A Little Freaky Fun!

What can I say – I could not wait until next year to share our Halloween Fun with you. Everyone did such an amazing job with their costumers and especially with the food. I just could not tuck all this fun away to share next year.

My niece is in nursing school. This year between classes, she decided to throw a Halloween Party at her mom’s house. (Her mom hosts most of our gatherings since she has the biggest house that is centrally locate for everyone) Anyhow, the mother-daughter team put on a fun night, complete with dinner.

Since it was Halloween and they both share a medical background, they decided to have a set up autopsy table set to serve as a buffet style dinner. Spaghetti for the stomach. Meatballs clogging the lower intestines. Hot Dogs for Fingers. The upper thighs were Black Bat Wings (aka chicken wings that have been cooked in a teriyaki sauce with black food coloring added). The lower legs were Chicken Flautas. And the head is what is left of a cheeseball that was served as an appetizer.

In all honesty, my sister, my niece and I did not talk about the menu. They did their thing, I did mine. However; it worked out perfectly. The head and the Bat Wing Legs were mine, and they fit in perfectly with what they had going on.

I am so proud of the Flayed Man Head I am beside myself. It came out exactly as “advertised” in a recipe I found on line. You know me, I made my own cheeseball recipe rather than follow the one given. However; I did follow the recipe as far as technique was concerned. So easy.

Flayed Man Cheese Ball
1 plastic face mask (from crafts store)
2 (3 oz) packages Prosciutto
2 Pimento-stuffed Green Olives
1/4 cup Bacon Bits
24 oz Cream Cheese, softened
4 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 tablespoons Ranch Seasoning
Curly Parsley for garnish, optional
Ritz Crackers for serving

Lightly coat plastic face mask with cooking spray (see Cook’s Notes). Line the face mask with plastic wrap, taking care to press it down fully into the nose and eyes.

Reserve two or three slices of prosciutto and set aside. Tear the remaining slices of prosciutto into strips and lay them into the mask to form the “muscle tissue.” Start around the eyes, leaving eyes blank, and then create the cheeks, chin, and forehead.

Take the two whole green olives and position them in the eye holes, pimento side-down. Set the mask aside.

Place bacon bits in a small food processor, finely dice.

Combine the softened cream cheese, Cheddar, Ranch Seasoning and bacon bits in a mixing bowl.

Take a heaping spoonful of the cheese mixture and arrange it to form an eye around one olive, and then the other. Gently lay handfuls of the cheese mixture all around the mask, taking care not to move the slices of prosciutto. Press the cheese down as you work to fill in all of the crevices. When the mask is full, gently press in the cheese mixture all around the mask. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (I did mine overnight)

Invert the mask onto a serving platter and gently remove the mask and the plastic wrap. You will be left with a strangely haunting face. If desired, reshape the nose and mouth areas. Fill in the areas around the eyes with reserved prosciutto. Tuck curly parsley around the head for contrast.

Serve with crackers. A nice touch is a steak knife for serving.

The best part of any party is to hang out with friends and family, having a good time. This is such a fun group – love them all.