Dave and I at our neighborhood Halloween Party on Saturday night.

It was always our Halloween tradition to make grilled pizzas before the kids went out to trick-or-treat. It didn’t matter if it was just the four of us, or if each of the kids had a dozen friends over, each person present made their own personal-size pizza. Dave and I and any of our friends who pop over will be making pizzas tonight out on the grill.  I’ll share the recipe and pictures with you tomorrow.

Hope you all have a safe and fun HaPpY hAlLoWeEn tonight!

Since standing on my feet in the kitchen for long periods of time is out of the mix at the present time, how about a holiday craft? Now, I already told you in the first installment of Crafts 101, I am not a crafty person… not by a long shot.  In fact, for this particular craft I needed professional help. Recently, Peggy and I took a class from the very talented Cindy and Lin Sue of Sweet-Stops on how to make these luxurious fabric pumpkins, which are perfect from the first day of fall, all the way through Thanksgiving. Now that’s some bang for your buck! And when I say “buck” -  I literally mean about one dollar! Depending on the fabric you use, or if you use scrapes you already have on hand, these beautiful pumpkins may cost no more than that. If you’ve seen them in boutiques, you already know they go for anywhere from $20 to $40 each! That’s just crazy talk!

Not that it’s all fun and games, the hardest part is hunting for and gathering up the pumpkins stems. But, it can be done. In fact, just yesterday, I was shopping at Food City for an upcoming cooking class with a southwest menu. While in the produce section, as I passed the bin of pumpkins, I found 4 detached stems pushed off into the corner of the bin. I asked the produce-man if I could have them and he looked at me with a questioning face and just shook his head yes. Score! Plus, I save the stems from large squash and pumpkins I purchase, so I’ve already got quite a collection. Get busy and start your collection the next time you’re in the market.

Photo courtesy of Sweet-Stops

Although I’m calling them “Velvet” Pumpkins, any fabric that you love, will do. In fact, I think chenille makes THE most lovely pumpkins of all!  And upholstery fabric … absolutely too die for! I even made one out of scraps from a burlap coffee sack. I can’t show it to you though because it’s a gift and I don’t want the recipient to see it before I give it to her. :-)

Photo courtesy of Sweet-Stops

I purchased the pinto beans, in bulk, at Food City. They were only 49 cents a pound and it took 3.25 pounds to make 1 large, 1 medium, and 1 small pumpkin. That’s right, less than $1.75 for all three gorgeous home-made creations!

Velvet Pumpkins

Velvet, or any fabric of your choice
Needle and thread (thread does not need to match fabric, it will not be seen)
Dried pinto beans
Thick rubber bands
Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive (available at craft stores, such as Hobby Lobby or Micheal’s)
Pumpkin stems
Silk leaves or other trimmings (optional)
Ribbon (optional)

Cut the velvet into circles; 16-inch diameter for large, 12-inch diameter for medium, and 10-inch diameter for small.

Thread the needle and double the thread, about the length of your arm. Tie a knot at the end, leaving about a 2-inch tail.

About 1/2-inch from the edge of the fabric, on the “bad side” begin stitching. Space the stitches about 1/3 to 1/2-inch apart, which will make it easier to gather later. Once you’ve gone all the way around the circle, gently pull on each end of the thread to gather, leaving about a 2-inch opening in your newly formed pouch.

Use a funnel (or a rolled piece of paper made into a funnel) to fill the pouch with pinto beans. Do not overfill the pouch, you want your pumpkin to be slightly floppy like a soft bean bag, not rock hard.

Now, pull on each end of the thread (leaving the needle attached) and tie into a knot.

With the needle end, stitch the top in a crisscross pattern to completely enclose and secure the pouch. Trim off the ends of the thread.

Pick out a pumpkin stem from your stash and dab the flat end of the stem with a small dollop of the adhesive. Center the stem over the stitching and secure the stem onto the pouch with 2 rubber bands, as shown.  If you would like to slip in a silk leaf, this would be the time to do so. Allow to dry for at least one hour.

