Lundi: Recipes

I can't speak for everyone but it seems to me that Hallowe'en is upon us all of a sudden. I've had the decorations up since September and we carved pumpkins weeks ago but I'm still a little surprised that Wednesday is the big day.

In preparation for all that entertaining you'll be doing, here's my favorite punch recipe which is turned into "Ghoul-Aide" by a suggestion from Terry Krocker in A Taste of Home's Halloween Food & Fun booklet from 2011. Add "eyes" to the punch and watch those faces light up. These portions make between ten and fifteen glasses of punch.

The Punch

1 16 ounce can frozen Pink Lemonade
Red food coloring
48 ounces chilled lemon-lime soda (or as much liquid as is recommended on the lemonade can)

The Eyes

1/2 cup fresh or frozen (unsweetened) blueberries
1 15 ounce can lychees, well drained

In a pitcher or punch bowl (approximately three quart capacity), mix the thawed pink lemonade with enough red food coloring to make it look like blood. Set aside.

Insert one blueberry into the center of each lychee. Place these in a single layer on a plate or baking sheet and freeze for up to two hours.

When guests arrive, add the lemon-lime soda to the pink lemonade mix. Serve in individual glasses with an "eye" floating in each one. The white, slightly slimy lychees absorb some of the red food coloring for a particularly realistic look.

Having a "grown up" Hallowe'en? Add a few shots of vodka to this recipe or replace the soda with sparkling wine. Yum! Bon appetite ~

Header: My daughter and her best friend ready for a Hallowe'en party (my daughter is dressed as Michone from The Walking Dead)