Halloween Recipe: Nightmare Before Christmas Sally’s Worm’s Wart Soup and Jack Skellington Grilled Cheese

This is the perfect Halloween recipe and originally appeared on the Syfy.com website under my column “Fantastic Feasts.”   Of course, why limit yourself to just the Halloween season with this yummy treat?  It’s perfect for Christmas as well!

I love this time of year … not just for the copious amounts of holiday cheer and festivities, but because it’s officially time to watch one of my all-time favorite movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The film, which just celebrated its 20^th anniversary, is one I fire up every holiday season without fail, and this year I decided to make my viewing even more magical by whipping up a batch of Sally’s worm’s wart soup and a Jack Skellington grilled cheese (guaranteed to be 100% frog’s breath free!).

To make your own Sally Worm’s Wart soup you’ll need:

• 4 Cups spinach
• 2 Cups Kale leaves (shredded off the stalk)
• 2 Cups broccoli
• 2 Cups Cauliflower (I used green, but white works just as well)
• 3 Stalks celery
• 1 Russet potato
• ½ Yellow onion
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon diced garlic
• 4 Cups chicken stock
• 1 Cup sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream (for garnish)
• ½ Cup heavy cream
• 1 Cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 Teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt to taste

You’ll also need:

• Cutting board
• Large pot with a lid
• Cutting knife
• Wooden spoon
• Blender
• Ziplock Bag
• Scissors

Start by dicing your onion and celery into small pieces.

Toss them into your large pot with your olive oil and butter and begin sautéing them until the onions are translucent and the celery is soft.

Dice up your potato and add it, and the garlic, to the pot with the celery.

Continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so.

Add your chicken stock, broccoli, cauliflower, and kale and bring to a simmer.  Cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes.

Add in your Spinach.

Once it’s wilted down and incorporated into your soup, add in your sour cream, heavy cream, cheese, and nutmeg.

Stir to mix all together and allow to simmer for five more minutes.

Don’t worry if at this stage it’s not very bright green.  The color will become much richer once it’s blended.

Remove your soup from the heat and blend in batches in your blender until it’s smooth and creamy.

Add salt to taste.

Set aside to cool while we make our sandwiches!

To make the Jack Skellington Grilled Cheese Sammies you will need:

• 4 Pieces of white bread
• 1 Cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
• Black food coloring
• 1 Tablespoon butter

You will also need:

• Cutting board
• Ziplock bag
• Small round bowl the size of your slices of bread
• Sharp knife
• Rolling pin
• Frying pan
• Fork

Put your shredded cheese into your Ziplock bag and add a few drops of black food coloring.  Knead the bag until the cheese is completely black.

Mix a few drops of black food coloring into your mayonnaise and blend well until you achieve a very dark gray.

Roll out your bread flat and cut out a circular shape using the small bowl as your template.

You will want to cut out a total of four circles.  Try to make sure your circles take up the majority of your bread…almost all the way to the crust.

Using your knife, carefully cut out Jack’s face from two of your pieces of bread, leaving the other two circles whole.

Smear your dark gray mayonnaise on your two whole circles of bread making sure you leave a small mayo-free border all around the edge.

Pile on your black cheese, making a small mound on top of your mayo but again leaving the edge of your bread bare.

Place your cut out Jack Skellington faces on top of your cheese and mayo circles.

Using the tines of a fork, gently press the two pieces of bread together, sealing the edges tightly.

Melt your butter in your frying pan and grill your sandwiches.  Start by first grilling them backside down.  Flip when the back is golden and the cheese has melted.  You should be able to see the cheese through the eye holes so watch it there for melty goodness.

Once your back is grilled, flip your sandwiches over and allow them to continue to cook for a minute or two.

Spoon your soup into your bowls.  Just before serving, use your remaining sour cream to add a skull garnish.  Put the sour cream into your Ziplock bag and cut off a small piece of the corner of the bag.  Squeeze your sour cream out onto the surface of your soup in the shape of a skull.

Serve your hot Jack Skellington grilled cheese sandwiches with your fresh worm’s wart soup.

As always…

…Bone appetite!

Want to round this meal out with a sweet dessert?  Why not make a batch of Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie Boogie meringue cupcakes?!

For even more treats inspired by movies and television, check out Fantastic Feasts on Syfy.com.

Like what you see?  Want to see more?  Help me keep making my disgusting creations by visiting my Patreon page.

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