Carefully remove the rubber bands and add a bow, if desired. Isn’t it gorgeous? Good job!

OK, if you don’t have time to gather stems, go to the craft store for the adhesive, and the grocery store for pinto beans… how about this idea…. I saw this on the web – Pure Genius!

Recycle or purchase a pair of fancy lace nylons and fit them over a white pumpkin, it’s that easy! Wowza!!!

I’m off to tape a television segment today for Channel 3-  Your Life A to Z.  It will air tomorrow, Friday, October 14th, at 10:100 AM.  So, instead of posting a recipe I have some miscellaneous, fun, and important items tell you about. 

The last couple of days I’ve been sharing with you items from my weekend shopping extravaganza with Peggy. Both of us are in love with birdcages and we found the perfect one for Peggy’s house. She had an open corner in her dining room and we decided the birdcage would fit perfectly there. She will change it out throughout the year and create holiday and casual vignettes, using the cage as the canvass.  Above you can see what we did for her Halloween Birdcage Vignette and below is a closeup. Doesn’t that look great?!

Next, I’ve got a great Halloween craft for your kids or even for your adult party.

Take these simple items…. Coca-Cola bottle, masking tape, thick sharpie, and a black straw.

And turn them into this mummy bottle! Awesome!

Lastly and most importantly, I’m starting a new weekly blog segment – Cooking Tip of the Week! Yay! Why haven’t I been doing this all along? The tips won’t come out on the same day each week, so you’ll just have to check in everyday to look for the next tip… oooh good idea, Linda!

Weekly Tip #1

Have you noticed the “new” thing in stores and catalogs like Pottery Barn is these “found” items for sale? Sure, I want to buy just about each one I see, but those prices… ooch! Well I found my own treasure this past weekend while out on a girls’ shopping afternoon with Peggy. This super cool vintage chemistry set! I can only imagine what “finding” it at PB would have cost me… I paid $25 for it. Why I thought I needed a vintage chemistry set, I do not know, but it was one of those things that caught my eye and I could not pass it up. It is perfect for Halloween decor, so at least it has a purpose for the next few weeks.

Since I decided to place it on the living room fireplace hearth, it inspired me to go to town on the mantel. I spent an hour or so this morning at the .99 store looking for cheap stuff to accessorize with.  Another thing that I’ve been admiring at Pottery Barn are these News Text Pillar Candles, but then again, do I really need another candle in this house… the answer is NO… so I made my own text candles.

I purchased a 2006 World Almanac for .99 and cut out pages, taped them around some battery operated candles, and voilà! (FYI: If you have a child born in 2006, run to the .99 store on Cactus and Tatum and grab one, someday they’ll surely have to do a report on the year they were born and you’ll have a great book to tear pages out of!)

One bag of webbing was also .99, and I didn’t even use 1/4 of it on the mantel. The silver glitter spiders (I bought black glitter ones too) were .99 for a 3-pack.

I’ve had the black spider-web fabric for years. I bought several yards back in my kids’ elementary school days when I was room-mom.

For the silhouette pictures, I purchased 2-packs of .99 black picture frames.  Then went online and searched “silhouettes” and just copied the pictures I liked and printed them off. That was easy!

Finally, the black roses, yep, .99 for a stem of 6. For only $7, the mantle went from everyday to Holiday.  Here are a few more pictures of the awesome chemistry set, some closeups, because it’s just too cool!

These little pigs-in-a-blanket, dressed up as Halloween mummies, will disappear before you eyes!

Mummy Weenies

From Pillsbury Halloween Fun

1 can (8-ounces) Pillsbury flaky dough sheet with no seams
1 pound package cocktail-size smoked link sausages (Lit’l Smokies)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil or parchment.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough sheet out into a 14×11-inch rectangle.  Cut vertically to make two 11×7-inch rectangles.  Cut each crosswise into 22 strips for a total of 44 (7 x 1/2-inch) strips.

Pat sausages dry with paper towels.

