Finishing touches for Halloween decor

I'm soooo excited it's almost time for Halloween! If you're looking for some last minute decorating ideas you've come to the right place. I've got some super easy and inexpensive things that will do the trick! First up is my cookbook stand. I really hate to just decorate the table and that's it, so why not extend the area a little? I took a black sheet of scrapbook paper and some shiny silver letters as well as some 99 cent star/magic stickers. I just slip the sheet of paper over the cookbooks and poof you have a simple quick and easy cover for your stand.

Next thing I did was rummage through my flower vases. By adding some water and a few drops of food coloring you get a vase of blood and green science jars. I added some dry ice so they would bubble away then later added some floating candles when the dry ice was done. Don't fill them full with water if you plan on adding dry ice, because you'll end up with a lot of water on your table from the bubbles.

Toss around some extra spider rings and arrange all your food.

I've been busy trying out recipes for a chili contest coming up so can't post the recipe yet as I'm still tweaking it. I will show you my "moldy cornbread" though. :) For this I just added some green food coloring to the Jiffy box mix recipe and baked them in mini muffin cups. It's the little details that count! Not sure why they look neon with the flash on and super pale in the natural light but they looked really good in person. I used about 6 drops of food coloring with 2 box mixes.

And last but not least don't forget to use the pumpkins as a vase! These work great as a hostess gift or a center piece.

Hope you have a super safe spook-tacular Halloween!!

Punch and fun ice cubes

I really enjoy the punch that's served at every shower, but when you use colored sorbet it turns it into a nasty looking punch. I decided it would be great to use as a Halloween cocktail and name it Bug and Spider ice served in Swamp Water Punch. I also played with dry ice for the first time this year and added some to the punch to keep it nice and cool with a neat effect.

Swamp Water Punch

46 ounces pineapple juice

1 (2 liter) Sprite

3 cups coconut rum

1 1/2 cups vodka

1 pint rainbow sorbet

Combine all ingredients and serve.

Once again go for the details in your party! I can't tell you how important it is and people will notice the little things. I stocked up on a bunch of the glow sticks and picked a lot of different colors so you could crack them and place them in your drink, this helps keep track of who's drink is who's while doubling as a stirrer.

Another fun touch was gummy worms. I like to garnish the glass with something edible instead of some fruit everyone is gonna pick off. I also found some cheap plastic cups I filled with the gummy worms.

Now on to some more creepy additions for your drinks.

For my spider ice I used the little plastic spider rings and washed them. Once you fill your ice cube tray with water place the rings in the center of each cube and press down slightly. I used a neon color spider so people could see them in their drinks and not eat them.

The bug ice is done the same way except you replace the spiders with raisins.

Tiramisu Dip

Today's recipe is more of a treat then a trick. If I had to pick one of my favorite desserts I would have to say tiramisu. I hate to order it when we go out to dinner, because it's really hard to find a good one. If you make it at home there's a lot of waiting and it takes a while to make a good one. Then there's the mess factor as my hubby would call it with cocoa all over the place. Well, I've found something even better! This is really good made in advance since it takes 4 hours in the fridge to chill. I don't know while because it tasted the same and looked the same as when I made it, but whatever it's in the directions for a reason! This is one of those dishes that inspires me to change up a classic dish to something totally different like a dip. I do hope you try this it's really really good!!

Tiramisu Dip

(Adapted from Fiesta monthly mailer)

4 ounces mascarpone cheese

4 ounces sour cream

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Marsala cooking wine

2 tablespoons cooled espresso

2+ tablespoons heavy cream

seasonal fruit

lady fingers

Combine cheese, sour cream, brown sugar, wine and espresso in small bowl. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons cream and blend, adding additional cream until dip reaches desired consistency. Chill 4 hours. Serve with fruit and ladyfingers.

