A Quick Halloween Supper

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If you expect your ghosts, princesses and superheroes to be champing at the bit to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, plan on a simple supper by making hot dog mummies. Accompany with some vegetable sticks or a handful of cherry tomatoes and call it a meal.

These mummies are easy to make using frozen puff pastry and hot dogs. While the recipe is for six mummies, make fewer or more, as you like.

Leftover, defrosted puff pastry can be refrozen if you don’t need all of it to wrap the mummies. Keep the second sheet in its wrapper, in the refrigerator, on hold. If you don’t’ use it, freeze immediately for another time. Here are some ways to use frozen puff pastry.

Or, you can cut the remainder in strips, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and bake, to serve as “mummy wrappers.”

Here’s wishing all children a happy and safe Halloween next week. Our grandkids, Queen Elsa and the little red devil, can’t wait to be let loose in the neighborhood, accompanied by their parents—but only after they eat their mummies!

Mummies on the Loose
1 box (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry sheets
6 hot dogs
1 egg, beaten
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
About 1 tablespoon cream cheese (for the “glue”)
12 olive slices
12 small capers (optional)

Defrost puff pastry following package directions.

Heat oven to 350⁰F.

Using a sharp knife, cut 1 puff pastry sheet in 1-inch-wide strips, lengthwise. You can expect to get 9 strips from a sheet. Reserve the second sheet, in its packaging, in the refrigerator.

Lay 1 hot dog on a baking sheet. Wind the puff pastry around the hot dog (you will need about 1 ½ strips for each hot dog). Leave space on the hot dog for where you will set the eyes. Extend the wrapping past the hot dog, so the “mummy” looks like its wrappings are coming undone.

Repeat with remaining hot dogs.

At this point, if you only needed 1 sheet, you can refreeze the unopened second package. Or, you can cut the sheet in strips, and bake them as mummy wrappings.

Brush mummies and any mummy wrappings with beaten egg. Sprinkle mummy wrappings with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Bake mummies and wrappings for about 15 minutes or until puff pastry is golden. Wrappings will brown first, before the mummies.

Remove from oven. Make eyes with olive slices with caper eyeballs (if using), holding the eyes in place with a dab of cream cheese. Serve with mummy wrappings.

Makes 6 mummies.

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