Halloween's Finale Recipes: Heart Attack Hotdogs and Devilish Cupcakes

Halloween is, funnily enough, a holiday my family friggin' loves.

We eat it up. Seriously. The costumes, the kids strolling through our neighborhood, the candy... the entire silliness and scariness of this spooky holiday charms my family completely.

And as if the candy wasn't enough, there is a Luby tradition to make Halloween Hotdogs that is done each and every year.

And they are so scary good, so ghoulishly packed with cholesterol, you may need to try these bad boys as a part of your own Halloween tradition. Or you know, your next Monday night.

What we have here, ladies and gentleman, is a Heart Attack Hotdog. Mouth is watering just thinking about it... 

What that means is, this is an all beef hotdog, sliced open and stuffed with american cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked into delicious submission.

Yep. Yeppppppppp. Phenomenal. 

Exact recipe directions:

Preheat oven to 350, line a 9 by 13 pan with foil. Slice open each hot dog to the middle (not all the way through the dog, part way.) Stuff with american singles to liking (I usually use half a piece of cheese per hotdog but, I know other family members use a whole slice for optimum cheese gooiness). Wrap in a piece of UNCOOKED bacon. Place in lined pan, bake 45 minutes or until bacon is cooked (red/crackling). 

Allow to cool slightly so you aren't biting into hot grease. Place on toasted bun and top with confiments. I always do mustard, ketchup, relish if I have all 3. Tomatoes, onions, and pickles couldn't hurt.

Yum. Nothing could really. These guys are so rich, such a shock to the system, that once a year is more than enough to make them. I do think they are well worth a try though.

And now, devilish cupakes!

I adore how they look like little murder victims :)

Lots of you were wondering how I made the knives. I wish I could say I did but, I didn't. I bought them in a package at AC Moore. They were sugary and delicious and I am SURE we could replicate them with fondant ourselves. Pretty simple design! 

We COULD make them... but we could also buy them. Which is easier/cheaper, ha. And just as cute.

I used this recipe with chocolate cake/chocolate pudding for the cupcakes and they were a smash! Poor little murder victim cupcakes were also eaten, brutally, on Halloween night. 

I know we have 11 months but, cannot wait for next years Halloween already! 

Luckily, I have far more cheerful holidays to keep me occupied this month :)

Salami Pesto Wraps

As with several other recipes that are soon to be posted, these salami pesto wraps came into being due to my moving out of my apartment and needing to use all my groceries before that time. I had a bunch of salami, as well as some cream cheese, pesto, and a tube of crescent rolls and so, these lovely snacks were born.

My roomie, Em, loved them. I can't help but agree that they are pretty dang delicious. The combination of salami and cream cheese is always spectacular, for those of you who doubt me, try it yourself and be amazed. Absolutely divine.

Salami Pesto Wraps

-Salami Pieces, sliced thin (for a package of 8 rolls, you need 16 thin pieces, 8 thicker)

-Cream Cheese

-Pesto

-1 tube crescent rolls

Roll the dough from the tube out into 4 rectangles, pinching and ignoring the lines they give you to cut into triangles. Cut 4 rectangles into 8 squares (just halve them all). Spread each first with cream cheese and then layer with pesto. Don't be shy here, that's where a majority of the flavor lives! Fold the salami round into half, then half again. You should have what looks like 1/4 of the circle layered up. Place into your prepared crescents and fold the dough to cover the salami entirely. Bake as per directed on the crescent package, typically at 425 for 8-10 mins or until golden.

Lesley's Infamous Italian Sausage Cooked in Red Wine with Roasted Bell Peppers and Balsamic Glaze

My bestest friend in the entire world came to visit me at school and, lazy in the apartment, we decided to cook this recipe that she stated was "seriously, amazing".

She was completely, totally, under-exaggerating. It is twice as amazing as all that and since we made it, I have been craving making it again as SOON as possible. 

The drunk sausages are that lovely red/purple from the wine, and the flavor of the sausages plus wine is devine. We cut up crusty italian bread and ate it all messy hands style, piling up food as we liked it and munching on some of the left over bruschetta as a side dish.

You NEED to add some balsamic glaze to your bread/sausage before eating as well. Before you take a bite, make sure you have a bit on it, it adds so much more flavor, you'll be amazed.

Perhaps you could even just add it to the pot when everything is cooking down...

In any case, the peppers/sausage/balsamic glaze all piled together on bread made flavor parties on your tongue. Please make and combine and enjoy.

It's yum-tastic.

