Halloween Food
If you're having a Halloween party then people will want food! Halloween is a great opportunity for a "bring along" party where everyone brings something they've made or bought; or of course you can always cater yourself, either doing the cooking or buying it in. Here are a few food ideas, both traditional and modern:
Apples
Apple bobbing is an ancient Halloween custom so many people have spare apples around. These can be used for anything from apple pie
to sticky treats such as toffee apples!
Barnbrack Cake
The barnbrack cake is a sweet Irish bread also used for divination.
Boxty Pancakes
The boxty pancake is a traditional Irish favourite, basically it's a potato pancake.
Candy
Obviously you'll have plenty of candy sweets, chocolate and cookies around to give out to the kids doing trick or treat. You might even
be persuaded to eat some yourself :-).
Colcannon
Colcannon is another Irish recipe traditionally cooked at Halloween. It's made from a mixture of mashed potato and cabbage to which almost any other ingredients can
be added. There's an old tradition of hiding a ring or other small prize in the dish for one lucky diner to find - but be very careful. You don't want any of your
guests choking!
Dumb Supper
If you're planning to provide a sit-down meal then you might want to consider turning it into a dumb supper. These can be very atmospheric.
Pumpkin
The pumpkin Jack o'Lantern is an essential part of Halloween and so pumpkin recipes have also become popular. Pumpkin pie and
soup are frequently served (personally I like my soup spicy). You can also used a hollowed out pumpkin to serve soup or stew.
Soul Cakes
Soul cakes are an old British tradition. They're small, sweet buns with a mix of fruit and spices, great if you enjoy baking.
Everything Else
One of the great things about Halloween is that almost anything - from cakes to steaks - can be made to suit the theme by decorating or shaping. Spiders, bats, skeletons, black cats, witches - there's no end of appropriate design ideas to choose from.