So you’re having friends over for Halloween and you’re
adult-ish. Forget the cute jack-o-lantern cookies and bat-shaped candies. What
you need is this creepy cocktail-snack combo. ¶ A ghoulish dismembered goat
cheese hand has hints of onion-dip deliciousness with the addition of ground
nigella seeds. (Along with black peppercorns, they also tint the dead limb a ghastly
gray.) The beet purée “blood” coming out of the hand’s wrist balances the savory
cheese with the vegetable’s natural sweetness. ¶Possibly scarier are these edible
eyeball cocktails. Lychee eyes with blueberry pupils are suspended in a vodka gelée
shot. Unlike classic college Jell-O shots soft enough to slurp, these are firm enough
to pick up. Feeling that slick jiggly texture while staring into an eye you’re about to
eat? It’ll definitely freak you out ... in the best possible way.
Mariah TaugerLos Angeles TimesSpooky
treats
BYGENEVIEVEKO>>>
Halloween
Lychee Eyeball
Jell-O Shots
20 minutes, plus chilling.
Makes about 18.
This makes enough cocktail
mix for 24 mini muffin cups, but a can of
lychees comes with 16 to 18 pieces of
fruit. You can either open another can to
make more eyeballs or fill the cups with
just the liquid. If you do the latter, you
can enjoy them as shots or use them to
decorate the platter (as shown at left). A
tablespoon of cranberry juice, pome-
granate juice or blood orange juice will
tint them a plasma-blood color.1 can (15 ounces) lychees in syrup(^2) packets (½ ounce each) unflavored
gelatin powder
½cup vodka, preferably citrus
18 blueberries
2 tablespoons strawberry or raspberry
jam
1 Set a fine-mesh sieve over a 2-cup glass
liquid measuring cup and pour the
lychees into it. Shake the sieve gently to
drain all the liquid. You should have
about 1 cup liquid. If not, add enough
water to make 1 cup and stir well.
2 Pour a quarter-cup lychee syrup into a
shallow bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin evenly
over the liquid. It should moisten evenly,
then soften as it sits for five minutes.
Microwave the remaining lychee syrup
until bubbling, one to two minutes.
Scrape the softened gelatin into the
bubbling syrup and stir until it dis-
solves. Stir in the vodka until well
mixed.
3 Arrange the lychees in mini muffin
cups so that the open sides are upright.
Pour the syrup into the lychee cavities
and around the lychees to fill each muf-
fin cup nearly to the rim. Place a blue-
berry in each lychee cavity, stem side
down, for pupils. Pour remaining lychee
liquid into muffin cups. Refrigerate until
very firm, at least four hours and up to
overnight.
4 When ready to serve, slide an offset
spatula or thin butter knife around the
edge of a muffin cup and pop out the
Jell-O shot. Arrange on a serving platter.
Pop out the shots without lychees and
break them into bits with your fingers to
scatter around the shots.
5 If the jam is seeded or chunky, press
through a fine-mesh sieve. Put the
strained jam into a piping bag or reseal-
able plastic zip-top bag. Snip a very
small hole in one corner. Pipe the jam
around the berries on the lychees to
make the eyes look bloodshot. Pipe any
remaining jam around the platter to
resemble drips of blood.
Make Ahead:The Jell-O shots can be refrig-
erated for up to three days before serving.
Dismembered Goat
Cheese Hand
1 hour, largely unattended. Serves 12.
You can buy the glove at a supermarket
or online or try to free-form sculpt the
hand. Nigella seeds, also labeled kalonji
or black onion seeds, are available on-
line or in Indian markets.
GOAT CHEESE HAND
¾teaspoon nigella seeds
¼teaspoon whole black peppercorns
8 ounces goat cheese, softened
3-4tablespoons heavy cream
½teaspoon kosher salt
1 disposable medium-size glove, made
of thin latex or plastic and powder-free
(^5) Marcona almonds
BEET AND BLOOD ORANGE SPLATTER
(^8) ounces peeled and steamed beets
(^1) small garlic clove, smashed
(^2) tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
(from 1 small blood orange)
(^1) teaspoon kosher salt
(^1) radicchio or purple endive leaf, cut into
thin slivers
Pita chips or other chips or crackers,
for serving
1 Make the hand: Pulse nigella seeds and
peppercorns in a spice grinder until
finely ground. Transfer to a medium
bowl and add the goat cheese, three
tablespoons cream and the salt. Smash
and mix together until well mixed. If it’s
still crumbly, add another tablespoon of
cream and mix well until smooth.
2 Transfer the mixture to a piping bag
with a half-inch tip or a resealable plas-
tic zip-top bag and snip a half-inch hole
in one corner. Stick the piping tip into
the glove’s thumb and squeeze in
enough goat cheese to fill it. Repeat with
the other fingers, then squeeze the rest
into the palm and wrist. Squeeze the
goat cheese into the glove to form a
realistic hand with no bubbles or gaps.
Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, make the splatter: Pulse
the beets, garlic, juice and salt in a food
processor until very smooth, scraping
the sides occasionally. Transfer to an
airtight container and refrigerate until
ready to serve.
4 Take a large spoonful of the beet mix-
ture and splatter it forcefully onto a
large serving platter. Transfer the re-
maining to a serving bowl. Cut the glove
open to remove the hand carefully. If a
finger breaks off, press it back on. Posi-
tion the hand on the splatter so that it
looks like blood is spurting out of the
wrist. Stick the almonds onto the fin-
gers to resemble nails. Using a tooth-
pick, stick the radicchio slivers into the
wrist to resemble arteries and veins.
5 Serve with chips or crackers, instruct-
ing guests to put a little goat cheese and
beet splatter on each serving.
Make Ahead:The hand in the glove and the
beet purée can be refrigerated separately
for up to three days before serving.
F6 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 LATIMES.COM/FOOD