Spooky Eats

I love spooky Halloween food... here are a few new-to-me ideas for your repertoire.

Turkey and Bacon Picnic Sammies

We're trying desperately to soak up the last remaining bit of beautiful weather before the hot. We picniced in Mom n Dad's backyard on Sunday, and it was heavenly.

Turkey and Bacon Picnic Sammies

The ingredients needed for the sandwich are:

Focaccia or Ciabatta bread

deli sliced turkey (my favorite is Boar's Head oven roasted turkey from Fry's)

thinly sliced provolone

crispy bacon

pesto

mayo, if you like

lettuce- I added mine after the pic

Slice bread, spread a little pesto on each side. Layer ingredients... turkey, then bacon, then cheese, then lettuce. Next I am going to try these as an appetizer and slice them into tiny squares to serve, per Giada's suggestion.

Giant Cookie Cake

Our big little boy turned three yesterday. After showing him a few different options of cakes I could make him, he decided he liked the one made of giant cookies. Good choice, bud. This idea would be fun just to make the cookies w/out turning it into a cake... it ends up being A LOT of frosting.

Giant Cookie Cake

Serves 16

4 C. all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

6 T. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 C. light brown sugar

3/4 C. granulated sugar

3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, plus two egg yolks

3/4 C. heavy cream

3 C. semi sweet chocolate chips

5 pkgs cream cheese, room temp

2 C. confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars in mixing bowl. Add in vanilla, eggs, and yolks. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the cream. Stir in chocolate chips.

For each of the 5 layers, drop one level cup batter onto center of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. To make the circle even, trace an 8-inch plate or bowl on the underside of the paper. (Refrigerate unbaked dough.) Spread dough into a circle. Bake til edges are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Use spatula to reshape circle. Return to oven and bake til edges are golden brown, about 6 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack to cool. *There will be leftover dough

Mix cream cheese and sugar in clean mixing bowl. Spread onto 4 cookies. Stack cookies, placing unfrosted cookie on top. Refrigerate til frosting is set, at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours. Serve at room temp.

Pie

For my husband's thirtieth birthday party, I made those pies in jars I had been dying over a few weeks back. They were lots of work but lots of fun. I made some apple, some peach, some pumpkin, and some blackberry, at Chris' request. I found the short squatty jars at Ace Hardware, since they were sold out on Amazon. Here is the blackberry pie recipe I used, adapted from a Blueberry pie I found in my ATK cookbook. This recipe makes one regular pie, follow the link to the pies in jars for instructions on making and baking those.

Blackberry Pie

6 cups blackberries

1 C. plus one T. sugar

4 T. potato starch

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp. allspice

pinch nutmeg

1 recipe double crust pie dough

2 T. unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Toss blackberries, 1 C. sugar, potato starch, lemon juice, lemon zest, and spices together and let stand for 15 minutes. Place bottom crust into pie plate and roll out top crust to a 12 inch circle. Spread berries in the unbaked crust bottom and dot with butter. Lay top crust over berries, seal and crimp the edges, and cut four vent holes. brush crust with egg white and sprinkle with 1 T. of sugar. Place pie on baking sheet and in the oven, then lower the temp to 425. Bake til top crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet, reduce oven temp again to 375, and continue to bake til crust is deep golden brown, about 30-35 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack and cool before serving. You can store this pie at room temperature wrapped in foil for two days.

Double-crust Pie Dough

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

8 T. vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces and chilled

12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cun into small pieces and chilled

8 T. ice water

Process the flour, sugar and salt in a food proccesor til combined. Scatter shortening over top and process about ten seconds. Scatter butter over top and, using short pulses, process til it resembles coarse crumbs, about ten pulses. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle ice water over mixture. Stir and pressdough together with a rubber spatula. Divide dough into to even pieces and flatten into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.

Pie in a Jar

Oh. My. Word. Just when I think I've seen it all... This is so fun, I can't wait to test it out. Find the instructions here. I love the internet.

Piano Cake

This was Maya's 5th birthday cake. It was a hit- and it is easy as all get out. I made two cakes (one pink and one chocolate per her request) in 2 9x13 pans. Make sure to grease the pans very well. After the cakes baked and cooled, I turned them out onto cookie sheets and trimmed the edges to get them the size I wanted. Then I placed them end to end on a covered board and frosted the whole thing with cream cheese frosting. I made the lines to separate the white keys with dental floss, and the black keys are obviously Kit Kats. This is the third time I've made the piano cake, the other two were for piano recitals. It is always a hit and the kids always try to "play" it before eating it.

My favorite cream cheese frosting comes from the one and only Paula Deen:

Cream Cheese Frosting


2 blocks cream cheese, very soft
1 stick butter, very soft
1 tsp vanilla
4 C. sifted powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer til smooth. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar. Beat til smooth.

*I guess I've got Paula on the brain as Kelli and I will be paying her a visit at The Lady and Sons Restaurant this fall. Happy Day!!!

Cuppy Cakes

Just a few cupcakes I want to try someday...

