If you aren’t into sweets for Halloween, add spirited fun to a spinach pear salad by making ghosts out of white cheese. The following instructions show how quick and easy it is to create fun “cheesy” ghosts.
Healthy Halloween Food
Finding wholesome Halloween-themed food that isn’t overly sweet can be a challenge. However, you can easily add a haunting twist to everyday ingredients! Transform a simple spinach salad into something fun by cutting ghosts and other spooky shapes out of cheese. This will add visual appeal to your dish and provide a unique way to delight your guests.
Versatility for Any Occasion
One of the best features of this salad is its versatility. You can adapt it for other occasions by using different cookie-cutter shapes. However, if you don’t have cookie cutters, you can easily hand-cut your shapes—it’s easier than you might think!
How to Hand-Cut the Ghosts for Spinach Pear Salad
Sketch a “ghost” (shown below) onto a sheet of paper. The ghosts work well with points at the bottom to place them between the spinach in an upright position.
Aim for a whimsical, apostrophe-like shape, about two and a half inches long. Once you have your pattern, place it on a slice of white cheese and cut around your template.
Use Straws to Make Eyes and a Mouth for Spinach Pear Salad
Next, use small straws to punch out the eyes—this is a fun and effective way to add personality to your cheese ghosts. For the mouth, switch to a larger straw and gently squeeze one end to create an oval shape, then cut through the cheese. The result? Rustic and charming ghost shapes that add a festive flair to your salad.
Use a straw larger in diameter to add a mouth.
For variety, create different faces for your ghosts.
Presentation Tips
When serving your salad, use a wide, shallow bowl to provide ample surface area for displaying your haunted ghosts. This will enhance the presentation and ensure your guests can readily appreciate the spooky addition to their meal.
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Spinach Pear Salad
Equipment
- 2 drinking straws (use straws with different-sized holes)
Ingredients
Salad
- ¼ cup pecans, chopped and toasted
- 2 slices white cheese, cut into shapes
- 1 Bartlett or Anjou pear, thinly sliced and unpeeled
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ⅛ cup red onion, very thinly sliced
Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pear preserves or pear jam
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
Salad
- Toast the pecans in a large skillet on low to medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat when they are starting to brown. Cool.
- Use a mini ghost cookie cutter to cut out ghost shapes in the cheese, or hand-cut the ghosts. Use the end of a small straw to cut out the eyes. Then use a larger straw to cut out a mouth. Squeeze together the end of the straw to make the mouth an oval shape. Set aside.
- Toss the cut-up pears with lemon juice.
- Place washed spinach into a large salad bowl. Add the cranberries, cooled pecans, onions, and pear slices.
- Toss with the salad dressing.
- Insert the ghost-shaped cheese pieces into the salad so that you can see the eyes and mouth.
Salad Dressing
- Place the olive oil, rice vinegar, pear preserves, salt, and pepper into an electric blender (or use an immersion blender).
- Blend for several seconds until well mixed.