Wrap 1 strip of dough around each sausage to look like a little mummy, leaving a little space in between each wrap and press firmly at each end to secure.  Lace on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart for even browning.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Place two small dots of mustard on each sausage for eyes and serve warm with extra mustard for dipping.

Makes 44

When we visited Connor in Flagstaff last weekend, of course, we made a couple of the required trips to Target to load him up with the “necessities.” On the first trip through the doors, I stopped at the $1 bins and spotted a little Pillsbury cookbook called Halloween Fun. The recipes for today and tomorrow’s posts are directly from the booklet, they are just too cute and easy not to share!

The decorations needed for the eyes of the owls are the Brache’s candy stars that I always used to see hanging on the pegs at every grocery store around. I visited Fry’s and they no longer carry Brache’s, only their store brand of “Brache’s” candies and there were no stars. I went to Safeway and although they still carry Brache’s, no stars there either. Finally, I went to Walgreens, feeling 100% confident they would have the disappearing stars… no!!! What’s up with that? I was forced to whip up my own chocolate frosting (or you could purchase a ready-made can) and pipe on the eyes using a pastry bag and a star tip.

I always find the lengthy directions of how to assemble these sorts of things confusing, so although I’ve used the exact words from the book, once you’ve read them through, it’s really easiest to look at the pictures of the steps and the finished product to recreate these rather than to try to figure out those instructions!

Tomorrow – Little Smokie Mummies!

Ominous Flaky Owls

From Pillsbury Halloween Fun

1 can (8-ounce) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
8 tiny fish-shaped pretzel crackers (Goldfish brand)
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
16 milk chocolate stars or chocolate frosting piped on with a star tip

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove dough from can, do NOT unroll. With a serrated knife, cut the roll into 16 equal slices.

Use 2 dough slices for each owl. Unroll a 2-inch strip from each of the 16 slices. Place slices on an ungreased cookie sheet with sides touching and with the 2-inch strips at the top center. For the owl’s horns, fold strips in half and bend toward the outer edges; pinch strips at fold, forming points. For the owl’s beak, press 1 fish-shaped cracker, tail end pointing up, into the center bottom of the dough.

Repeat with remaining 14 dough slices and crackers to make 8 owls, placing owls 2-inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Brush the owls with the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Immediately press 2 chocolate stars on each owl for eyes. Carefully move to a cooking rack. Cool completely before serving.

Makes 8

Halloween is exactly one week away, so if you don’t have a fun punch idea, here you go. You’re welcome!

Green Halloween Punch

1 1/2 cups Midori melon liqueur, chilled
1 1/2 cups dark rum, chilled
1 1/2 cups light rum, chilled
3 cups white cranberry or white grape juice, chilled
1 1/2 cups apple juice, chilled
1 1/2 cups simple syrup, chilled
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, chilled

Fruit Garnish
1 red or green apple, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1  1/2 cups blueberries
1/2 cantaloupe, flesh made into balls using a melon baller

Pour all the liquid ingredients into a large punch bowl and mix well.  Taste, if it is too sweet, add more lemon juice. If punch is to sour, add a bit more simply syrup.

Top with apple slices, blueberries and melon balls.

Makes 11 cups and serves a crowd

It’s been 2 weeks since Halloween and I still have candy around the house… this is not a good thing! Maybe your kids still have candy and you want to do away with it, or like me you have extra candy you didn’t give out and now you’re sneaking a piece everyday and just wish it would disappear and not to your hips. Why not put it to good use for your Christmas baking? These cookies freeze well and the recipe can be cut in half or even doubled depending on how much candy you need to get rid of. If you don’t have Nutella on hand, just use a full cup of peanut butter, although the Nutella adds a grown up edge to these big chewy cookies.

Halloween Candy Cookies

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup Nutella
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
20 REESE’S CUPS®, SNICKERS®, and/or MILKY WAY®s fun size bars, each cut in half
6 packages fun size M&M’S®

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a standing mixer combine sugars, butter, peanut butter, and Nutella, beat until well creamy.  Mix in vanilla and eggs until just combined.