 
 
 
 

Thirsty

For the Twilight DVD release party you are going to throw, here are some drink labels to go 'round your bottles of blackberry IZZE, or whatever quenches your thirst. I had no plans for a Twilight party, but all of the sudden I am feeling the need to. So nice of people to make stuff like this and share it with everyone! Thanks, Hostess with the Mostess.

(I really hope our next child is a girl so we can name her Renesme ;)

Petite Watermelons

As Grandma Dorothy would say, "OH, for CUTE!!" I must try these at once. Recipe from Chocolate on my Cranium.

Petite Watermelons

2 limes
1 small box of red Jello
mini chocolate chips

Cut both limes in half lengthwise. Scoop out all the fruit with a spoon. Place the limes in a muffin tin to keep them from tipping over. Make the box of Jello according to the Jiggler directions. Carefully spoon Jello into the limes halves. Chill until almost firm. Using a skewer push the mini chocolate chips into the Jello for "watermelon seeds." Chill until until firm, then cut into slices.

Rainbow Jell-O

It worked! Yes, it took about 8 hours, start to finish (not constant attention, of course) but once a year? I say worth it. Start the laundry, make a layer. Empty the dishwasher, make another layer. Blog, make another layer. Read to the kids, another layer. :) I'm making it a tradition for St. Pat.'s day from now on. Nevermind that after we enjoyed a few pieces from it during a leprachaun lunch, I left the remaining 2/3s in the car and it melted to a cloudy slop. At least I got the picture first, eh?

Here's the recipe one more time:

Rainbow Jell-O

3 oz grape jello

3 oz berry blue jello

3 oz lime jello

3 oz lemon jello

3 oz orange jello

3 oz red jello (cherry, raspberry)

2 cups sour cream

Boil 1 cup water. Pour into a bowl and add 1 box of jello (starting with the grape). Mix until jello is dissolved. In another bowl place 1/3 cupsour cream. Add 1/2 cup of the jello water to the sour cream. Stir untilcombined. Pour sour cream mixture into 9x13 pan. Place in fridge for 20 minutes or until firm. Add 3 T cold water to the remaining 1/2 cup of jello water. Pour over sour cream mixture in the 9x13 pan. Continue with all the other jello ending with red. Serve with whipped cream on the side and rolos for the pot of gold (or any other candy wrapped in gold foil, such as almond kisses or gold coins).

Mini S'mores

As previously mentioned, we love Mini-S'mores. And we especially loved Amanda's post documenting their FHE treat.

Mini S'mores

Golden Grahams
mini marshmallows
chocolate chips
votive candle
toothpicks



Mandy, you are a genius.

Lemon Blossoms

Maren just informed me that St. Patty's Day is NEXT week, not this. Tee Hee. I just assumed that Maya's green preschool party on Thursday meant that was the day. Whoopsies. St. Pat.'s Day= Tuesday the 17th. :) I'll adjust my menu accordingly.

Anyhow, Lemon Blossoms! These are one of my most oft-requested recipes. Laurel is the one who introduced me, and Paula Deen is the one who introduced her. If I could describe these, I would have you imagine a bite-sized, lemon Krispy Kreme. OUT of this world good. Just give them away and only allow yourself two or three, or else you could be in trouble.

Lemon Blossoms

18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Glaze:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn out onto a tea towel.
To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.
With a fork, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

Birthday Dinner for Amanda and Leah

Two of my good friends have birthdays just three days apart. I wanted to celebrate by making them dinner. I poured over recipes and finally assembled this menu:

BLT Salad
Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese
Glazed Carrots
Mashed Potatoes
Italian S'mores

(These are all links, and are also found below this post.)

Everyone loved dinner, especially me. :) And Chris is still talking about it- especially the steak (from Costco!). If you try one of these recipes, make sure it is the filet. But try all of them- you will be so glad.

Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese

When deciding upon this menu, I went back and forth between two steak recipes for a long time. Ultimately, Giada won out, and holy smokes am I glad she did. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST RECIPES I'VE EVER TRIED. I can't say enough about the amazingness of this filet and the flavors of the cheese and balsamic syrup, so I'll just say- please try it. Please.

Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese

1 1/2 C. balsamic vinegar
3 T. sugar
2 T. butter
6 (5 to 6-ounce) filet mignon steaks (each about 1-inch thick)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese

Boil the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/3 cup, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400. Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Sear the steaks for one minute per side- on top, bottom, and sides. Transfer whole skillet to the oven for about ten minutes. Remove from oven and preheat the broiler. Crumble the cheese over the steaks and return to oven to broil just until the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with pepper.
Transfer the steaks to plates. Drizzle the balsamic sauce around the steaks and serve.

