Cauliflower is hollowed out and filled with avocado dip to make a realistic brain that you will enjoy serving to guests! Perfect for Halloween parties.
Awesome idea! It was so easy to prepare, especially because I cheated and used store bought guacamole. I used Fruit by the Foot brand fruit leather, because they carry a flavor called Berry Ty-Dye which is a mix of blues and reds. Thanks for this cute idea!
Read MoreThis was horrible. "might" need toothpicks? My cauliflower heads are medium size, and to get an opening big enough for one avocado's worth of guacamole, I cut out enough and it's falling apart. Plus, I cant get the fruit stuff to stick. This is NOT easy. Do not do this unless you have at least an hour to figure out how to do it, and a lot of skill with toothpicks. This has to go off my menu.
Read More Awesome idea! It was so easy to prepare, especially because I cheated and used store bought guacamole. I used Fruit by the Foot brand fruit leather, because they carry a flavor called Berry Ty-Dye which is a mix of blues and reds. Thanks for this cute idea!
Great idea! Looks wonderful with a little extra work. After making this several times in anticipation of a "Witches Brew and Frightful Finger Foods" cocktail party, I have perfected the best way to approach this "Brain Dip" recipe. Heat water until it reaches a slow/ gentle boil. Set cauliflower face down carefully into the center of your boiling pot with enough water that it envelopes 90% of the cauliflower, but leaves the stem showing. The stem should be out of the water.... On a slow rolling bowl (approximately 10 -15 minutes depending on size of cauliflower) blanch the head of cauliflower until it is barely soft - this makes "carving" out the cauliflower much easier.... Let the cauliflower cool until it is warm and then hollow out the center. So much easier than other reviewers have noted! I found the "veins" to be equally time consuming - either adding the fruit or "painting" the veins with food coloring! Either way, the end result is magnificent. Hat's off to you Annie1 for creativity and ingenuity. Thanks for a guaranteed recipe to provoke a discussion, comment or a second look for a fun filled and spooky holiday!
I brought this dish to a Halloween party and it was a big hit! Only one note: I used the little packages of fruit leather found at the store and had a hard time getting them to stay (they weren't quite long enough). I would recommend using larger packages or something like Fruit by the Foot.
I loved this!! It was so tasty and my friends all loved it! The only thing I changed was the fruit-by-the-foot as veins, instead I dipped a toothpick in some food coloring and used that to draw veins on :) worked out perfectly!
This was fabulous fun! The red/blue 'fruit-by-the-foot' was perfect to use for the veins. I cut very thin strips and wet them slightly before pushing them into the folds of the cauliflower. For those having issues with the cauliflower falling apart: Simply carve out a small hollow at the stem area and then spoon the dip generously over the top of the 'brain'. Do not dig out a large 'bowl' in the cauliflower or it will fall apart. Guests LOVED this presentation--thanks Annie!
This was horrible. "might" need toothpicks? My cauliflower heads are medium size, and to get an opening big enough for one avocado's worth of guacamole, I cut out enough and it's falling apart. Plus, I cant get the fruit stuff to stick. This is NOT easy. Do not do this unless you have at least an hour to figure out how to do it, and a lot of skill with toothpicks. This has to go off my menu.
I made this for my Halloween party this year and it was a big hit! I didn't think people would understand that it is supposed to be a brain but they totally got it! I bought pre made guacamole to make it even easier. If you're careful with the cauliflower it won't fall apart. And a little bit of water on you're fingers helps the fruit veins stick when you're putting them on. LOVED IT!!
What a cute idea! I passed on the fruit roll-ups and made my veins with red and blue frosting (much easier!) but the overall effect of this was fantastic! Not to mention it's nice to be able serve some real food at my Halloween party.
As far as presentation goes, it made a great presentation. HOWEVER, it was SO difficult to create. I couldn't cut the center deep enough to put all the dip in without the cauli falling apart (and it's too cumbersome to use toothpicks to pieces it together). And the fruit by the foot wouldn't stick to the cauli no matter how much I dried the cauli. I air dried it outside for ten minutes and then it was still wet, so I used my blowdryer, but that seemed to heat it up and make more moisture. I was able to get about four strings put on it with TOO MUCH effort and gave up. I will not make this again. Only try this if you have a lot of time on your hands and want a challenge. Super presentation though if you can hack it! :)
Did not work for me, cauliflower fell apart even after I tried to use toothpicks. Ended up arranging the florets on the platter around the guac, and people ate them :) Good idea but didn't work for us
Rating for creativity - what a great effect! I used blue corn chips and out-of-the-box guacamole. Was a big hit.
