With the spooky season upon us, it’s time to pick your pumpkins and bob for some apples as you get ready to host the party of the season.
Everyone can appreciate elaborate decorations, but what better way to both satisfy and impress your guests than with good food? There’s no denying that everyone loves the canapes and the buffet when they’re at a gathering (we know it’s our favourite bit!).
We’ve put together a list of on-theme funky food ideas that you can make this year, using ingredients you can buy in bulk, to really wow your guests. And the best bit? They’re tasty, too!
The Main Event
Ghoulish Pizza
Who doesn’t love pizza? Pizza is always a great option to have at any party, since it tends to go down well with everyone. We also love how versatile it is – you can put pretty much whatever topping you choose on it in whatever order you like, and that’s where this trick comes in.
Whether you buy the bases ready made or make the dough from scratch, top the pizza yourself. Cut mozzarella into slices shaped like ghosts – it’s okay if they aren’t 100% neat, as when the cheese melts in the oven it will add to the shape anyway. Give them little eyes and a mouth using tiny bits of cut up black olives and voila! You have little ghosts drifting atop your pizza.
Not only does this mean you can give the pizza a fitting look, but by making/topping the pizzas from scratch you can cater the toppings to the liking of your guests – you could even cut faces into pepperoni to look like a carved pumpkin face! This also allows you to adhere to any dietary requirements (e.g. allergies, diet choices).
Is that a Hot Dog or a Finger?
This one is so easy yet so effective. All you have to do is take some hot dogs and cut the shape of a fingernail at the end of each one (you can do this by slightly scoring the shape into the hot dog with a knife, then taking the outer ‘skin’ layer off within the shape you cut) and slice some shallow lines in the middle to resemble knuckles, then cook them as usual.
Next, assemble your cooked hot dogs in the buns with some ketchup – to look like blood – and you’ve got yourself some chopped fingers in buns.
These are quick, easy and a great way to ensure each of your guests has something a bit more filling to eat along with any picky bits you provide. You can also easily substitute normal hot dogs for plant-based hot dogs should you have any vegetarian or vegan guests, meaning they don’t have to miss out on the fun food and you don’t have to go through the trouble of cooking something entirely different!
When purchasing your buns, we recommend buying from a wholesale bakery. This way, you are able to get enough buns so that all your attendees can have at least one to two hot dogs each, but save yourself a fraction of the price by buying them in bulk.
Mummies
If you have any leftover hot dogs, another great way you can jazz them up is by making hot dog mummies.
All you need to do is cut a slice about one third of the way down the length of the hot dog to create two legs, then another slice a bit further up on either side to resemble two arms. Once you’ve done this, wrap some strips of puff pastry around the hot dog (remembering to go around the arms and legs individually) and pop them in the oven until the pastry looks puffed and golden.
Now you have little hot dog mummies!
Charcuterie and Savouries
Cheese Graveyard
Vampires may not like garlic, but they love cheese – trust us! Not to mention, cheese boards are a great addition to any party, especially if you’re looking to add a tad more sophistication.
To keep it on theme, you can create a cheese graveyard using your favourious cheeses. For example, cutting your brie into the shape of a coffin, making crosses out of red lester, cutting rectangular headstones with gouda or round headstones with babybel halves and forming dilapidated walls with small chunks of cheddar.
This is an effective way to style your cheese board that will leave guests smiling and coming back for more.
If you buy cheese in bulk, then you will have enough supply to create multiple boards and replenish any cheeses that get eaten quickly, so all your guests can enjoy a bit of everything before they miss their chance. You can even bulk buy cheese minis if there are some cheeses you don’t need in abundance!
There is always the option to add grape bundles and cured meats amongst your cheese graveyard, too, if you wish to make it more of a charcuterie board.
Alien Eggs
This one is a neat trick with a striking result. All you need to do is boil some eggs (alternatively, some wholesale egg suppliers will sell them ready-boiled!), then when they are cool enough begin picking the shell to create crack marks on the surface, but not so much that it breaks off completely. Once this is done, put the eggs in a bowl of water with the food colouring of your choice (you can do different colours if you like) and leave for 20 minutes.
Once they have finished soaking in the coloured water, the shell can be removed completely and you will be left with coloured veins across the surface of your eggs!
Witches’ Broomsticks
You need 3 simple ingredients for this little snack: pretzel sticks, cheestrings and chives.
Take a cheestring and cut it in half or into thirds. Start peeling the ends and fraying them out to look like the end of a broomstick, then take a pretzel stick and stick it into the opposite end. Wrap a piece of chive at the base of the cheestring (just above where the peeled strips end) and tie it on to resemble the string of a broomstick.
These novelty snacks are the perfect little finger nibbles, not to mention they’re great for kids.
Sweet Snacks
Poison Apples
These black-coated ‘poison’ toffee apples will leave your guests wondering how safe they are to eat with how uncanny they look to the real thing.
You will need some Granny Smith apples (their vivid green colour and sharpness pairs as an excellent contrast to the sweet, shiny black toffee coating) and some water, caster sugar, golden syrup and black food colouring (we recommend gel food colouring) to make the toffee.
Skewer each of your apples ready for dipping. Make your toffee coating by melting the remaining ingredients in a pan, taking off the heat when it reaches 140-150℃ or when a small drop hardens instantly after being dropped into cold water. Be prompt in dipping the apples once you have taken your toffee off the heat, but be careful not to burn yourself. Set your dipped apples aside on some baking paper and allow the toffee to cool and harden.
If you wish to make a teeth-friendly version, an alternative would be to dip your apples in some white chocolate that has been dyed black instead, although you won’t get the same brilliant shine.
Meringue Ghosts
With any remaining eggs from your bulk purchase, you can use the whites to make meringues.
Pipe your meringue mixture into little swirled cone shapes (think the shape of a whippy ice-cream), then all you need to do is use a black icing pen to draw a pair of eyes and an open mouth on them once they’ve finished baking to create your little banshees.
Devilishly Delicious Drinks
Monster Milkshakes
A perfect drink choice for children, these can be chocolate mint flavoured if you wish, or just plain vanilla that’s dyed green! Whatever flavour milkshake you wish to make (we suggest making it with organic whole milk), you simply need to dye it green.
The slightly trickier bit is melting some chocolate and piping a pair of eyes, a mouth, some stitches and a ragged hairline onto a chilled glass. Pop the glasses into the fridge to harden before pouring your milkshake in – once you do the result is Frankenstein’s monster!
Blood-Shot Mimosas
One to please the adults, this drink is just your regular sunrise mimosa, but with a nifty little prop that gives it its wow factor.
Prepare your mimosas as usual, then fill up some plastic syringes (you can buy these cheap online) with grenadine; pop one into each glass and serve them to your guests to inject into their drinks themselves!
Wholesale Suppliers
Do you need wholesale grocery supplies to cater for your next party? Shop with Freshways.
We supply wholesale food and dairy goods including bakery foods, juices, butter, cheese, milk, yoghurt, cream and eggs. We sell quality own-label and branded products at competitive prices, and are currently running promotional offers.
If you wish to make an inquiry about the products we sell, then get in touch with us today. We supply our food and dairy goods across the UK.