Brain Hemorrhage and Tootsie Roll shots

You always hear on the shows where they're throwing a party and they want their own "signature cocktail". Well I thought it would be fun for a cocktail to welcome guest that goes along with the theme of the party. I did a search online for some creepy cocktails and found two that sounded pretty good and didn't have some random liquor I'll never use again. The Tootsie Roll shot tasted just like a tootsie roll, except would have been better if I read the instructions a little better (see my note below). It's supposed to look more like chocolate milk then layered like my picture. The brain hemorrhage is pretty nasty looking, but taste like peaches and cream. The cool thing is you can make them a little ahead of time and it holds it's shape so it's not one you have to make to order.


Brain Hemorrhage

1 1/2 ounce peach schnapps
float 1/4 ounce Baileys Irish Cream on top
drop 1 teaspoon grenadine through the Baileys

Tootsie Roll Shot

2/3 ounce chocolate vodka

1/3 ounce amaretto

drizzle of chocolate syrup

Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a shot glass. (I messed up and just put the syrup in the bottom of the glass instead of shaking it with the vodka and amaretto. Shake it with it so you won't have the issue I had where it seems like no point in the syrup because it sticks to the bottom.)

I arranged all the shots on a platter and decorated with plastic bugs and eyeballs.

Yummy Intestines

So glad to see ya'll like the candy apples! They are a huge hit in my house so I love passing along great ideas that work well for us. Today's spooky recipe is one I saw online last year and ran out of time to make so I put it in my file to try this year. She stuffed hers with guacamole, but I decided to use my favorite spinach artichoke dip which can be found HERE. Use your imagination and whatever you like as the filling. She had a great idea of using something sweet like nutella or vanilla pastry cream which I think is a great idea.

The only suggestion I have is to make the red a little darker at first because when it bakes it turned more pink then the blood red I was looking for. I think I should have cut the 3 rectangles into halves long ways, but wasn't sure until it baked they turned out really fat.

Check back on Friday, because I have a really cool frightful cocktail.

Icky Intestines

(Adapted from Canary Girl)

1 package packaged Puff Pastry

choice of filling

1 egg, beaten

food coloring and brush

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now, you’ll need to cut your pastry into long rectangular strips and paste them together (brush a little beaten egg and press down–it doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, after baking, the seams don’t show anyway) to form a loooooong strip of dough.

Spread your filling down the entire center of the dough, leaving a bit of space on each side to pinch closed. Bush the edges with a little egg and pinch the whole thing closed.

Carefully lift the intestine onto the baking sheet and form an intestine looking thing, rolling it over so the pinched edge is on the bottom. Brush the pastry with beaten egg.

Dip your small brush into some red food coloring (I added a little blue, too, to get a darker color) and paint on the “blood.” (I just added the food coloring to the egg that was left and then brushed the whole roll instead of the little details. I think I'll do it the way the directions are next time.)

Bake for about 20 minutes, just until golden, but not overly brown.

Tribute to Halloween

I don't know about you, but Halloween is my favorite holiday. I'm scared to death of the haunted houses and I don't go nor do I watch super scary movies, but I still love the dressing up part, the decorations and of course hosting fabulous parties.

So in tribute to Halloween whether your hosting a party of looking for something fun to bring I'm going to share my ideas with you. So get ready for some spooktacular fun!

First up are my super cute Candy Apples. I really like candy apples but I can never eat a whole apple in one sitting. Maybe that means I'm not a kid anymore :( with a super sweet tooth or I also don't want to eat a huge apple when the costumes now a days are short and super tight. So for a lighter side I decided to do little mini apples.

Candy Apples

Yields about 15 mini apples from 1 apple

1 apple

15 tooth picks

caramel

toppings of choice

Start by peeling the apple. Then using a melon baller scoop out the "mini apples" making sure to be close to the last spot you scooped out therefore you get more out of the apple.

Insert the toothpicks.

Dip each "mini apple" in the caramel.

Dip in pecans, sprinkles, coconut, whatever topping you like or leave plain.

Liquid Chocolate Goodness

First off WELCOME FALL!!! Woohoo cold front rolled in dropping the temps down to low 70's for the weekend. I've been dieing to try this recipe for a spiked hot chocolate while I'm curled up with my hubby by the fire and it's about time I get to enjoy it. The liquor was a little strong overall, but tasted really good with the whipping cream on top. I decided to mix it in before I poured it in the cups so I didn't have to mess with stirring it and messing up how pretty they look. So cut back a little and then try it worse case you'll be warmed up in no time with making it the way the recipe says.

