Get your Halloween dinner party sorted with our seasonal, prep ahead woodland inspired menu
The kids are full of sweets all weekend, but what about the adults? Treat yourself to this spookily delicious dinner party menu.
Autumn is nearly over (is that snowfall we can see...?) but there's still time to make the most of some wonderful seasonal produce. We've got the perfect menu line-up for you to tuck into this weekend, starting with a spookily smokey whisky sour using juicy blackberries, followed by a creamy wild mushroom puff, herby forest meatballs for main alongside a tender roasted pumpkin salad and finished with a spectacular (but more-than-achievable!) chocolate cake for pud. The best part? You can prep most of the elements in advance, leaving you plenty of time enjoy that smokey cocktail, and maybe even answer the door to some trick-or-treaters...
Smokey blackberry whisky sour
Make the syrup for this cocktail in advance and store in a jar in the fridge.
Recipe: Smokey blackberry whiskey sour
Wild mushroom puff
Make the mushroom filling in the morning and store in the fridge. Simply reheat gently in a saucepan before serving.
Recipe: Wild mushroom puff
Forest herb meatballs with a three-cheese crust
Shape the meatballs and store in the fridge. Combine the sauce in advance then simply nestle in the meatballs when ready to cook.
Recipe: Forest meatballs
Warm pumpkin and kale salad with hazelnut dressing
Roast the pumpkin up to 2 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Make the dressing beforehand and keep in a jar, ready to shake and serve.
Recipe: Pumpkin and kale salad
Black Forest chocolate nemesis cake
Make the syrupy cherries the day before. Bake the cake on the morning you're serving and leave covered loosely with a tea towel. Decorate just before serving.
Linzi joins the Good Housekeeping team as Kitchen Manager, looking after the brand-new, state-of-the art test and demo kitchens based in the heart of Leicester Square. With over a decade of experience producing food content for leading brands, she’s won awards for her recipes, battled Christmas dinners in July, and spent a lot of time pondering the next big food trend (no more pistachio, please!) Originally from the North East of Scotland, she lives in West London with her Italian husband and twin daughters, feeding them a variety of haggis and ragu - depending on the mood!
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