Haunted Forest Platter

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 3 stalks broccoli
• 3 medium beets
• wood toothpick
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• assorted fresh vegetable (such as cherry tomato, pea pods, kohlrabies, radishes, sweet red peppers, sweet yellow peppers, and)
• 1 ounce spaghetti, cooked and drained
• liquid green food coloring

Recipe

• 1 to make a haunted forest, first create trees.
• 2 cut bottoms from stalks of broccoli to make 6-inch broccoli trees.
• 3 slice beets about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick to make a base for broccoli trees.
• 4 break wood toothpicks in half.
• 5 insert three to four toothpick pieces into bottom of each broccoli stalk and then insert into a beet slice.
• 6 stand broccoli upright.
• 7 cover to keep moist.
• 8 to make egg ghosts, use a small knife or 1/2-inch aspic cutters to hollow out eyes and mouths to form a face.
• 9 cut small pieces of ripe olive to press into hollowed-out areas for eyes or mouth, if desired.
• 10 cover to keep moist.
• 11 using your imagination, create creepy creatures with tomatoes, sweet peppers, pickles, olives, and radishes.
• 12 place broccoli trees on serving platter. cover surface of platter with shredded carrot.
• 13 hide egg ghosts in forest along with creepy creatures.
• 14 scatter piles of vegetables such as pea pods, beet slices, kohlrabi slices, olives, pickles, and/or any other desired vegetables.
• 15 add strips of red pepper to the broccoli branches.
• 16 to make moss, add a few drops of green food coloring to a small amount of water in a medium bowl.
• 17 add cooked spaghetti and let stand about 5 minutes.
• 18 drain and place over broccoli trees.
• 19 keep platter covered until serving time.
• 20 if necessary, spritz platter with water to keep it moist.