Witchy Finger Food (Blistered Shishito Peppers with Sesame Soy Sauce)

So I made these deliciously gruesome morsels yesterday after a long hiatus from my kitchen. I had this particular idea in my head all summer and I finally got to toy around with it and it totally paid off!  Not only do these creepy digits look the Halloween part, they taste amazing, and they're really simple to make. 
OK, I'll admit that there is a little prep work in applying the almond fingernails, but you really don't have to add them if you don't want to go to all the trouble.  Shishito peppers already look like gnarly witches fingers all by themselves. But if you're looking for a bit of realism, add the sliced almond fingernails and give them a few minutes in the oven, the almonds will brown which adds to the festive look. Add these to your Halloween buffet to feed a crowd or include them in a Halloween Dinner as a side dish to my Midnight Sushi with Wasabi Skulls made with black rice. Enjoy! 

Witchy Finger Food (Blistered Shishito Peppers with Sesame Soy Sauce)

Serves 4-6

Sesame Soy Dipping Sauce
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T garlic chili sauce
~Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

10-12 oz. Shishito peppers
Sliced Almonds
Black Sesame Seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut off a small tip of the shishito pepper at an angle to make a small opening  for the fingernail. Place a sliced almond to create the witches fingernail. Don't worry if it doesn't fit well, once the peppers are roasted, they'll be softer and the fingernails can be re-positioned. Some will fall out during baking as well and will need to be put back in.   

Place peppers on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Baste peppers with a light coating of sesame soy dipping sauce. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly, sprinkle generously with black sesame seeds and serve with remaining dipping sauce.

 Check out this perfectly creepy blistered witchy finger...looks yucky, tastes yummy! 🎃

Have fun with your plating. I used a small cauldron bowl and placed it on a skeleton hand I got from the 99 last year. I added my old silver sugar cube tongs with super cool claws as my serving utensil. It definitely looks the part of a festive Halloween snack ready to be devoured!

These fingers would be great paired with way cool Midnight Sushi with Wasabi Skulls, made with black rice and Eye of the Beholder Fruit Salad for dessert .