PORTRAIT OF A MONSTER

Halloween Recipe - Excerpt from the Movie Monster Munchies chapter of Hungry Halloween

You don't need to be an artist to create this delicious masterpiece of Frankenstein's Monster. A layer of artichoke dip creates a simple background. Green spinach dip is piped over the background to create the monster's face and crushed blue corn tortilla chips are sprinkled on to create all the gory details.

I created this recipe for our monster movie party last year and it made quite a stir. At first my guests didn't want to disturb my work of art, so they ate around the monster's head.  Finally someone took a big scoop out of the monster's shoulder and raved about how the combination of artichoke dip, spinach dip and crushed tortillas tasted so great.  My other guests followed suit, and the monster was gobbled up. If you make this dish for your next Halloween party, I would love to hear how your guests react to this dish.

Ingredients:

Artichoke Dip Layer:
2 (14 oz) jars marinated artichokes
5 cloves roasted garlic*
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Spinach Dip Layer:
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
1 can water chestnuts
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
5 cloves roasted garlic*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 ounces blue tortilla chips

*To roast garlic: Drizzle some olive oil over peeled garlic cloves. Loosely wrap in foil and roast in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove from foil and let cool before using in your dips.

Special Equipment Needed:
     Monster Template
     1 clear stencil sheet
     Hobby knife
     Food processor
     Pastry brush
     Disposable pastry bag (or zip top bag)

To Create Monster Stencil: Print the Monster Template from template page. Set printed template on a cutting board and lay clear stencil sheet on top. Use a hobby knife to cut out the black areas of the image.

Drain artichokes. Pour artichokes, roasted garlic cloves, cream cheese, mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until mixture is well combined. Spread in an even layer in a 9” x 13” baking dish.

Drain spinach by squeezing it in several layers of paper towels. Place spinach into the bowl of a food processor. Add water chestnuts, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, roasted garlic, salt, lemon juice, and onion powder. Pulse until creamy and smooth. Pour into a disposable pastry bag and cut off tip of bag. Lay stencil on top of the artichoke dip. Use a sharp knife to trace around the outline of Frank's head.

Remove stencil and pipe the spinach dip over the knife marks. Fill in Frank's head with spinach dip, so his entire head is green.

Pour tortilla chips into a clean bowl in a food processor. Pulse to fine crumbs. Lay stencil over top of spinach dip. Sprinkle ground tortilla chips over cut out areas on stencil. Clean off excess crumbs using a pastry brush. Gently lift off stencil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Serve cold.

Monster Template (print at 8 1/2" x 11")
Click this link for a full size printalble PDF file of the monster template.

Halloween Recipes - Frankenstein Recipe