The Rose Table: How to host a hauntingly good Disney-themed dinner

Rockwall, Tx (July 26, 2023) – I don’t know about you, but I could not be more excited for the new Haunted Mansion movie!

One of my all-time favorite Disney Dinners is Haunted Mansion. I transformed my dining room into my very own Haunted Mansion for this spooky party by tilting my artwork and covering each piece with spiderwebs and tattered cloth, washing the walls with purple lights, and used my AtmosFX machine to project dancing skeletons on the wall just like the dining room scene in the ride. I decorated the table with a black tablecloth, a spiderweb runner, a silver candelabra, flowers to represent the cast members’ uniforms and the bride in the ride, and a crystal ball for Madam Leota.

The highly thematic menu included Ghost Hand Pies, Graveyard Pasta, an epic Foolish Mortal cocktail, and Haunted Mansion Minnie Ear Cakes. See all of my Disney Dinners on The Rose Table’s Facebook or YouTube channels and get all of the recipes on therosetable.com. Here’s how to make my haunted Graveyard Pasta!

The Rose Table’s Graveyard Pasta
1 pound bucatini pasta, cooked according to package instructions
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Black food coloring
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
6 slices bread (suggested: honeywheat)

Toast Panko breadcrumbs in a dry pan (no butter) over low heat until nicely browned.
Use a tombstone cookie cutter to cut tombstones out of bread. Toss in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes until toasted to your liking. (Note: I toasted 12 tombstones: six to decorate the pasta and extra for serving.)
Melt one stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter with minced garlic over low heat. Add heavy whipping cream, salt, and pepper, and stir until uniform in color.
Add parmesan and gruyere and whisk over low heat until cheesy is completely melted. Do not rush this. Low and slow is your friend here.
Add black food coloring to tint sauce desired shade of black.

Grate fresh nutmeg into the sauce, whisk, and add cooked bucatini, using tongs to carefully coat the noodles with the sauce. Top with toasted Panko breadcrumb “dirt” and tombstone toasts.

Katie Watson often covers Rockwall on therosetable.com, from the Farmers Market to Founder’s Day Festival. The Rose Table has over 200,000 fans on Facebook (fb.com/therosetable), millions of video views, and can be found on TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube @therosetable.