What a fun way to serve your favorite dip.Dipping the fruit leather in warm water helps it to stick to the cauliflower.
I just love this presentation! I'm planning to bring curried cauliflower to the office Halloween potluck (steamed cauliflower "brain" smothered in Trader Joe's Bombay Curry simmer sauce). I ususually mix raisins in the sauce to give it a little sweet complement. However the fruit leather "veins" will work even better. Thanks for the idea!
I made this for Halloween (of course) and it turned out fantastic. I think the people who had trouble with the Cauliflower just weren't careful enough when they cut off the stem. Just use a sharp knife and carve out just enough to create a trough and you'll be fine. I did use my own recipe for the guac. The fruit by the yard worked just fine. It's sticky enough if the cauliflower isn't wet. Thanks for the recipe! I'll certainly make it again!
I used the guacamole recipe from this site by Bob Cody, which is fabulous. I thought the brain didn't look as cool once I added the fruit by the foot, so I didn't leave that on. I did attempt to dye my cauliflower with red food coloring. That didn't take very well, but it did have a somewhat pinkish tint. It was a really great presentation though all n all and I enjoyed making it. It was devoured instantly, but that's because of that fantastic guacamole. =)
Every one at the work potluck LOVED my brain! I used store bought guacomole, so I didn't get the eyeballs. And I used food coloring for the veins...but it never really dried, so it got all over my hands anytime I touched it. I served it in a 9x9 square glass dish and put red salsa around the base like the picture posted. Now what to do with my leftover purple cauliflower?
Loved this, I made it for halloween this year and it was a huge hit. I could not get the fruit to stick, so I just draped it over the sides, worked fine and looked good. If you look at the inside of the cauliflower before cutting, you can make sure you dont cut any of the conections. I fit 5 avocados worth of guacamole onto the a mid size cauliflower, had to pile it, but totally worked great. Definately will use this again!
Extremely challenging, but very adorable idea. I tried to hollow out near the stem instead, as someone suggested, but it was still really difficult, and getting the fruit leather to stay was next to impossible.
This was great! I used food coloring on the tips of toothpicks to add red and blue "veins." My husband picked it up and just gave me the "what are you up to this time?" look! Went over great and looks awesome!
GREAT IDEA!!! I used Mexican Dip bulit the Cauliflower around the mexican Dip. Then Painted Veins with food coloring. Awesome!
Rating high for the idea as there is not much prep work really needed as far as cooking, plus I also used store bought guacamole dip. This was used for a work function. For some added fun someone had gummy worms and we used those as decorations also. This was a cute and fun idea.
This was a complete failure. The cauliflower fell to pieces when I cut out the center. Toothpicks did not hold it together right. And the slices of fruit leather absolutely refused to adhere to the cauliflower. It was so frustrating. I threw the cauliflower in the trash and just served regular chips and dip. This recipe is a waste of time and ingredients. Don't try it.
This felt like cheater guacamole, and since I was pressed for time and feeding it to the kids, I went with it. The dip turned out strange, but the idea of the head of cauliflower was a nice touch. the boys didn't buy it, but it grossed the girls out pretty well.
Great idea & reasonably easy to pull together. You can use any dip you like, homemade or store-bought (I used pre-made guacamole & covered it with salsa to make it look more ghastly). I put drops of red food coloring on the cauliflower & spread it all over the florets using a pastry brush. I placed the head in a medium size styrofoam bowl for stability & lined the bowl with lettuce leaves to enhance the appearance....it looked like what one would expect a zombie brain to look like! Served with blue tortilla chips & took it to a party... guests were unsure if they were allowed to eat it or if it were a decoration. Eventually everyone dove-in once someone took the inital serving...really great Halloween party treat, as the sweets are always overdone. Thanks Annie!
I made this for a Dinner and a Movie party at our house, where the movie was "Dracula: Dead and Loving It." The movie was a hoot and there were lots of crazy h'or douerves. This one looked great and the taste was good, but not memorable.
Becareful how you core the cauliflower. I broke mine trying to core it, but it still turned out just fine. I also used premade dip to save time. The look was perfect for the party!
I too flipped mine upside down and placed it in a bowl perched in a skull shaped halloween bucket. I also sprayed the cauliflower with diluted food coloring (just some spritzes in black and red) it ended up looking like the brain had been bruised. Finally I used hummus instead of guacamole. Just line the inside with a big of plastic wrap to keep it from seeping inside the "brain". This combined with some red food coloring was positively disgusting looking. And was the first thing to go at my party. They even started eating the brain with the dip ran out.
Five stars for presentation. I used the blue/red Fruit By the Foot and the color was perfect. Filled the "bowl" with salsa and served with dark blue tortilla chips.