Add flour mixture in two additions, mix well. Shape a scant 1/4 cup dough around each candy bar half, making sure candy is completely covered. Place 4 inches apart on cookies sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. Flatten slightly and place    3 M&M’S® on top of each.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on pan, then remove with a spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 40 large cookies

Seriously Spiked Mulled Cran-Apple Cider

2 quarts (8 cups) apple cider
2 quarts (8 cups) cran-apple juice
1 bottle (750 ml) red wine
1  lemon, cut into quarters
1  orange, cut into quarters
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and quartered
12 whole cloves
1 piece (1/2-inch) peeled fresh ginger, lightly smashed
4  cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup Grand Marnier

In a large pot or crockpot, combine the apple cider, cran-apple juice, and wine.  Add the lemon and orange wedges. Stud the apple quarters with the whole cloves and add to pot along with the ginger piece and cinnamon sticks.

Heat the mixture on over the lowest heat for 2 hours, do not allow to boil.  Just before serving, remove the ginger piece and cinnamon sticks, then stir in the brandy and Grand Marnier.

Ladle into mugs and garnish with an apple slice and a cinnamon stick, which makes a great straw too!

Makes 20 (1-cup) servings

One of my favorite things about Halloween is toasting and eating the pumpkin seeds once the family is done carving their Jack-O-Lanterns. Each year, I try a different seasoning, this year it’s southwest.  I used the Mexican Lime Olive Oil from our wonderful Queen Creek Olive Mill, but regular extra virgin olive oil is fine too.  And instead of the chili powder you find the grocery store, I love the Ground Ancho Chili Pepper from Penzey’s Spices, but again regular will work as well. One of the important steps is to be sure the seeds are well dried after they are rinsed and cleaned. If they are not dry, the oil will not coat them as well and they will not crisp up. I find it easiest to just toast them in a dry skillet for a couple minutes before seasoning and placing in the oven.

Hope you saved your seeds!  P.S. Happy Halloween Marissa and Connor, miss and love you both!

Southwest Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup raw whole pumpkin seeds, cleaned and dried on paper towels
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon Queen Creek Mexican Lime olive oil or unflavored extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

(Mexican Lime Olive Oil, Ground Ancho Chili, oregano and whole cumin in grinder, and dry pumpkin seeds in skillet on silpat lined pan)

Place pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet and stir over medium-high heat for 3 or 4 minutes to completely dry out seeds.  Pour the seeds out of the skillet onto a dry paper towel.

In a mini-food processor or a coffee grinder, devoted to only spices, process the cumin seed and oregano until finely ground.

Pour cumin mixture into the empty skillet, add ancho chili powder, salt and olive oil, stir to combine, add seed back to pan and stir until seeds are completely coated with oil-spice mixture.

Spread the seeds in a single layer on the lined baking sheet bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown; stirring every 12 minutes.  Remove from pan and spread out on a plate or piece of foil to cool completely. The seeds will crisp up even more as they cool.  Serve or store in an airtight jar for up to 1 week at room temperature or for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Ghost Toast Bites

Bread Slices
Boursin cheese spread
Raisins, currents, or figs

Preheat the broiler to high.

Use a ghost or skull mini cookie cutter on the bread slices and cut out as many pieces as you would like.  Lay cut-outs on a baking sheet and place under broiler until just browned, only a minute or two.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, spread with the Boursin and use the currents, raisins or figs (use scissors to cut small pieces) for the eyes and mouths.

Place on a platter, done and out the door!

Makes as many as you want to cut out and decorate.

