweet potato and black pepper biscuits, to serve with bacon-and-egg salad (and Miss Maggipinto’s pumpkin soup?), which seemed like a good trick for Halloween, turning breakfast items into dinner.

And, we must admit, Miss Stewart still has some good tricks in her bag this year. The October issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine is in the kitchen opened to pumpkin-seed crackle, a brittle recipe we can’t resist.

Transferring the carved designs on pumpkins to gauze or paper surprised us. However, we wondered why Easter eggs dressed up as pumpkins makes sense. And who, other than an artist or someone with a lot of time on her hands, could create the intricate designs? Here are some recipes from the two books.

Roasted pumpkin seeds

This recipe is from “Halloween Treats.”

2 cups pumpkin seeds (about a 4-pound pumpkin’s worth)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon dried basil

Rinse seeds well in cold water, making sure you have rinsed away any fibrous strings, and pat thoroughly dry. Transfer to a large bowl, and add oil, salt, rosemary and basil, stirring well to coat seeds with oil.

Spread seeds on baking sheet in single layer. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven until crisp and golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

Caramel apples and pears

This recipe is also from “Halloween Treats.”

12 natural licorice sticks, cinnamon sticks or bamboo skewers, each 6 inches long (see note)

6 lady apples, stems removed

6 Seckel pears, stems removed

2 cups granola

1 cup sugar

cup dark corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Insert a licorice stick into stem end of each apple and pear. Spread granola on baking sheet and set aside. Have ready one or more cooling racks or a large sheet of parchment paper for cooling.

In saucepan over low heat, combine sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and 3 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring, until sugar melts. Add butter and cream. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until caramel registers 240 degrees on candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes.

One at a time, dip apples and pears in caramel, twirling and swirling to coat completely. Dip tops in granola to coat them, then transfer to cooling rack. As fruits cool, caramel will set. Store, wrapped in cellophane if desired, in cool, dry place until ready to serve, up to 2 days. Makes 12.

Note: Natural licorice sticks can be found in some natural-food stores.

Bacon-and-egg salad

This recipe is from “Halloween Parties.”

pound mixed baby salad greens

cup halved and pitted Kalamata olives

2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

cup olive oil

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, divided

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

4 eggs

Clover or alfalfa sprouts

Divide greens among four plates. In bowl, combine olives, tomatoes and bacon, and gently toss to combine.

In separate bowl, whisk together oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Fill medium skillet with water. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, and bring water to a gentle boil. Crack eggs into water and poach about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer one egg to each salad. Top each with equal amounts of tomato mixture. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Top each with sprouts and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Sweet potato and black pepper biscuits

This recipe is also from “Halloween Parties.”

11/4 pounds sweet potatoes

3 tablespoons orange juice

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

teaspoon baking soda

teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper or more

Place sweet potatoes on lightly greased 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 11/4 hours, or until very soft. Cool, peel and mash enough pulp to measure 1 cup.

In medium bowl, stir sweet potatoes, orange juice and butter together until well-combined. Add flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, cloves and 1/8 teaspoon pepper or more to taste. Knead mixture in bowl until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface, and knead until smooth. Pat dough into a circle about 6 inches across and -inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cutter dipped in flour, cut out 8 biscuits.

Gather scraps, then pat out again and cut 2 more biscuits. Arrange on greased baking sheet and bake in preheated 400-degree oven 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Makes 10 biscuits.