Halloween Deviled Potatoes

For the Shells

1. Wash and scrub the potatoes and cut in half lengthwise.
2. Place potatoes into a medium-sized pot filled with cold water and add the salt.
3. Bring the pot of potatoes to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the potatoes for 18-25 minutes or until the tip of a knife meets little resistance when inserted into the potatoes.
4. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool. Once the potatoes are cool, use a melon baller or small spoon to carve out a small cavity from each of the potato halves. They should resemble a hard-boiled egg in shape!
   1. The scooped-out flesh can be used in the filling; it can also be added to soups and chowders, or even crisped up and added to hash, etc.
   2. Set the prepared potato halves on a serving tray and wrap with plastic wrap until ready to use.

For the Filling

1. Stir salt into the hot water until it’s dissolved.
2. Add the cold milk, and then add the potato flakes, stirring to combine. Let the mixture sit for about a minute.
3. Steam the carrots and purée them in a high-speed blender. Try not to add any additional water, as the moisture content is already high.
4. Fluff the potatoes with a fork or small whisk, stir in the olive oil. Divide into two portions, add the pureed carrots into one portion to dye it orange. Allow the mixture to cool and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer the cooled potato mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star tip or simply place the whipped potato mixture into a resealable plastic bag and cut the tip off of the bottom corner.
6. Pipe the potato filling into each of the scooped-out portions of the potato shells.

Preparing the Garnish

1. Cut each of the garnishes into the desired shapes. A pairing knife will work well for this!
2. Top each potato according to the picture.