Trick or Treat!

We went to Anita & Gordon's house for Halloween this year. Normally Curtis & Lori host the gathering for the 4 families, but their garage is full of stuff from the family room while they remodel. The biggest surprise was that Dad went with me! Up until lunch he was ready to go, then he said he was not feeling well. But after I finished baking I went to take a shower. When I came out he was sitting in the family room; he asked what time we needed to get n the car to go! Here's Anita with one of the kids that came to trick or treat.

Were you able to guess what special Halloween treats I was making? For yesterday's special treat if you guessed Deviled Eggs you were partially correct. As promised here are photos of the Halloween items I made for the get together, starting with the Devil Chicks!

Clockwise from right: empty whites, Ziploc bag with deviled egg filling, filled egg white, slivered fresh pimento, slivered carrot, coarse ground black pepper, & egg white tops.

If you decide to do this here are a few tips. To get the yolk out, cut the large end off about 1/4" below the end; scoop out the yolk. Cut off the pointy end as close to the yolk cavity as possible without opening the cavity to make a flat base & set aside (it will be used as the shell on top of the chick's head); this will help the chick stand upright. If you don't have a pastry bag, use a Ziploc bag and cut one corner off; pipe the egg filling in to the white until it oozes out the top of the white, add a smaller round dab for the head. Finely sliver the carrot to make beaks; the pimentos (red bell peppers) will become the devil horns. Coarsely grind a little black pepper for eyes; use a toothpick to put them in place. Top off with the reserved pieces from the pointy end of the egg. They were a hit! I will continue making them.

A flock of devil chicks!

The remains became egg salad for sandwiches.

The 2nd item I made was String Cheese Broomsticks. I found this recipe on the Internet, but I altered it slightly. They tied chives at the top of the cheese so it would look like the binding to keep the "straw" attached to the "broomstick". We only have flat-leaved chives aka garlic chives aka Chinese chives aka gau tsoi. They have a much stronger flavor and pungent garlic-y odor, so I decided to pass on them.While these are really easy to make, they may be more appropriate for a kid's party finger food than a dinner.


The final thing I made was Screaming Bread. When I first saw these I could not find a recipe, just photos, especially on Pinterest. (I originally tried looking for them as Screaming Worms, but that got me hits on a music group & a comic.) My friend Stephanie figured out how they made them. Here on tips for making them. 

Here are the ingredients and forms I used.

I found that cutting the dough in to 12 strips then rolling them in to a strand about 3/8" thick works best. It's holds up better to handling than just wrapping the flattened dough. The flattened dough makes a critter that looks like a screaming slug, while using the strand looks like a screaming snail or worm. FYI - I skipped the hands shown in the Pinterest photos. They looked like too much work and that they would burn easier.

The dough sheet is unscored so it can be cut into any number of pieces.

Here are what the pre-baked pieces look. I forgot to grease the cream horn mold on the far right. Greasing makes it less likely to stick. If it does get stuck, the strands are sturdier than the flattened dough.


I used ready-made candy eyeballs that I stuck on with gel decorating icing from a tube.

Screaming slugs! I broke 3 of them.

Screaming snails! I only broke one of them.

I heated up the Lil Smokies and added them just before putting them out on the table so that they wouldn't get soggy. they were a hit! I'll make them again for the next Halloween get together.


We were about 45 minutes late due to the horrible traffic. So there was already a lot of food there when we arrived. But most was just regular food, not fun looking food like these.

Looking down the table. Hot dogs and chili in the background.

L to R & front to back: Chili; empty Screaming Bread container, noodles, Fluffy Dinner Rolls; Screaming Bread, cilantro.

L to R, front to back: Shoyu Pork, vegetable tray, String Cheese Broomsticks, Lumpia.

L to R, front to back: Chef Salad, Lumpia with Sweet Chili Sauce; mixed sushi in front & back.

L to R, front to back: Devil Chicks, Lemon Bars, Pumpkin Crunch, cupcakes.

Today was also a Tuesday, so Curtis & I went to breakfast this morning. We went to Joe's Grill Express; its in a little strip mall along with 3 other places that serve breakfast and one that is open for lunch & dinner. We both has the Joe's Special Omelet.

The only menu is on the wall.

Joe's Special Omelet.

Here are their Halloween decorations; one of the servers was dressed as a Minion.

When I returned home I went to pick oranges for Lori; she wanted 4. I harvested 22 today! (Total harvest around 40.) So I gave some to the neighbors and also bagged some up to share with the 3 other families that collaborate on the Halloween dinner & candy handout.


Before I started making the Screaming Bread, I was in the computer room going through the mail, and a screw fell out of the chair I was sitting on. Last week I had found a similar screw but didn't know where it came from; now I'm glad I didn't throw it away! The chair feels much more stable now!

The missing screws.

The tick total is now 80. I found more today; they were much higher up the wall than they usually go. When ticks are questing they go to a height that is most likely to allow them to attach to their usual hosts body; these were going for elephants or giraffes! I think it is because they are trying to get away from the spray I am using. Before the spray they were between 2" and 12" above the floor.

Happy Birthday to Dean, Sandra, Geoffrey, & Sho! Happy 8th Anniversary to Judy & Keith!