Chocolate Nudge

(Adapted from Spec's Liquor magazine mailer)

16 ounces whole milk

7 tablespoons sweet ground Ghirardelli (I used Nestle milk Chocolate Chips)

2 ounces Kahlua

2 ounces Amaretto

Freshly whipped cream

In a saucepan, gradually heat milk.

While heating, add chocolate and stir until steaming.

Pour into two over-sized coffee mugs. Add equal parts Kahlua and Amaretto to each. Top with whipped cream sprinkled with a little ground chocolate.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I've held off posting this recipe because I never got a final shot of the dish. I made it for my hubby to take to work for lunches and then thought darn it how am I gonna get a final beauty shot when I don't have it here. Oh well, I do plan on making it again so when I do I'll update this post with a final shot of the dish. My hubby raves of this and said it's the best he's ever had. I know most of the time he probably just says that but he kept going on and on and on about it so I think he really did like it.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

(Adapted from Southern Living 40 Years of Our Best Recipes)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups crushed tortilla chips

2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish: fresh cilantro

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and bell peppers; saute 8 minutes or until tender.

Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.

Place 1 cup crushed tortilla chips in a 13x9 inch baking dish.

Layer with half of chicken mixture and 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese.

Repeat layers, ending with cheese.


Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

Note: Freeze casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake as directed.

Lamb Lollipops

Another Sunday Steak Night twist. We tried cooking lamb for the first time. I'm always interested in trying to cook new things and branch out, it's part of the inspiration I get when walking in the grocery store and watching cooking shows. As usual I print recipes when I see stuff on tv and this one comes from Martha Stewart's show. I cut the recipe down because the cost of lamb is not as cheap as I thought and I didn't want to make a ton of it when I didn't know how it taste. I opted for the rack and cut them apart myself then Frenched them. Cost difference was $9.99 a pound doing it myself or $12.99 a pound already done. The smallest pack I could find was 2.61 pounds so $26.07 this better work out. I didn't tell my husband the cost until after he ate and said how good it was we should make it again and wished I made more instead of a small amount, which he then said we'll just do it for a special occasion.

All I kept thinking when I was cutting them was the show Hell's Kitchen where chef Gordon Ramsay yells at the chefs for how they aren't even pieces and they are falling apart. Thankfully mine didn't and they looked nice. My pictures are a little sloppy looking, but I was in a hurry and hubby was starving. Wasn't too crazy about the potatoes they where a little bland, but the meat was really good.

Lamb Lollipops with Green Goddess Mint Dipping Sauce and Roasted Potatoes
(Adapted from Dan Aykroyd via Martha Stewart )

1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh peeled ginger
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for pan
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
24 lamb chops, frenched and completely trimmed
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Green Goddess Mint Dipping Pots

In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, ginger, soy sauce, 1/4 cup oil, and pepper. Place lamb chops in a large shallow baking dish and pour over garlic mixture. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add potatoes and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to prepared baking dish. Add rosemary and drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Transfer to oven and roast 15 to 20 minutes. Turn potatoes by shaking sheet and continue roasting, 15 to 20 minutes more, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, preheat grill or a grill pan over medium high heat. Remove lamb chops from marinade, wiping off any excess and place on grill. Season with salt and pepper, and grill, rotating lamb chops 1/2 turn after 1 minute, and continue grilling until cross-hatch marks form, about 1 minute more. Turn lamb chops and repeat process on opposite side. Transfer chops to a warm plate and let stand 3 to 5 minutes before serving with dipping sauce.

Nutty Java Mudslides

I thought that today I would make a cocktail that's icy cold since that's the only coldness in the area. It's Fall and supposed to be starting to cool off. In Texas NO, we're getting warm fronts! What's that all about? Looks like I'll have to sit on the patio watching it rain today since we're supposed to get lots of it. There's a cold front moving in that will drop it down to the 60's then tomorrow we're back in the 80's. Crazy weather I tell you!! So maybe if I have a cool cocktail while I sit on my patio and wish that it was colder out it'll feel sorry for me and stick around.

