Hauntingly Delicious Nightmare!

I am a total sucker for holidays.  The decorations, the festive foods and the childlike spirit they evoke in us all.  If I could get away with putting my Christams trees up today, I would.  I love Halloween, but unfotunately missed out on the festivities of Saturday night to watch Texas get slaughtered (how fitting) and since it fell on a Sunday this year there was no getting too crazy on a work night (um, yeah - I'm getting old).  To capture the spirit I decided to create a spooky themed dinner nightmare menu.  Most of the Halloween recipes I came upon were way too gross to eat with basically enedible ingredients so it took a bit searching to find inspiration for these dishes that were haunting, healthy and delicious.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:  Cabbage, Beets, Apple Chipotle Brined Pork Tenderloin, Dried Cranberries, Dates, Radishes, Red Potatoes, Limes

Bloody Eyeball Margarita:  Margarita rimmed with salt and red sugar, Eyeballs mad of hollowed radishes stuffed with green olives and drops of red food coloring

Cockroach and Dried Scab Salad:  Mixed Greens tossed in Lemon Vinaigrette, Dates stuffed with goat cheese and pecans, and Dried Cranberries

Yummy!  Cockroaches!!!

Buried Alive Potatoes Colcannon:  Okay so not that spooky of a dish, but a true Irish Halloween tradition. "Colcannon, a traditional Irish dish associated with Halloween, is made with potatoes and savoy cabbage and served with a well of butter in its center. It's simple and delicious and comes with folklore that's sure to please the curious or superstitious. The tale, as told to me, concerns the fate of unmarried women who would put the first and last spoonfuls of Halloween Colcannon into a stocking and hang it on their doors. Their shared belief was that the first man who walked through the door would become their husband."  It is also traditional to serve the Colcannon with rings and prizes of small coins hidden inside.  I didn't find any jewelry inside and sure didn't put the leftovers in my stockings, but they tasted amazing.

Flesh Worms with Coagulated Blood:  Grilled Pork Tenderloin wrapped in Bacon, Raw Spaghetti teeth and Roasted Beet and Red Onion Puree