Halloween Traditions

[Casper]

Although not normally thought of as a holiday where a certain meal is prepared (i.e. the traditional "Thanksgiving turkey"), in my family, Halloween equals....hot dogs and chili. As far back as I can remember, it was what we always had to eat coming back from trick or treating as a kid, and to this day, its what I always fix or expect to have on Halloween (and am quite adamant about it, I might add). I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day who is not originally from here about this and she finds my fixation on the hot dogs and chili thing for Halloween "unheard of." I guess what I'm wondering is if this is really just a "New Orleans thing" or just my family. Are there any traditional Halloween meals? (please note that I am secretly hoping for some company on the hot dog and chili thing

[Isabella Maja]

Hot Dogs & Chili are definitely a tradition (and as they are for parades & Mardi Gras too). Every party I ever went to as a kid & into my late 20's had them (I really haven't eaten them much since then).

Now, in my family, another tradition was caramel apples made by my mama.
They were something I looked forward to all year.

Maybe your friend just does not understand N.O.'s obsession with food!

[kcdixiecat]

I didn't grow up here in New Orleans..but the tradition at our house was to make popcorn balls and caramel apples the night before Halloween or actually the night before we celebrated Trick or Treat..depending on the day of the week it fell on. I lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone..granted this was 35 plus years ago...but the majority of everyone in the neighborhood gave out homemade treats...except for our next door neighbor..the dreaded dentist..he handed out toothbrushes and those cool tablets that left your mouth red when you didn't brush correctly.

The lady across the street always made homemade sugar cookies....that was my favorite place to go. One made the red candied apples, one made cupcakes...small town America at it's best.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could still do this kind of thing today?

[Admin]

Mmmm... Halloween cookies from McKenzie's.

[Yvette]

We have a block party in my driveway. Tables set up for our once a year binge of Popeye's, beans, cold slaw and what ever else I pick up from there.

Lots of wine and a special treat for those adult trick or treaters walking with kids....we hand out free beer to all adults who have that sorry ass job. Ahhh I remember the days well, and glad those days are long gone.

Hilarious, everyone that comes in our neighborhood knows we are the house giving out free beer. They have their choice of at least four different brands too.

[Isabella Maja]

KC, we had similar fare . . . how could I forget my mama's popcorn balls and cupcakes!? That's what she gave out. The caramel apples were for us.

We always Halloween on Halloween, even if it was a school night.

Maybe I'll rent some kids & go trick or treating at Yvette's!

Seriously, we're going to a wedding that evening & the guests are to wear period costumes. Nothing macabre is requested.

[kcdixiecat]

KC, we had similar fare . . . how could I forget my mama's popcorn balls and cupcakes!? That's what she gave out. The caramel apples were for us.

We always Halloween on Halloween, even if it was a school night.

Maybe I'll rent some kids & go trick or treating at Yvette's!

Seriously, we're going to a wedding that evening & the guests are to wear period costumes. Nothing macabre is requested.

I'll loan you a couple of weinie dogs dressed as crawfish to take along with you...or they also have Mardi Gras dragon costumes. They love parties:rolleyes:

[Isabella Maja]

I'll loan you a couple of weinie dogs dressed as crawfish to take along with you...or they also have Mardi Gras dragon costumes. They love parties:rolleyes:

How bout one crawfish & one dragon!

So are you going to hand out Halloween candy?

[PNG]

We did popcorn balls and candy apples too as kids. Now we have people over for dinner and then pumpkin carving to follow dinner. We buy a pile of pumpkins of all sizes. Friends can pick their own and carve them up. Participants must be careful with those sharp little knives while consuming alchohol, but we have not had any injuries yet. Green curry chicken is good for this activity, which is why I have been trying to find that green curry soup that we use for a base for this dish.

[ChoWeb]

We did popcorn balls and candy apples too as kids. Now we have people over for dinner and then pumpkin carving to follow dinner. We buy a pile of pumpkins of all sizes. Friends can pick their own and carve them up. Participants must be careful with those sharp little knives while consuming alchohol, but we have not had any injuries yet. Green curry chicken is good for this activity, which is why I have been trying to find that green curry soup that we use for a base for this dish.

As a kid, our church had a Halloween Party, for adults and for their kids. There were costume contests, and a potluck, and I recall my favorites that would appear on that table every year. Halloween meant hot spiced apple cider, caramel apples, Mrs. Dutton's spinach dip in a hollowed out pumpernickle loaf, my Mom's hummus and pita and the nice old lady-in-a-mink-coat's bbq sandwiches.