Bloody Eyeball Bruschetta

A few weeks ago, maybe it was even back in February, I was in the grocery store check out line and struck up some small talk with the cashier, as I usually do. We agreed about being glad the holidays are finally over, when out of nowhere he begins to tell me that he was already planning his Halloween costume. 
"Halloween's my favorite holiday!" He said. 
I said, grinning ear-to-ear, "Me too! I LOVE HALLOWEEN!" 

If I wasn't already married, it might have been a pretty cool story to tell later on how I met my future Halloween-loving husband...but thankfully I already have. My husband also loves Halloween. :)
We talked and talked. Our conversation held up a line of angry customers as we shared our past costumes and fun Halloween parties and fun food. The conversation wasn't too long, it just seemed like it because we were having such fun sharing our fondness for Halloween. But like all good things, they must come to an end. If not for anything but the angry mob of melting ice cream in need of chilling. I rolled my cart away with a happy wave goodbye, when he said with a wink, "Happy Halloween!"

Fast forward to now...I may not have my costume planned out like my cashier friend, but I do have some totally cool Halloween food coming up. I've seen these eyeballs everywhere on Pinterest with so many variations, its mind numbing. They are such a cute idea but I wanted to make them with a few more layers if flavor than just marinated mozzarella and olives, so I decided to make them into a deliciously spicy, sweet and salty Bloody Eyeball Bruschetta. 

The marinara sauce gives it some sweetness along with the fresh cherry tomato. The olives add a nice salty flavor and then the sriracha olive oil gives it the spice that enhances all the layers of flavor. These were flat out incredible and plus they just look super cool and Halloween-ish! Note: I like my food spicy so I added sriracha to the marinara as well but you can adjust it to your taste or omit if you'd prefer. If you don't want the bloody topper sauce to be spicy, omit the sriracha and red chili flakes and add a small teaspoon of marinara sauce to the olive oil. Enjoy!

 

Bloody Eyeball Bruschetta

Makes 12

12 small balls of fresh mozzarella cheese
12 large green olives
6 large black olives
4-6 cherry tomatoes, slice into rounds
12 slices of mini toasts
3-4 T jarred spaghetti sauce (I used Classico Tomato Basil)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t red pepper flakes
1-2 T sriracha sauce

Irises: Cut small ends off of green olives. Using a straw as a cookie cutter, cut out a small hole out of the slice of green olive. Using the same straw, cut out a small piece of a black olive. Place black olive in the green olive slice to make a pupil. Repeat for remaining olives.

Bloody base: Cut cherry tomatoes into thin rounds. Set aside.

Bloody topper sauce: In a small bowl, mix olive oil, red pepper flakes and sriracha. Set aside.

Assemble Bruschetta
Using a sharp knife, cut a small slice of one side of the mozzarella cheese so that it can sit flatly on the tomato slice. Make a second slice off the cheese on the opposite side so that the olive iris can sit flat on top of the fresh mozzarella.
Place a small dollop of marinara sauce on each mini toast. Place tomato on top of marinara sauce. It is okay if some sauce drips out, that adds to the bloody look. Next place the mozzarella cheese ball with olive irises topping the cheese. With a fork, quickly whisk the bloody topper sauce (olive oil, red pepper and sriracha mixture) to combine and allow the mixture to drip off the fork tines over each eyeball. This creates a drippy look of blood over the eyeball. Add more sriracha if you need more color and continue to drip until they look right. Enjoy every delicious bite of Bloody Eyeball Bruschetta!

Watch for more festive Halloween foods in the coming weeks...or check out some oldies but goodies here.