What should be on the food menu of a Halloween party?
De Givenchy: Devils on horseback, pigs in blankets, caviar on potatoes, smoked salmon with rye bread. Guests will come and go throughout the night, so make it a lavish buffet served by silver candlelight.
Wearstler: Halloween is all about the sweets. I love cookies with dried edible flowers embedded, chocolate-dipped apricots, pineapples, and oranges, and a bowl of black M&Ms.
Newman: A fun thing to do is look at an issue of Gourmet magazine from the ’70s and recreate the recipes. They’re not what you typically see today and are very visually arresting (and delicious).
Gardner: Halloween includes trick-or-treating and usually children, so plan a menu that is easy and delicious and feels good in fall. I serve a cocktail buffet with chicken pot pie, a big green salad, and roasted vegetables. Then, I barter with the kids for Reese’s peanut butter cups and mash them on scoops of vanilla ice cream for the adults.
Hall: I like the idea of celebrating the season we’re in—squash, apples, late blackberries. Pies, crumbles, tarts…
Gray: Caribbean patties, sweet potato pie, and plantain chips with caviar.
What should be on the drinks menu of a Halloween party?
De Givenchy: Cosmopolitans, Old Fashioneds, vodka.
Wearstler: Champagne is my go-to for getting into a festive spirit.
Newman: I do love a punch bowl. A signature drink pre-batched and served in a dramatic vessel is the way to go.
Gardner: Halloween is the perfect time to serve a cocktail in a big silver punch bowl with dry ice. I make big pitchers of Earl Grey bourbon punch (it’s like a bourbon sour) that I pour over a floating ice ring with orange slices, sprigs of thyme, and maybe floating eyeballs. Then, I convince a friend to jump out from behind the curtains in a clown mask.
