Serve the Deviled Eyeballs with Eyeball Martinis.

Makes: 16 halves
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 min for eggs

RECIPE: “DEVILED EYEBALLS,” HALLOWEEN
DEVILED EGGS

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BOIL. Cook and peel eggs (cooking instructions). Cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to medium bowl; arrange whites on serving platter.

2. COMBINE. Add avocados and lemon juice to bowl with yolks; mash until smooth, mixing well. Stir in horseradish, salt and black and cayenne peppers.

3. FILL. Fill egg white halves with heaping tablespoon of mixture, piling high.

4. DECORATE. To make devilish eyes, thinly slice roasted red peppers to create veins on the “eyeballs.” Top with sliced black olives.
 
Find more delicious avocado recipes at AvocadosFromMexico.com.
  

[1] Chicken cacciatore served with pasta (photo © Evan Joshua Swigart | Wikimedia).

[2] Classic Chicken Cacciatore (photo © Australian Chicken Federation).

[3] If you want to save money, buy a whole chicken and quarter it yourself (photo © Good Eggs).

October 15th is National Chicken Cacciatore Day.

Chicken cacciatore (cah-cha-toe-ray) is Italian country fare. Cacciatore means hunter, so the dish is “hunter-style” (in Italian, pollo alla cacciatora).

The recipe is below.
 
 
CHICKEN CACCIATORE HISTORY

For families who lived on farms or elsewhere in the country, dinner was often a hare, pheasant or other animal shot in the surrounding woods.

The game that the hunter brought home that day (father, son, farm hand) was braised in olive oil with garden vegetables.

Remember, back in the day before refrigeration, in most homes kitchens weren’t stocked with more fresh food than could be eaten in the short-term.

 
The game was served in a light tomato sauce made with garlic, herbs, onions and bell peppers, plus wild mushrooms and a bit of wine (white wine in the north, red wine in the south).

The wild mushrooms were foraged in the forest by the hunter, so at least he didn’t come home totally empty-handed.

Chicken Cacciatore has been called a “hunter’s solace,” with poultry from the yard or market replacing the pheasant or hare that got away.

The hunter who came home without game would pick a chicken from the yard. The chicken was prepared the same as the hare.

The dish has its roots in in central Italy in the Renaissance and has many variations, both there and throughout the country.

One of the more unusual is salamino cacciatore, made with a small salame.
 

RECIPE: CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
Although it isn’t a tradition, we like to add green olives to this dish.

1. SEASON. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt, pepper and flour.

2. BROWN. Brown the chicken in olive oil. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Stir until onion turns yellow.

3. COMBINE. Return the chicken to the pan. Add wine or sherry. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove garlic. Add tomato paste.

4. ADD. Add crushed tomatoes and herbs. Simmer for 45 minutes. If the sauce is to thick, thin with chicken broth, tomato juice or water.

Serve atop noodles or rice.

________________________

*Use wild mushrooms if possible. You can also use dried wild mushrooms, reconstituted.

You can bake your own tart shells of course, and even freeze a batch for ad hoc use. You can also make or buy a filling for the tart. Then, just top it with fresh fruit.

SWEET TART FILLINGS

Garnish

You may not need a garnish, but it never hurts to add one for color, flavor or general decor:

Savory tarts can be served as a first course; tartlets (mini tarts) can be served as hors d’oeuvre or with the salad course. Top the filling with:

 
Savory Tart Fillings

Garnishes

 
Let us know your favorite no-bake tart combinations.

Find more garnish ideas in our article, Garnish Glamour.

 
If you want to try a healthier chocolate, check out Gnosis Chocolate (gnosis is the Greek word for knowledge).

Gnosis celebrates “the origins of cacao, the well-being of our society, and Earth’s natural majesty.” This specialty line:

The bars are available plain or flavored with popular herbs and spices (chili, coconut-almond, hazelnut, mint, sea salt) as well as nutrient-dense superfoods (cashew-fig, cinnamon-goji, pomegranate-açaí).

Some bars have holistic and ayurvedic ingredients rarely found in chocolate: camomile essential oil, chaste berry, dong quai, evening primrose oil, goldenberry, Inca berry, hemp seed, mulberry, yumberry, schizandra berry, shatvari, Sunwarrior Protein Powder (vegan) and valerian.

In addition to chocolate bars, Gnossis makes truffles, hot chocolate and trail mix.

The products are certified kosher, organic and vegan and are free of soy, gluten, and dairy. The bars are wrapped in PCW* recycled, biodegradable packaging printed with vegetable inks.

Gnosis was founded by Vanessa Barg, a board certified holistic health counselor, who began making chocolate in 2006 as gifts for her clients. In her search for raw, unadulterated cacao, she studied the beans, working on cacao farms and processing beans from the pod. She personally visits the sources and works with growers to assure bean quality and working conditions and to support the growth of organic farming.

Learn more and shop online at GnosisChocolate.com.

*Post consumer waste.

Zucchini “canoes” substitute for pizza crusts. Photo courtesy Lucero Olive Oil.

The late, lamented Goldberg’s Pizza in Manhattan offered a diet pizza by heaping the toppings into an aluminum pie plate instead of onto a carb-laden crust.

All of the vegetable toppings (bell peppers, broccoli, eggplant, mushrooms, onions—whatever you like) were added to the pie plate, covered with sauce and cheese and baked in the oven.

It was a way for dieters (of whom proprietor Larry Goldberg was one) to enjoy the flavors of pizza without the empty carbs.

Zucchini pizza is a modern take on the idea. In this recipe from Lucero Olive Oil, halves of zucchini serve as the base for the cheese, tomatoes and other toppings.

Zucchini pizza is not only more nutritious; it’s a way to get family members to eat more vegetables, more often.

ZUCCHINI CANOES, A PIZZA ALTERNATIVE

Ingredients:

 
Preparation

1. CUT. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Trim as necessary so they fit into a glass baking dish.

2. SCOOP. Using a teaspoon, grapefruit spoon or melon baller, scoop out the center core where the seeds are to create a shallow trench. Do not scoop all the way to the bottom. (You can save the zucchini you’ve scooped out and add it to scrambled eggs.)

3. COMBINE. Combine the crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper/chili flakes. Brush the surface of the zucchini with mixture.

4. BAKE. Halve the grape tomatoes and arrange them inside the trench with the optional pepperoni. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes.

5. ADD. Remove the zucchini from the oven and place diced mozzarella in the trench between the tomatoes.

6. BROIL. Place the baking dish under the broiler until golden and bubbling.

7. GARNISH. Remove and drizzle the zucchini lightly with basil olive oil. Top with fresh basil and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
 
Find gourmet pizza recipes—with the crust.