I had a lovely birthday, thank-you for all your sweet birthday wishes.  My wonderful friends, Ronnie, Amy and Lori took me to the Queen Creek Olive Mill for lunch; it was a gorgeous afteroon that we spend under the olive trees enjoying wine, antipasto, and sandwiches. Afterwards, we headed off to the Pork Shop and unfortunately, we discovered that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so no amazing bacon, sausages or chorizo for us to take home….next time we’ll remember that! For my birthday dinner, Dave took me to Prado at the InterContinental Montelucia Resort and Spa where we shared a bottle of wine and Paella with mussels, clams and scallops. It was tasty, but I have to say my paella is really much better; I include sausage, chicken, and shrimp plus peas.  I’ll have to make it next time the kids come home and post the recipe.  Until then, we have Halloween to contend with, so here is a fun Spider-Web cake that is fun for kids but has an adult taste, with the addition of Espresso in the frosting.  You will find the Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso powder at any Italian Deli or locally at A.J.’s or on the web at this link. I use it often in baking and once you try it you will too, so invest in a jar now and I promise I’ll be posting more recipes using it in the future.  I am working tonight, and certainly don’t need to have a whole cake around the house, so I’ll be dropping it off at our monthly neighborhood Bunko night for the ladies to enjoy.

For the 7-minute frosting, or anytime you are beating egg whites, be sure the bowl and the beaters are completely clean and free of any grease.  The egg whites will not beat up and increase in volume with even a trace amount of fat, such as from the egg yolk, present.  Also, eggs separate much easier when the are cold, straight from the refrigerator, but they whip up best when they are at room temperature, so separate them a little bit ahead of time. Finally, ever wonder what my kitchen looks like after I’m done cooking and taking all these pictures and ready to put up a new post? You’ll see at the bottom of this recipe – scary indeed!

Halloween Spiderweb Candy Cake with 7-Minute Espresso Frosting

Cake
1 package (18.25 ounces) devil’s food cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on cake mix box

Web and Spider
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting
2 large egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

6 ounces (16 mini-trick-or-treat size) Twix candy bars cut into chunks
48-50 black and white M&M’s or other small Halloween candies of your choice (such as liquorish pieces, candy corn, Reece’s pieces, etc.)

web "template"

spider "template"

Bake cake in two 8-inch round cake pans with cake mix, water, oil, and eggs following the directions on the back of cake mix box. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 12 minutes in pans on racks, remove from pans and cool completely on racks before frosting.

outline spider and web spokes, outline center, peeling off parchment

While cake is baking and cooling; make the spider and her web: On a sheet of paper draw an 11-inch circle with a pen or pencil and draw a spiderweb on it, extending the ends beyond the circle.  On another sheet of paper draw a spider. (see pictures). Place the pictures on the counter and place a piece of parchment paper over the drawings and tape parchment to counter to keep in place.

In a microwave melt chocolate chips about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until smooth. Transfer chocolate to a pastry bag fitted with a #3 plain tip.  Pipe chocolate onto the parchment outlining and filling in the spider. Then outline the web, beginning with spokes, and then the circles.  Transfer parchment to a baking sheet and place in freezer until very firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

beating over simmering water, halfway done, 7 minutes later- fluffy and ready

Frosting: In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water beat frosting ingredients with a hand-held electric mixer on low speed until mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved. Beat frosting on high speed 7 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Remove bowl from heat and beat frosting until slightly cooled.

Assemble: Using a serrated knife, cut both cake layers in half horizontally for a total of four thin layers. Put one cake layer on a cake plate and spread top with a thin layer of frosting. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the Twix chunks. Repeat with 2 more cake layers, thin amounts of frosting and the remaining 2/3 of Twix chunks. Top with the final cake layer and frost entire cake with remaining frosting.  Press the black and white M&M’s into frosting around the bottom edge of the cake.

chopping Twix, 1st layer with candy, 3rd layer

Cut the corner of the parchment with the spider on it away from the parchment with the web and leave the spider in the freezer. Working quickly, invert parchment paper with frozen web onto another sheet of parchment and peel off paper quickly but carefully.

web placed on cake, allow to soften before pressing down.

Invert spiderweb carefully onto cake and allow to soften at room temperature until overhanging edges begin to droop. Press overhang gently (do not force it, allow to soften more, if necessary) against side of cake. Carefully peel off the spider from the parchment and perch on its web. Cake may be assembled and decorated 4 hours ahead, chilled. Let cake stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 10 -12

Beautiful birthday flowers in a scary and messy kitchen!