Vanessa Wolf is a former head chef, previously working in Portland, Oregon. She offers these truly vile-looking (but yummy tasting!) recipes  in the hopes of furthering your Halloween fun.

By Vanessa Wolf

Evil eye eggs. Photo by Vanessa Wolf

Any holiday celebrating the dead – and particularly the undead – is (hopefully) intrinsically gory.

Why stop at costumes and decorations, when your food can be gross too!

Spice up dinner or your neighborhood get-together with these easy, entertaining, Halloween-themed additions from Maui Now.

They’re simple to make and – did we mention? – horrifyingly fun!

EVIL EYES

**serves six**

• 12 eggs
• I tablespoon sweet pickle relish
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 drops blue food coloring
• 1 six-ounce can sliced black olives, drained
• Sriracha (Rooster or Thai hot sauce): OPTIONAL

Directions

1. Place all of the eggs into a large pot with enough room that they can rest on the bottom in a single layer. Fill with just enough cold water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand for about 15 minutes. Add ice to the water and let the eggs cool completely.
2. Peel and slice the eggs in half lengthwise.
3. Remove the yolks from the eggs and place them in a bowl. Set the cooked egg whites aside.
4. Mix in the relish, mayonnaise, salt, mustard, and food coloring…or make your favorite deviled egg recipe and add the blue food coloring to it. Spoon this filling into the egg whites and place them on a serving tray. Round the top of the filling using the spoon.
5. Place an olive slice on each yolk to create the center of the eye. Dab a tiny bit of mayonnaise in the center of the olive as a finishing touch
6. OPTIONAL FOR EXTRA ICKINESS: use sriracha (Thai hot sauce) to make the “eyes” appear bloodshot.

SEVERED FINGERS

Severed fingers. Yum.

***Makes five dozen/ 60 cookies***

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup/60 whole almonds
• 1 (.75 ounce) tube red decorating gel (found in the baking aisle: OPTIONAL)

Directions

1. Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
2. Beat together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating; refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
4. Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop one heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze the cookies near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the finger-shaped cookies on the baking sheets.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.
6. OPTIONAL FOR SUPREME YUCK FACTOR: Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the gel to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.

BRAIN HEMORRHAGES

(for adults only!)

What’s a little brain hemorrhage between friends?

***Makes one shot***

• 1 fluid ounce chilled peach or strawberry schnapps
• 1 teaspoon chilled Irish cream liqueur (such as Bailey’s)
• 1 splash chilled grenadine syrup

Directions

1. Pour schnapps into a shot glass.
2. Very gently pour Irish cream liqueur over the schnapps. Wait until the Irish cream liqueur begins to clump and ‘curdle’ to look like a brain, just a few moments.
3. Gently pour a tiny amount of grenadine ‘blood’ over the brain.
4. Affect your best evil “mwahahaha” as your friends gag at the sight of the drink you are offering them.

We welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you hear of any new restaurants opening or reopening, total menu overhauls, or simply know of a hidden treasure you want to share. Have a restaurant you want reviewed (or re-reviewed)? Drop us a line.

Dying to know how a certain dish is made so you can recreate it at home? Send in a request, and we will try to pry the secret out of the chef…and even take a run at cooking it up ourselves. Mahalo. -vanessa(@mauinow.com)