Speaking of Halloween and pudding. . . .

How cute are THESE?!  Eee!



1 package gelatin
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks (reserve 2 whites for topping)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree

2 large egg whites
1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 pinch fine salt
Small candy, for eyes

PUDDING:
Put 1 tablespoon of cold water in a large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the surface, do not stir, and set aside until gelatin softens and bloom.
Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a stand mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk milk, sugar, yolks, cinnamon and salt in a heat-proof bowl. Set the bowl above the boiling water and cook, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula, until mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon and almost boils, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and pour over the gelatin, whisking constantly until gelatin is completely dissolved and evenly distributed. Whisk in pumpkin until combined and completely smooth.
Evenly divide mixture into 12 small 3-ounce cups (paper works fine) and refrigerate until set, about 4 to 8 hours.
TOPPING:

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a stand mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the 2 egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer and beat with the whisk attachment at medium-high speed until eggs hold a stiff peak, about 5 minutes.
Spoon topping onto puddings in the shape of a ghost. Decorate with candy eyes and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Graveyard Cakes

I know I want to make something sweet for this year's Halloween party.  Of course, I would LOVE to make my sugar cookies in adorable Halloween shapes, but to use up a bit of the masses and masses of cake mix and frosting I have in the pantry, I think Graveyard Cakes are where it's at.  Plus; way easier.
I thought about doing one cake, and decorating it with crushed Oreo "earth" and some mini tombstones, but then found some ADORABLE little cupcake kits and decided cupcakes are easier to deal with in a group setting anyway.
I thought it would be extra fun to do a childhood throwback - remember those old Jell-O pudding filled cupcakes we had as kids?  And goo seems graveyardy. . .score.
Alas, recipes for those are difficult to come by and they don't make the kits any more.  But why not just inject the darn things?  If Sandra Lee can do it, so can I.
So - a box of chocolate cake mix, a can of chocolate frosting, and a package of chocolate instant pudding (or vanilla and dye it orange maybe?  Or disgusting brownish green goo colored?), and some crushed chocolate cookies.
Bake the cupcakes and make the pudding.
Once the cupcakes are cool, inject the pudding into the cakes.
Frost with frosting and dust generously with chocolate cookie crumbs.
Decorate as desired (you can always do the gummy worm thing if you want, but I always pull those out and end up eating them separately or not at all; candy corn and candy pumpkins would be good too).
Eat your heart out Sandra.

Where the Wild Things Are - Halloween 2010

 

My favorite time of year is upon us and I'm already plotting my ghoulish plan. . .
I'll be turning my home into a haunted forest with lots of spooky trees and Spanish moss, plenty of old leaves, and creepy little forest critters.  It'll be the perfect setting for me, since I'm going as an owl this year.
I really want to make my sugar cookies, but I have to be reasonable about what I can accomplish.
I'll be serving several types of snack mix because that's super easy and yummy (I have such an obsession with Cheezit Party Mix it's not even funny), and I'll probably do a spicy nut mix as well.  I had one in Mexico that had whole chiles and fried garlic that was super good and kind of creepy looking (let's just say we'll call those garlics "fingernails" or something equally gross).  Here is a decent starting point.

We're also going to do some super easy salsas and guacs as I did last year, but add a Crock Pot full of cheesy bean dip that I don't really have to worry about.  When I was in high school taking Home Ec, our teacher taught us some delicious recipe that featured canned refried beans, Velveeta, salsa, green chiles, garlic powder and green onions. . . I'm trying desperately to remember it and will probably just tweak it as I go until it's yummy.  This one looks pretty good as well.
I'm also going to get some pizza dough or flatbread and just do little flatbread slices - caramelized onions, goat cheese, maybe blue cheese, figs, prosciutto, etc., but those are the pricier fixins, so we'll see.  I'll bake the breads ahead of time, then top them, and heat them up for a few just before I serve.
Perhaps a white bean and sage dip with veggies and pita chips.
Basically stuff that I don't have to fuss with.   And to drink, I think I'm going for shandy this year instead of my typical sangria:

Apple Cider Shandy
48 ounces of lager (4 x 12 oz bottles)
1 bottle of sparkling cider

Combine and serve immediately.

I mean, it doesn't get much easier than that, right? 

