Pizza for Halloween? Sure, when it’s pumpkin pizza!

Theo Kalogeracos is an Australian pizzeria owner based outside of Perth. He was named 2010 World Champion Pizza Maker at the Las Vegas Pizza Show.

Celebrate all through pumpkin season with his new pumpkin pizza recipe. Serve it with pumpkin ale, one of our seasonal favorites.
 
 
RECIPE #1: SMASHING PUMPKIN PIZZA WITH GOAT CHEESE & CASHEWS

Ingredients

Pumpkin pizza. Photo courtesy Ballantine Books.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 500°F for 15 minutes.

2. SPREAD THE mozzarella evenly over the base. Add the crushed cashews and cubes of pumpkin. Drizzle with white cream sauce (recipe below).

3. SCATTER the crumbled goat cheese and grated parmesan evenly over the surface. Bake the pizza for 7-10 minutes at 500°F. Remove from the oven and cut into slices.
 
4. GARNISH with fresh parsley, extra cashews and Parmesan cheese before serving.
 
 
RECIPE #2: WHITE CREAM SAUCE

Ingredients

 
Preparation
 
1. HEAT the butter in a heavy saucepan until melted. Remove from the heat and add the flour, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until smooth.

2. ADD the milk slowly, stirring. Return to medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute.

Use any extra sauce in soups, on chicken, fish, grains or vegetables.

Head to the butcher and make some
tempura brains. Photo courtesy Blu
restaurant.

We love the menu at Blu restaurant in New York City’s Hotel Indigo. It’s not for the faint of heart (and there’s no heart on the menu):

• Sautéed Chicken Livers with Artichokes and Lemon
• Traditional Pinocchio Tripe with Crostini
• Tempura-Style Calf Brain* with Marinara Dipping Sauce and Prickly Pear Salad
• Black Risotto with Frogs Legs
• Blood Orange Sorbet with Black Cat Cookies and Prosecco Zabaione

“In the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to get creative and playfully pair and plate items that diners might not ordinarily consider—but which are quite delicious,” says Chef Patrick Nuti. “All these items are perfectly normal in Italy and most other cultures but can seem foreign to American palates.”

We love culinary adventure, and we’re headed to Blu for Halloween. Maybe we’ll run into the Munsters or the Addams family.

*THE NIBBLE’s wine editor prefers lamb’s brains.

You could bring a bottle of wine or other libation that will blend in with all the bottles brought by everyone else.

Instead, make your hostess gift stand out—permanently. A mug, plate or other Halloween-themed serving piece will be a permanent reminder that you came to party.

To add to the memento, take a Sharpie and inscribe the bottom of the piece with a Halloween greeting and the year.

Happy Halloween from THE NIBBLE, 2010. Rock on, ghouls.

Drink from Dracula, $9.95 at Amazon.com.