Pumpkin Head Relish Tray

Make a radish rosette by first cutting off the top and the tip of the radish. Looking at the radish from top to bottom, imagine that it is a square with 4 sides. Then with a small knife, make a cut down one side of the radish that is about halfway down to the bottom of the radish. Don’t cut the radish all of the way down to the bottom.

Next, on the other side of the radish make another cut that is about halfway down, making sure not to cut the radish all of the way down. Then repeat by making the same type of cuts down the next two sides.

Add water and a couple pieces of ice to a small bowl. Add the radish to the bowl. Let sit in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or until the radish opens up like a flower.

While the radish is in the refrigerator, cut the carrots in half lengthwise (if you’re cutting the carrots ahead of time, put them in a Ziploc bag with some water so they don’t dry out).

On a flat large plate or platter, form the outline of the pumpkin with the carrots (round side down). Then make the smile for the pumpkin by using about 10 black olives for the “bottom lip” of the smile. For the “inside” of the smile, add about 5 black olives. Lastly, for the “top lip” of the smile, use 4 more black olives and leave spaces on each side of the two olives in the middle for the pumpkin’s “teeth.” For the teeth, cut a couple of the carrots in half and lay them inbetween the black olives forming the “top lip.”

Add the radish to make the nose.

Next, for each eye, use 4 black olives to make a diamond shape. Fill in the face with the rest of the carrots.

To make the stem, lay two green olives along the top edge at the top of the pumpkin. Top with two more green olives.

Lastly, for the eyes, cut the remaining green olive in about ½ inch slices. Remove the pimento and lay one slice over each of the diamond-shaped black olive eyes.

Serve with your favorite dip.