Sandy Supposes....

MY VIRTUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY

         PROMPT: You host a Halloween party. Describe your house, your costume, your creepy food, and share a recipe or two.

         Well since this is a virtual fantasy party anything goes. There can't possibly be any cost restraints, so the sky's the limit.

         Any soiree worth attending begins with invitations. Mine would have to be similar to the magical speaking letters from the Harry Potter stories. The moment a guest received their invite it would transform into a wonderful 3-D, origami-inspired , fire-breathing dragon that spoke of time and place. Of course, the courier would be a suitably spooky witch garbed all in black and flitting about on a straw broom.

         Costumed guests will be required to announce their presence via a gargoyle brass knocker at my heavily fortified wooden door. Oh, this door would be set into a stone wall, a castle wall. My doorman will probably be Igor'ish; you know, a lump on one shoulder, so a hunchback. I preferred the Igor from the Young Frankenstein movie; he strived to be scary, but he failed. After gaining entrance, guests would then stream across a drawbridge because I'd have a moat.

         Inside my castle, there will be wall sconces glowing with candles. Blood-red eyes will be staring unblinkingly from tapestries. Chandeliers are a classic Gothic look. From them will hang thick cob webs. I suppose I should pump in some smoke, or is it smog? I think I'd like some gilded, ornate carnival mirrors on the walls, too. No one would see their true reflection, but a distorted one.

         An immense slab of a wooden table would groan with the weight of refreshments. Several pumpkins carved with ghoulish visages would cradle a blood-red punch. The ice cubes bobbing in the punch would encase spiders and eyeballs. Finger foods would literally be that, fingers. Gnarled, fingers with talons for nails, could be dipped in a blood sauce. Coffin cookies and little mummy wraps sound good .Hmm, many partyers seem to like Swedish meatballs. I'd offer bloodshot eyeballs instead. Since this is the real deal, I can see a dragon lounging nearby. His parlour trick will be to instantly char any food proffered. This would be far more authentic than a hibachi with coals or even a fire blazing in a stone hearth.

My servers, my wait staff, would be skeletons. No on expects a skeleton to wear a uniform. Bare bones service, I like that.

My costume choices are endless. Should I be a mad scientist or a wizard? Could I be a ghoul or a werewolf? I suppose if I forgo shaving my legs or brushing my luxurious mane, the latter costume is a possibility. Zombies are over done. Vampires are too popular. If I brush all my considerable hair forward over my face and I apply hair extensions, I could be Cousin It from the Addams Family. No other clothing would be necessary either. Oh, I'm remembering, this is fictitious. Okay, I choose to be Herman Munster. For one thing, I'd like to experience the feeling of being tall. I'd need to wear black, platform-heel boots and I could stumble around which I could manage naturally. Finally, I would see how I'd appear with hair as dark as night. I'm sure I could find an old suit. The deep voice would be a little tricky. I'm sure I could tell bad jokes without a hitch. I'm looking forward to driving the hearse/coffin vehicle.

         Okay Halloween recipe?? I mentioned finger food above. These are made from a prepared, purchased dough like Pillsbury dough for croissants. Spread the dough out as one big sheet and cut strips. Shape each strip into a finger and use a butter knife to mark knuckles. Brush the knuckles with butter, so they brown a little as they bake. Use almond slivers as fingernails. These nails could be "painted" with food colouring to resemble nail polish. Bake in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven for about seven minutes. Prepare a "blood" dip from salsa.