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!