Celebrate Halloween with spooky and fun recipes from the Wisconsin Potato Growers’ Association

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - There’s nothing scary about potato nutrition. Spooky Spud Skulls are the perfect recipe for a Halloween night dinner to get the little gremlins out the door satiated and satisfied.

Sarah Agena with the Wisconsin Potato Growers’ Association shared the fun recipe with NewsChannel 7.

Spooky Spud Skulls

Ingredients

• 4 each (2 lbs.) Fresh Russet, White, Red, or Yellow Potatoes (Must be large enough for skull shaped cookie cutter)
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• 6 ounces Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 36 each (4 ounces) Mini Pepperoni
• 6 ounces Prepared Marinara Sauce

Preparation

• Wash and dry the potatoes. Slice the potatoes ½ inch thick. The way you slice your potatoes depends on your cookie cutter. The goal is to be able to punch out the potato using the cookie cutter. Once the potatoes are sliced ½ inch thick use the skull shaped cookie cutter to make the skull shapes, for a standard recipe you should have 12 skulls. The scraps of the potatoes can be saved for mashed potatoes, potato soup, etc.
• Place the skull shaped potatoes in a bowl of ice water to soak for 15-20 minutes, this will remove some excess starch from the potatoes. Drain the potatoes well on some paper towel.
• Preheat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and then place your potato skulls into the hot oil. Cook the potatoes for 3-4 minutes on each side or until they are golden. Remove the potato skulls from the pan and place them onto a aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
• Top each spud skull with ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) of cheese. Place the baking sheet under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove the tray from the oven.
• Arrange the mini pepperoni on the skulls, three pepperoni per skull (2 for the eyes, 1 for the nose)
• To serve simply heat the marinara sauce and serve it alongside the spooky skulls for dipping.

And with colder days ahead, it’s the perfect season for comfort food. What’s more comforting than Wisconsin potatoes? Sit down with the whole family and enjoy this hearty meal in about 30 minutes.

Potato Pierogi Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 2 dozen each (912 g) Premade Pierogi
• 2 cups (482 g) Premade Pot Roast
• 2 cups (176 g) Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 qt (946 ml) Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 2 tbsp (17 g) Garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp (20 g) Shallots (minced)
• 2 tbsp (30ml) Olive Oil
• ¼ cup (59 ml) Heavy Cream
• 1 tsp (6 g) Salt
• 1 tsp (2g) Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cup (59 ml) Sour Cream
• ¼ cup (15 g) Parsley (chopped)

Preparation

• Gather all ingredients and equipment needed.
• In a pot, pour enough water to cover perogies and boil, then add pierogies and cook until done about 2-3 minutes or refer to manufacturer’s instructions. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and heat pot roast until internal temp is at 120°F (48°C). Tear or slice apart small chunks.
• To make mushroom gravy, in a frying pan or skillet on medium heat, add olive oil, shallots, garlic and slightly sauté. Then add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are slightly browned. Then add chicken stock and with a wooden spoon or spatula mix ingredients together making sure you slowly scrape bits stuck to the bottom of the pan for extra flavor which is called, “fond”. Let simmer and reduce until the sauce coats the back of the wooden spoon or spatula. Turn off heat and add heavy cream, salt and black pepper and mix until fully combined. Slightly cool and set aside.
• To assemble, place pierogies in a platter and top with chunks of pot roast, then pour mushroom gravy on top, garnish with sour cream and sprinkle chopped parsley evenly.

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