Alfredo Cheese Fondue

Saturday night we had a few dental school families over for a hulabaloo. Lots of kids and lots of mess- and so worth it. Dinner was fondue, and I was very happy with how it turned out. I have made Martha Stewie's Swiss cheese fondue before- and it is super thick and not really that well suited for dipping?! So I found this recipe that had alfredo sauce in it... and that was the answer. DElicious, and just the right consistency. The one thing I did learn about fondue is, unless you have multiple pots and a table large enough to seat all in attendance, it isn't really a large crowd kinda food. Because we weren't sitting and dipping right at the table, we ended up ladeling it on top of our skewered food and then sitting around on couches and chairs to eat. It got a little cold. Still tasty, just would have been better hot from the pot. :)

Alfredo Cheese Fondue

1/2 C. chicken stock
1 10-ounce tub refrigerated Alfredo sauce
2 C. shredded Swiss cheese
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

In a saucepan on the stovetop, heat chicken stock til boiling. Reduce heat to low and add the Alfredo sauce, Swiss cheese, and nutmeg. Stir constantly until the cheese is melted and very hot.
(I quadrupled the recipe. The more the better!)

Accoutrements included: roasted chicken, brown sugar ham, roasted potatoes, carrots, heirloom cherry tomatoes, olives, apples, pears, breadsticks, endive, asparagus, and cheese-filled tortellini. Dessert was chocolate fondue with strawberries, pound cake, little chocolate chip cookies, fresh pineapple, and giant marshmallows. It just doesn't get any better.

Caprese Bites

Over the last couple/few years I have come to loooooove the combination of tomato, mozzarella, and basil. This is the appetizer version of my favorite starter or salad at a restaurant. The shells can be found at the happiest place on earth, IKEA.

To assemble, you'll need:

one pack of Hors D'oeuvres shells
one pkg. grape tomatoes
basil leaves
one package mini mozzarella balls (bocconcini- mine from Fresh and Easy)

Halve the tomatoes and mozzarella balls. Remove the basil leaves from their stems and halve if neccesary. Fill shells with a little of each ingredient. Yummy, pretty, bite-sized. Perfection.

Pina Colada Cake

Friend Skyler turned six this last week, so for Sunday dinner I tested out my new giant cupcake pan from Mom (thanks Muth!). I've always thought this pina colada cake was so pretty with the toasted coconut on top- and it made a pretty giant cupcake as well. Thanks to Heathie for imparting her culinary wisdom and sharing this scrumptious cake with us!

Pina Colada Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (eggs and oil as needed per box directions)
1 can crushed pineapple
1 pkg. instant coconut pudding
1 1/2 C. milk
1 (8oz.) tub Cool Whip
Toasted coconut flakes

Mix cake batter according to box directions. (Can substitute pineapple juice for water in mix if you wanna.) Bake as directed. Let stand 5 minutes, then invert cake onto cooling rack. Poke holes on top of the cake with a large fork. Top cake with crushed pineapple. Mix together pudding and milk. Let pudding stand for 3 minutes, then fold in Cool Whip. Frost cupcakes with this mixture, then top with toasted coconut. (Toast sweetened coconut on cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring once, 'til barely starting to brown.)

Chicken and Biscuit Kabobs

I wanna say I found this recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens whilst in a waiting room one time, and I ripped it out and brought it home with me. And it was worth it. Ideally you would assemble these on big wooden skewers (I was out) so you can leave a little more space between the biscuits so they don't get soggy. When we first sat down to this dinner Maya questioned, "Why aren't we having green pizza?". A minute or two later, she changed her tune. "This is SO yummy I want to have this every night. I don't ever want to have any other food ever again." Sweet music.

Chicken and Biscuit Kabobs

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 T. melted butter
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
1 can Pillsbury biscuits
2 medium zucchini, sliced

4 T. melted butter
4 T. honey

Preheat oven to 375. Dip chicken into butter, then crackers. Cut each biscuit into quarters. Alternately thread chicken, biscuits, and zucchinis, leaving a little space between pieces. Place on baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, til biscuits and chicken are browned. Meanwhile, whisk together melted butter and honey. Serve alongside kabobs for dipping.

Cheddar and Cranberry Cheese Ball

Up until a couple years ago, cheese balls repulsed me. That was, until I learned that they could be made from the three best ingredients: cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and butter. Then I realized cheese balls were my favorite food. I sent a couple of these with Chris to the office- they didn't last long. This recipe is from Martha, and she also has a couple other variations I want to try. Here is the link for Cheese Balls, 3 Ways.

And here is the Cheddar and Cranberry version:

1/3 stick of butter, softened
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. lemon juice
a couple dashes salt
1 dash pepper
8 oz. finely grated cheddar cheese
1 C. dried cranberries (craisins)

With an electric mixer, mix butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper until well combined. With big spoon or spatula, stir in cheddar cheese. Form into a ball with your hands, and roll in cranberries to coat. Serve with crackers.

Pumpkin Dip

I came across this recipe and knew I had to try it. I thought it was a really fun way to have dessert- similar ingredients to pumpkin pie, but the filling is the dip and the crust is the cookie or graham cracker. Fun!

Pumpkin Dip

2 C. pumpkin puree
1 C. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Cream together pumpkin and cream cheese. Add in all other ingredients til well blended. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with gingersnaps and graham crackers. *Trader Joe's Triple Gingersnaps are amazing.