Nightmare before Christmas Date Night Recipes
It’s October, which means it’s time for Halloween food! Today we’re making a cocktail and snacks for two people to enjoy while watching Nightmare before Christmas. Grab your spouse, roommate, or bestie and treat yourselves!
We’re making something sweet, something savory, and a cocktail. Let’s get into it!
Cocktail: Zero’s Cosmo (a white cranberry cosmopolitan)
Savory food: Sally’s Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Soup
Sweet food: Jack Skellington Marshmallow Pops
Sally’s Roasted Garlic & Cauliflower Soup
Sally makes a "Worm's Wort Soup" in the movie, which includes some stinky ingredients. What's more delicious than roasted garlic (and it's a little stinky too!)
2 servings
Ingredients
½ head cauliflower
½ onion
1 bulb garlic
2 ½ cups spinach
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
olive oil
salt & pepper
Method
Prep Vegetables
Preheat oven to 425°F
Cut onion in half (so it's 1/4 of whole onion). Cut florets off cauliflower so they're roughly the same size. Cut top of garlic off so the individual cloves are exposed.
Add onion, cauliflower, and garlic to half sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning onion and cauliflower halfway though cooking time.
Blitz in Blender
Once veg is soft, add to a blender–squeeze the garlic out of its skin and discard the skin. Blitz until smooth, adding some of the chicken broth if needed.
Add spinach to the blender and puree until smooth.
Simmer
Add contents of blender to a medium pot and any remaining broth. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the green color darkens and spinach has cooked through.
Turn heat to low and cover until ready to serve.
Notes
Optional: mix Greek yogurt or sour cream with water until it reaches a drizzling consistency. Use a small spoon and a toothpick to carefully draw out a skull shape on top of the soup.
I served mine with some lightly toasted bread that was drizzled with olive oil. Highly recommend!
Jack Skellington Marshmallow Pops
This dessert is an easy addition to our NBC date night! Use just 2 ingredients to create these iconic treats.
2 servings
Ingredients
4 large marshmallows
black icing
You’ll also need
black ribbon
cake pop sticks
Method
Select the best Jack head shaped marshmallows. Add a cake pop stick to each, making sure to not press it all the way through the marshmallow.
Find a reference photo and use the icing to draw Jack's face onto each marshmallow. I decided to do a couple of different expressions.
Tip: use a toothpick for smaller details, if needed.
Optional: tie a bow with a piece of black ribbon around each stick for Jack's bowtie.
Zero’s Cosmo
A slight twist on a classic cosmopolitan cocktails makes a clear drink that highlights the cherry (Zero's nose!)
2 servings
Ingredients
30 ml triple sec
50 ml white cranberry juice
70 ml vodka use vanilla or whipped cream vodka for extra sweetness
½ lime
2 cherries
Method
CHILL. Chill your martini glasses with some ice or in the freezer while you make the cocktail.
Add triple sec, cranberry juice, vodka, and lime to a cocktail shaker. Top with ice and shake for 10 seconds.
Add a cherry to the bottom of each martini glass.
Double-strain cocktail into martini glasses. Serve immediately.
Notes
Don’t have a cocktail shaker? In a pinch you can use a blender bottle or a mason jar with lid. Just be careful!
I used whipped cream vodka since I wanted a sweeter drink to pair with the marshmallow pops. You can use your favorite vodka though!