The trick is use a sharp knife and don't cut away too much cauliflower. This is great idea and it was a hit! I cheated and used some guacamole from the store.
Loved this idea! I used icing pens instead of fruit leather and I think it was probably easier. Everyone at the Halloween party loved it!
This was so much fun to put together. I didn't end up cutting much other than the leaves out, but that was plenty of room for the dip. I ended up using the toothpicks to hold the fruit-by-the-foot onto the cauliflower, and that worked excellent. The dip was good too.
Everyone at the party RAVED and wanted the recipe. couldnt believe how easy it was. I normaly dont care for guacamole, but really liked this one.
Everyone loved this! We didnt do what the recipe said for the inside of the brain, But EVERYONE loved the brain its self! AWESOME!
Kinda difficult to make the "brain" portion. I think I will go with a traditional guacamole dip next time. Wasn't too fond of the avocado dip. Kids wouldn't touch it!!
Presentation received several comments about how 'gruesome' looking it was, but when they realized it was just guacamole dip with cauliflower , they felt better about eating it. Lol Easy to make and a fun idea for Halloween! Also, used leftover cauliflower for cheesy cauliflower soup!
I confess: I used premade guac for the filling. But I give 5 stars for the stellar presentation. I found it was easier to leave a few of the cauliflower stems in tact. You can't stuff the "brain" with as much filling, but the pieces hold together easier this way. The frontal lobe collapsed mid-party. I didn't have any toothpicks, so I broke off the prongs of a plastic fork and held the pieces together that way. It's an easy trick, if you're in a pinch.
Great addition to my Halloween party!! Easy to do, used food coloring instead of fruit strips. Used my own guacamole recipe. Everyone loved it!!!
15 minutes? I spent easily 45! Even being ultra careful stemming the cauliflower head, it fell apart. I used 10-15 toothpicks and it was still very wobbly. Unable to find the rope fruit leather, so sliced up fruit roll-ups. They would not stick or stay into the cauliflower crevices and caused the "brain" to fall completely apart. Brain went into the trash along with fruit roll-ups. Waste of money and time!
I cheated and used store bought guacamole, but the cauliflower "brain" was a huge hit! I served it at a Friday the 13th party and everyone got a huge kick out of it. Such a clever idea. Thanks!
I made this for our Halloween party!! Very cute and easy! I also added a 1/4 cup cottage cheese to the guacamole to give it more texture! It was a hit!
Very cool--thanks for the idea. I bought the biggest cauliflower I could find. You don't have to cut very deep. Use a sharp knife and cut the leaves and some of the stem a little at a time so you don't cut any of the florets. I also trimmed the outside of the cauliflower to make it look more symmetrical and less lumpy. Use blue and red gel food coloring--the consistency looks more realistic and lasts longer. I used blue corn chips and beet chips to dip.
Found this recipe this morning looking for a last-minute creative appetizer for a party tonight. Just made a cauliflower "brain" following this recipe, am going to fill it with spinach artichoke dip (store bought so I cheated a little). Started with fruit roll-up slices for the veins but ended up using red and blue food coloring to draw in the veins instead. Only carved out a small portion of the cauliflower and am going to use the carved portion as a cap/top to the dip. Super easy and very creative, especially if you use a prepared dip and salsa. Thanks for sharing!!!
Cauliflower fell apart too easy, toothpicks didn't help. I ended up serving the cauliflower separate with a vegi dip.
If I were to make it again I would need to add more flavour to it as it was so bland. My daughter really did not like it.
Super cute! I did the veins with red food coloring and toothpick as suggested by someone in an review and it looked awesome! Totally rocked the party!
I couldn’t find regular fruit leather and used a rainbow leather that I had to cut the red and blue out of -it wouldn’t stick in-between the florets like another reviewer’s comments so this was not as easy as pictured. I will try frosting next year. My guests did get ‘it' though and were grossed out sufficiently for me to call it a success! I used salsa to fill the brain cavity.
Great addition to my Halloween party!! Easy to do, used food coloring instead of fruit strips. Used my own guacamole recipe. Everyone loved it!!!
I used red writing icing to make the bloody veins & sponged red food coloring diluted with water to make the brain look bloody. I brought this to the office Halloween potluck. It was a hit!
Add vegetable dip to your shopping list. You'll need something for the cauliflower pieces.
This turned out really well for me. I didn't use the dip recipe, but the "brain" idea was really cute and turned out neat. I used skewers to hold together as I hollowed cauliflower out. Its tricky, but do what works for you. I'll probably use again! Thanks for posting.
