I love Halloween. It has been decades since trick-or-treaters came to my home in Hawley. We don’t have a lot of children in town, and those who live here wisely choose to go somewhere slightly more urban, where the houses aren’t spaced far apart.
I no longer stock up on Halloween candy for my home. (I do have a bowl of treats in the office to cheer up visitors there in October.) Nevertheless, I decorate each year.
Outside, orange lights form a spider-web pattern, and a lit-up cat and bat greet visitors. Inside the house, a hanging vampire tells visitors, “I want to suck your blood.” I place spooky little houses on the piano. And I dine all month long on orange-and-black melamine.
Each year, I try to purchase one new Halloween item. This year, my neighbor Ruth presented me with that item: a vintage curved witch’s hat I can wear to events.
The color of my Halloween decorations mimics the colorful leaves outside, and the artificial lights cheer me up as the nights fall earlier and earlier. In October, we can’t ignore the darkening skies or the shortening of the days. We can find ways to compensate for them by making the house brighter and cozier.
When I was offered a review copy of “The Halloween Movie Cookbook,” I asked for it immediately. As much as I love Halloween, I may love movies more. I began watching films on television as a small child. This dismayed my mother, who believed that little girls should spend all their time outside playing.
And I obviously love food and cooking. This cookbook could have been designed for me.
When I opened its covers, I was impressed. The authors, Ryan Alvarez and Adam Merrin, are a married couple in California who bill themselves as “husbands that cook.” (I know, the name should be “husbands WHO cook,” but no one is perfect.)
They have come up with creative ways to pay culinary homage to a number of scary films. Some of the dishes are clearly visible in the films, like the Midnight Margaritas from “Practical Magic” or the Raisin Buns (currant buns in the original film) from “The Witches.”
Some of them are just inspired by the films. For example, the authors write about a girls’ slumber party in the 1996 film “The Craft,” saying, “It’s easy to imagine this dreamy dip as their centerpiece,” and go on to provide the recipe for a spinach-artichoke-Gruyère dip.
I was a little sad to note that most of the films that inspired the authors to cook were relatively recent. They begin in the 1960s and hit their stride in the 1980s and ’90s.
I have nothing against newer horror films, but it’s hard for me to envision a list of scary movies that doesn’t include classic films like the ones that starred Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price and Lon Chaney Jr., not to mention silent classics like “Nosferatu” and “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”
And I can’t help wishing the authors had included my all-time favorite horror film, the 1945 British anthology “Dead of Night.” This picture features quite a bit of food and drink … and its layered horror stories build to a supremely suspenseful conclusion.
Nevertheless, I still adored the book. Alvarez and Merrin’s recipes are not only appropriate to this spooky season; they are also delicious looking.
The authors note that one can watch scary films at any time of year. I would add that one can make most of their recipes at any time of year. Those recipes feature relatively simple ingredients and techniques, and they have appealing flavor profiles.
I chose here to feature the Eyeball Soup from “Corpse Bride” (2005). I did this in part because October puts us squarely in soup weather and in part because I love the look of it.
I haven’t seen “Corpse Bride,” but apparently at one point in the film, uncoordinated skeletons manage to drop an eyeball into a bowl of soup at a party. The eyeballs in this recipe, made of mozzarella and pimento-stuffed olives, are edible and fun.
Eyeball Soup (Roasted Tomato Soup with Mozzarella Eyeballs)
Ingredients for the soup:
- 3 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved
- 1 large yellow onion, quartered
- 1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste, plus more for the eyeballs
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Ingredients for the eyeballs:
- 16 to 24 mozzarella balls (Look for balls 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide, often labeled as “bocconcini” or “ciliegine.”)
- Pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced into rings
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the tomatoes, the onion, the carrot and the celery on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the vegetables, then drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing the vegetables halfway through.
Add the garlic and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Let the vegetables cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a blender. Add the tomato paste, the basil and the thyme. Blend until smooth.
Pour the pureed vegetables into a large saucepan and add the broth. Cover the pan, bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat and then immediately remove it from the heat.
To make the eyeballs, place a small drop of tomato paste onto a mozzarella ball, then place an olive slice on top of the paste so it sticks to the ball. Repeat until there are one to three eyeballs per serving.
Pour the soup into wide, shallow bowls about 1 inch deep. Place the eyeballs in the bowl so the olive pupils are visible. Serve warm. Serves six to eight.
Excerpted from “The Halloween Movie Cookbook: 65 Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by Your Favorite Spooky Movies.” Copyright 2026, Ryan Alvarez and Adam Merrin.
Photography Copyright 2026 by Lauren Volo. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.