Italian Sausage Cooked in Red Wine

-1 package italian sausage (mild or spicy to taste)

-2 cups red wine

-3 tablespoons olive oil plus 1 tablespoons

-3 bell peppers

-1 loaf italian bread

-Balsamic drizzle to taste

In large sauce pan, combine wine, olive oil, and sausage. Cook on high. Let the wine burn off, the oil will remain and crisp the sausages up, this process should take 20-30 minutes. Dice bell peppers, when sausage is done, add to wine stained/oil pan, adding the additional tablespoon olive oil if you need. Cook up until soft and singed. 

Eat everything piled up on your sliced up bread. Heaven, right?

Bratwurst with Caramelized Onions and Beer

Spring is here! WARM WEATHER! BLUE SKIES!

The joy of escaping from the grey skies and freezing rain is inexplicable. 

I stopped by market as soon as I was free from class and picked up an onion and some brats. 

I don't have a grill but, making them on the stove turned out decently and brought the taste of summer into my apartment just as I had hoped it would.

Plus, the simmering smell of meat, onions, and beer was absolutely mouth watering. 

Bratwurst with Caramelized Onions and Beer

-1 pckg Bratwurst

-1 small onion (white or red) - sliced

-3 tablespoons butter

-A few pinches sugar

-1 bottle beer (I used Molson Canadian- it was deliciousssss)

In a deep pan, melt the butter and brown your onion pieces. Add the sugar, continue to caramelize some and then pour in the beer. Add your bratwurst, put lid on pan and let everything boil and simmer together for 30 minutes or so. Just until everything is cooked through. Check occasionally, rotating sides. If you have a grill, take your brats off when they are cooked but still soft (not browned). If you don't, keep them in the pan until the beer is all but evaporated and all your sides on each brat are browned. 

Serve on a bun if you have them! As the picture implies, I didn't but, I did have toast and once i cut up 2 brats and laid them out, it became a deliciously messy sandwich.

B.L.T. Dip

This simple dip is simply amazing. If you love tomato and bacon, (and who doesn't? I mean, really), then you must make this.

Must. Make it a new life goal of yours. 

This recipe is always asked after and it's really almost a joke how people react when I list the four simple ingredients. 

Yep. Four. 

Make and enjoy, my darlings. Make and enjoy.

B.L.T. Dip

-1 cup mayo

-1 cup sour cream

-1 cup (cooked) bacon, diced

-2 ripe tomatoes, diced

Combine all ingredients, chill for an hour. Serve with crackers. 

Green Pesto Carbonara Tortellini

In keeping with the green theme, I bought this lovely spinach tortellini stuffed with three cheese and decided to make an experimental carbonara to mix it with. I was heavy on the eggs because I wanted it to be more...protein like and a bit thicker and it turned out nicely. When I blended it with the pesto, it combined into a more eggy-creamy-pesto which was perfecttttt.

Turned out to be a delicious lunch. Hope you can enjoy it as well.

Pesto Carbonara

-2 packages tortellini

-1 lb bacon

-1 jar basil pesto sauce

-1 cup cream

-salt/pepper

-4 eggs

-1/4 cup parmesan

Cook bacon til crisp. Cut into bite size pieces. Whisk together the egg and parmesan, add with the cream, salt and pepper to a pan and simmer to reduce until thick and creamy. Cook the pasta and drain it. Add pasta and bacon to the cream sauce and stir in the pesto. Serve and enjoy! 

Super Addictive Sausage Hors D'Oeuvres

As kids, my siblings and I always went crazy when our parents made these appetizers for a party.

They're seriously worth the hype we expressed as children. Like pigs in a blanket but with more flavors and class.

Yep. Class. That's why my mom always called them "Hors D'Oeuvres" and not just "sausage things". These are ritzy versions of a sausage roll.

Not sure why. There are no little black ties in the recipe. In fact, less then 5 ingredients. But hopefully you feel like the taste alone makes this recipe a class act.

Sausage Hors D'Oeuvres

-1 pkg Fully Cooked Sausage Links

-1 pkg Crescent Rolls (8 rolls)

-Parkay Squeeze Butter

-Oregano

Open crescent roll package and RATHER THEN BREAK INTO TRIANGLES, keep triangles combined and try to squish the dashed indents back together in order to make rectangles. Should form 4 rectangles. Spread butter on each square, sprinkle with oregano. You want to wrap the sausages in the crescent dough, cut the dough into smaller rectangles until you have enough pieces for each link. Wrap seasoned dough around links. Cut links into bite size pieces, (I tend to make it 4 pieces). Lay out on a baking sheet. Bake according to crescent roll directions until golden and puffy.