Andrea LeTard is a cookbook author, personal chef, cooking
instructor, Food Network winner, and recipe/travel content creator @andreas_cooktales.

One of the most fun Halloween parties to host is a Halloween dinner party. The menu should be spooky, yet elegant and delicious. This Zombie Meat Spaghetti is the perfect main course, as it’s a beautiful centerpiece on a Halloween food table. Creepily festive, and next-level tasty.

INGREDIENTS 
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil,
plus 1/4 cup for pasta
1 small onion - chopped
4 garlic cloves - minced
1 tablespoon fennel seed
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1/4 cup red wine
1 pound squid ink spaghetti
1 cup Parmesan
Basil leaves

In a pasta pot, start to boil very salty pasta water for the black spaghetti. In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, add olive oil, onion, garlic, and fennel seed with a heavy dash of salt and pepper. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add sausage with another heavy dash of salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat until almost cooked through. Add red wine, bring to a boil, then simmer until the wine is reduced and meat gets nice and crispy in places - about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the meat is cooking in the red wine, boil the spaghetti until al dente - keep your pasta water. Take the meat off the heat and in a large bowl toss half of it together with the cooked spaghetti, 1/4 cup of olive oil, Parmesan, and one cup of pasta water. Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed. If it gets dry, add more pasta water. Top with the remaining meat and basil.