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Halloween horror d’oeuvres

October 12, 2012 by Barb 16 Comments

Looking for Halloween party ideas? When we hosted a Halloween dinner party for our friends, one of the things I served was this HEAD cheese. Seriously? you ask. Well, yes I did.

I found the mold at Michaels so it can’t be that bizarre can it? OK, maybe it is… and it was a little hard to make that first cut into it. No one wanted to do it so I had to take matters into my own hands and I chopped off a cheek.

I would have chopped off the nose but wait… there was no nose…

 .
resting in a bed of lettuce…

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chin up…

.

serious set of choppers going on here…

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RIP Mr. Head Cheese
.

I will stand by the recipe though – I’ve made it several times and if you like head cheese, this is pretty darn good!
bwahahahahaha!!
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Print
Head Cheese
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed and cubed
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
  • 3 cups water
  • 4-5 envelopes unflavored gelatin
  • 1 cup boiling water
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a 4 quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the cubed pork, and brown on all sides.
  2. Reduce heat to medium, and add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic.
  3. Season with parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Pour in 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer over medium heat for 2 hours, stirring vigorously every 15 minutes. When the pork is ready, it should be completely shredded and reduced to a stringy consistency.
  4. Dissolve the gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water, then stir into the pork mixture very well. Pour into a mold or casserole dish, and chill until set, about 8 hours. To unmold, dip the bottom of the mold in hot tap water for about 1 minute, then invert onto a serving tray. If it doesn't seem to be setting - reheat and add more gelatin.
  5. Serve with your favourite crackers.
3.2.1682
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Filed Under: Appetizers Tagged With: halloween, savoury

Comments

  1. A Pretty Life in the Suburbs says

    October 12, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    This is more awesome than I can possible tell you! SO fun! And SO creepy!
    Jo

    Reply
  2. TexWisGirl says

    October 12, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    scary!!!

    Reply
  3. Lori says

    October 12, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    Too funny! I always wondered why they called it head cheese when there was no cheese in it. Great presentation :o)

    Reply
  4. Helene Titsch says

    October 13, 2012 at 1:33 am

    That is absolutely amazing! And very cool!

    Reply
  5. Gail Dixon (Louisiana Belle) says

    October 13, 2012 at 1:48 pm

    OH my gosh, that looks super cool, but head cheese I’ve never been able to stomach. I’ve never tried it, but the name itself is what stops me. Yeah, I’m weird. But that mold is really cool!

    Reply
  6. Erica (Irene) says

    October 13, 2012 at 1:59 pm

    Wow this looks amazing…..my Grandma (Baba) use to make this headcheese. It is such a Ukrainian favourite food…haven’t had this in years.
    Thanks for sharing…..

    Reply
  7. Tammy Partin Spangler says

    October 13, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    This is super cool! I’ve never heard of headcheese…except for hogs head cheese but we won’t go there!!

    Reply
  8. Viv (modifica) says

    October 13, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    Barb all I can say is ewwwww……lol
    Halloween is still fairly low key in the UK although we seem to be catching up with our North American cousins !

    Reply
  9. Deanna says

    October 13, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Oh you are just too funny. I can imagine what your guests thought when seeing this on the goody table ready for eating. Thanks for including the recipe, I might shop for a different mold tho (hee hee!!)

    Reply
  10. karren says

    October 14, 2012 at 2:24 am

    The recipe sounds good, and the mold is awesome. I like that photo where the teeth are highlighted with the ligt reflection. Cool!

    Reply
  11. Rosemary Aubut says

    October 14, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    Wow so creative! loved this a bit scary though!

    Reply
  12. More Sister Stuff says

    October 14, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    Wow that’s awesome! Very creative! Thanks for sharing! http://moresisterstuff.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  13. Denise Fabian says

    October 14, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    Whoa…living in the area where Jeffrey Dahmer grew up…this is creepy! Jus’ sayin… :)

    Reply
  14. Bunch of Barrons says

    October 14, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    I don’t know if I could do it…but I hate to NOT try things. Haha.

    Reply
  15. Roxi -Coppercurls Designs says

    October 15, 2012 at 8:59 pm

    Well I can’t say I’ve ever made head cheese, but I did eat it as a kid because someone in the family made it or actually I think my Dad bought it to gross my Mother out. The cajun spice surely makes it much better.

    Reply
  16. Ross says

    October 16, 2012 at 7:21 am

    What a great looking head cheese! I wanted to ask a favor. I just launched my site http://rossmccreeryphotography.com and wanted to ask your opinion. I still have some work to do but want to know what I should and shouldn’t improve.

    Reply

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Welcome! I'm Barb, and this is where I practice my mantra to "learn something new, try something different". It's my hope that something I do here may inspire you! Read More…

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