Halloween is the most creative holiday, with so many different themes to choose, whether you are purchasing elements or making them yourself!
I have always had such a creative drive since I was very young that I must constantly be making something, which over the years turned into focusing my efforts for all the fun food and decor for elaborate holiday theme parties, especially for Halloween. I launched my website Britta Blvd in 1996 including photos documenting my Halloween parties each year, and my Halloween Recipes webpage that started in 1997 grew to be the top hit on Google search for several years through at least 2008, when I released my first how-to book, Eerie Elegance.
After I released Enhanced Eerie Elegance in 2011, my second book combining decoration projects as well as recipes, I received several requests for all my recipes to be in a single cookbook, but I waited until I had plenty of new content to add to the collection. This year happened to be the 20th anniversary of when my Halloween Recipes first went online, so perfect timing! Over thirty exclusive new recipes plus all the favorites from both previous Eerie Elegance books are now organized in eight chapters as one convenient book, Eerie Elegance Eats: A Halloween Cookbook of Creepy Cuisine.
My Bizarre Brain PatƩ, from the Mad Scientist Body Parts chapter, is a tried and true savory classic that is easy and deliciously disgusting without being too gory. Just mix together the ingredients according to the recipe and chill until set in a human brain mold, easily found during Halloween season even at dollar stores these days!
Happy Haunting!
Britta, Webmistress of the Dark
Bizarre Brain PatƩ
Half a can cream of mushroom soup (full can is 10 3/4 oz)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (can be lowfat Neufchatel)
1 (1/4 oz) envelope powdered unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, finely chopped (or 1 pound crab meat)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Tabasco or creole seasoning to taste
Pour the powdered unflavored gelatin into 1/4 cup water and let stand to bloom. Chop the frozen shrimp finely in a food processor or blender, until almost a paste. This is easier when the shrimp is still frozen hard. Heat undiluted soup and mix in the half-block of cream cheese. Remove the mushrooms or blend the soup before adding to the mixture if you are concerned they will show in your brain texture. Stir in softened gelatin and blend well. Fold in remaining ingredients and pour into a lightly-oiled mold. Chill until firm and serve with your favorite crackers.
(From the book Eerie Elegance Eats: A Halloween Cookbook of Creepy Cuisine)