Dead Man's Ball - revisited

Oh lordy, that swamp water drink I tried to make? Did NOT go well. If anyone would like three bottles of green juice (featuring powdered broccoli and spinach), please let me know. I have some.
I did use the rest of the open bottle and a bunch of water to fill a glass apothecary jar with a creepy, sludgy, green liquid which I floated eyeballs in. So it was at least good for that; everyone kept asking me what it was.
The TruBlood however was a hit!
TruBlood
I took one bottle of fruit punch (the 365 Organic brand from Whole Foods was nice and dark)
1 1/2 c brandy
2 bottles cab sauv
lemon flavored fuzzy water if desired

I admit to drinking most of it myself, but those that I allowed to sample it seemed to like it or they're excellent liars. I think I just lost out to DJ AM's insanely fally cinnamony fruity vat o'sangria.
I had a major fail on the cupcakes thinking that I had spice cake mix at home and only realizing I didn't an hour before guests were supposed to begin arriving. Whole Foods had some "gluten free" stuff that my roomie was kind enough to pick up for me, but really? Do I want to hustle to try to make and clean up cupcakes in that kind of time crunch only to find out they suck? No. I was stressed out enough.
The other nibbles were hits though. I thought the fire roasted salsa was DIVINE and the mushroom/goat cheese bruschetta was gone really quickly. The pear blue cheese bites are SO easy to make (I didn't even end up roasting them! Just cut them into little pieces and topped with cheese; skewered with a toothpick), I think they'll be a new standard.

Next year I won't make the mistake of saying how much time I have and all that I've gotten done before the party. . . .

Prep for the Dead Man's Ball - Halloween 2009

The kitchn has a great offering of Halloween appropriate wines which I LOVE. I picked up some Sinister Hand myself, but the others are great options to bring along to a party.
I tried not to let myself go too crazy with food on Halloween, but omg, I've already spent way too much money, so what's a little more? And if I don't make something I thought I might, no big deal, right? Right.

Let's start with drinks. Aside from the standard beer and wine people bring (and I have that appropriately covered as well - pun definitely intended - or you can always make your own a la etsy), we'll have:
Sangria a la Buzzie & Billy Bob
I'm also making a couple of cocktails, one very sangria like, one a little more. . . . uh. . . weird and margarita-esque.
Swamp Water (thanks to inspiration from Martha, of course)
(exact recipe to follow)
tequila
lime juice
green fruit juice blend
perhaps rimmed with a spicy salt
TruBlood (also inspired by Martha)
recipe to follow; I can't decide if I'm going sangria-esque or sticking with the brandy punch option. I'm just PRAYING it is as inky dark red as it looks in the photo.

Onto the nibbles. . .
Halloween candy, of course
Pumpkin spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting (appropriately spooked out with spiders or spider webs or eerie faces)
Guacamole - I'm thinking I'll let it go all brown and gross looking and call it swamp sludge or something; ooh, Soylent Green!!
Fire roasted salsa - I've been wanting to make this for a while, and I think fire roasted salsa will look spookier than my standard pico de gallo. I'm going to make it using all the same ingredients I usually do, but I'm going to roast all of the veggies and then blend them in food processor. Pureed people perhaps?
Mushroom and goat cheese bruschetta - aka Innards on Toast or something
- for this one I'm going to roast up a bunch of wild mushrooms and toast some baguette slices (rubbed with garlic). A smear of goat cheese on the toast, a dollop of yummy roasted mushrooms and a drop of truffle oil - ce magnifique!
Maybe some Pear and roquefort cheese bites - Moldy something or others no doubt
- roasted pear til it's soft, topped with a chunk of cheese and speared with a toothpick
Or maybe just a cheese plate if I start running out of time, which is most likely.

I ordered up a ton of stuff from Safeway that's getting delivered tomorrow, and Saturday morning is going to be busy busy busy!!!

Halloween - Best. Holiday. Ever.

Everyone thinks so.

Pumpkins - check.
Costumes - check.
Cupcakes - check.
Party Invitations - check. (seriously? Coolest thing ever)
Decorations - check.
More decorations - check.
Treats - check.
Tricks - check.

Now that I have a pad conducive to entertaining, which I also don't plan on leaving any time in the foreseeable future, expect fantastical Halloween parties. OMFG I love Halloween.