not martha offers lovingly documented, fully illustrated instructions for a Meat Hand for your Halloween dinner.

Uncooked, some of its secrets are revealed -- onion fingernails, provolone over the fingers. Mashed potato piping is added between the fingers after cooking to make them appear separate -- narrow fingers would cook much more quickly than the thicker palm. Without a "hand mold," you'll have to sculpt a bit, but the photos should give you the basic idea.

not martha uses this meatloaf recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. (This is Hallowart, so I had to chase it down.)

As an alternative, this one, Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf from Gourmet Magazine in April, 1994, contains classic ingredients without fancy additions, and is highly rated at Epicurious. Use all beef if you like.

Pick your poison.

It should taste good and look bad, if you do it right.