Count Cheesy-LA Monsterpiece

Halloween is upon us like the murky fog in a haunted graveyard. It is time to get creepy crawly and invite our favorite vampires out do the Monster Mash. If you plan on having a small group of goons (your family) over for All Hallow’s Eve make this Count Cheesy-La Monsterpiece to hold court center table! Beware he may release his batty appetizers into your mouth. Follow the instructions below on how to make your very own Count Cheesy-La Monsterpiece. #Home4Halloween

What you’ll need:

Sour Cream
1 rectangular loaf of unsliced white bread
paintbrushes
toothpicks
Jack Cheese
cornstarch
Black gel food coloring
Cheddar cheese
1- red bell pepper
1 – bat shaped cookie cutter
a pan
olives
pimento
blue corn tortillas
frying oil
avocado
small mixing bowl
a little cutting knife

How to assemble Count Cheesy-La Monsterpiece:

FACE: Start by cutting 1/3 off of bottom of the loaf. Set the smaller portion of bread to the side for later use.

FACE: Dip a paint brush into cornstarch and powder the entire top of the crust with cornstarch to give it a chalky looking appearance.

EYES: With a small cutting knife carve out two round circles (around the size of the tip of your thumb) about an inch from the top of the uncut side of the bread crust. Carefully pull the circles of crust away from the bread. Then cut the two circle in half and reserve to the side. You will be using the best two half circles as eyelids for your Count Cheesy when ready.

EYES: Stuff both round circles (eye sockets) with green or black olives stuffed with pimento.

MOUTH: With the same small cutting knife cut out a mouth shape. Straight across the top and curved at the bottom. Carefully pull the crust away. Use that mouth shaped crust as a stencil to cut out the same exact shape of the red bell pepper.

MOUTH: Push the red bell pepper mouth shape into the mouth to create the illusion of the inside of a mouth.

Shape the remaining pieces of red bell pepper into lapel shapes (large triangles). Imagine them being the lapels of a red cape. Set to the side until needed.

In a small mixing bowl mix 1/4 of a teaspoon of black gel food coloring into 1/2 cup Sour Cream. Mix until completely combined. I used tooth picks to distribute the color more evenly throughout the sour cream.

HAIR: Using a small paintbrush dip into the black sour cream and begin painting in Count Cheesy-La’s hair. I made an outline of the top portion of a heart to achieve the perfect widow’s peak. Once my outline was final I filled the rest in with the paintbrush giving him a full head of hair.

EYEBROWS: With the same paintbrush and black sour cream I drew in eyebrows.

EYELIDS: Now take half circles of bread crust that you had reserved for the eyelids and stick a piece of tooth pick into the back side and stick it into the bread. I stuck the eyelids in a slant to give my Count Cheesy-La a mean look.

TEETH: Cut two triangle shapes of jack cheese to make fangs for the mouth. Then insert toothpicks into the flat side of the cheese fangs and shove the other side of the tooth pick into the top flat inside of mouth.

EARS: Cut out two half circles of jack cheese and again use a toothpick to secure them into the side of the bread loaf. Right where the hair line ends.

LAPELS: Now time for the red bell pepper lapels. Insert tooth pick into the flat cut of bell pepper so it can rest against the side of the bread loaf. Then insert the other side of the toothpick into the bread. Do on both sides.

Build your grilled cheese PLATFORM: I took the smaller piece of bread and cut a few slices out of it. I placed two slices of the bread in the toaster oven with pieces of cheddar cheese placed on top and some near the edge. Once the cheese melted it dripped down the sides of the bread as I wished it to do. J Then I stacked them on top of each other and stuck a few tooth picks in to keep them stable. Making sure plenty of toothpicks were sticking out in order to place my Count Cheesy-La on top. I also placed a few avocado slices on top to create a balanced surface for The Count Cheesy-La to sit straight on top of the grilled cheese platform.

BATTY: Cut blue corn tortillas with a bat cookie cutter. Heat frying oil in a pan over medium flame and allow to get hot. Once oil is hot, fry bat shaped blue corn tortillas on each side till crisp and stiff. Remove from oil and allow to drain on a paper towel. I used the blue corn tortilla bats as wings at the base of my grilled cheese platform by making a slit on the side and pushing them in. I also used one as a bow tie for Count Cheesy-La (optional) OR you can use them as a base for a cheese cube topped with olive and pepper appetizer. They came in handy for multiple purposes.