Nutty Java Mudslides
(Adapted from Southern Living August 2009)
Makes 4-6 servings

2 cups ice
2 cups softened chocolate ice cream
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
2 tablespoons milk

Garnish: dark chocolate shavings

Process ice cubes and next 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor 30 to 45 seconds or until blended and smooth. Serve immediately. Garnish as desired.

I had some of these little guys left over from the Dreyer's Ice Cream Block Party which worked out perfect not having to measure. I only had one chocolate left so I had to sub some vanilla. It didn't effect the flavor of the drink to me I think it was just a little less chocolate flavor, but you couldn't tell.

I used some chocolate mix such as Quick to rim my glass with. If I had guest joining I would have made it fancy and done chocolate curls but this worked just fine and wasn't too rich.

Just for fun I'll share some of the concert pictures I took.

Here's some from the Britney Spears concert 9-16-09, that girl sure does know how to put on a good concert and entertain a crowd! She doesn't stand still very long so it's hard to get a picture of her. I thought Jordan Sparks did an amazing job opening the show she's got a wonderful voice.

These are from 10-4-09 at the Rob Thomas concert. Carolina Liar opened and played for 30 minutes then One Republic came on for 30 minutes. I'm in love with them I can't wait till they come to town again he's so full of energy and plays every instrument. Rob Thomas came on and did a great job playing for 2 hours. We didn't stay the whole time because it was standing room floor tickets so you basically don't move or else someone steals your spot. We got a lot of rain on Sunday so we didn't make it down there for the meet and greet at 12:30pm and couldn't find a last minute sitter for Mocha since the show didn't start till 8pm. Oh well still grateful I won the tickets and was able to see the show.

Back in the groove of things

It's nice to be back home and back on a regular schedule. I've been busting my hind end last week getting all my recipes tested and made for last Saturday to travel to Winnie, Texas for the State Rice Festival cook-off. A special thank you to my husband who took amazing pictures of our day there's 314 of them on my photo site if you care to see the details of how we get our dishes ready. Let me know and I'll give you the password.

Saturday started out by waking up at 4am so I could take a quick shower and start packing up the truck and finishing some last minute details. We pulled out of the drive way at 6am for an hour and 1/2 drive to Winnie. Once we got there we unloaded the truck fired up the generator so we could plug in the food processor and microwave and start plating our dishes. My dad and I each had 8 dishes so we needed all the time we had. Overall we both finished well. I got a trophy for Most Creative, 1 fist place, 1 second place and 2 third place ribbons. My dad got a trophy for Most Original, Reserve Grand Champion platter, 2 first place, 1 second place and 1 third place ribbons.

First I'll share how my photos did:

3rd Place winning $10 with "Waiting For The Snow To Stop"

Honorable Mention with "Parking With A View"

Honorable Mention with "I Promise I Didn't Make Him Cry"

2nd Place winning $15 with "Nothings Stronger Then A Family's Love"

Now on to the food!! If you would like to see any of the recipes let me know and I'll post them.

This dish won the trophy for most creative and also got 1st place. "Tropical Rice Shooters"

"Roasted and Toasted Salad" won 2nd place

"Broccoli Rice Salad" won 3rd place

"Black Bean Rice Tasters" won 3rd place

Here's some of the other dishes I entered but didn't place:

"Brown Rice Blini"

"Jackpot Rice"

"Chocolate Coconut Rice Covered Cherries"

"Caramel Rum Rice S'Mores"

Hope you enjoyed the look into the contest world. I'll be back on Friday with another tasty recipe.

No-Bake Grasshopper Pie

I had some guest over for dinner early last week and made a heavy meal so I wanted something light for dessert. I've been wanting to try this pie I saw in Family Circle, but I changed it up a little. Instead of making a pie crust I just stood up a cookie in the dessert cups and filled it with the filling. I also cheated and used whipped cream from a tub instead of making it.

Here's what the original is supposed to look like:

Here's how mine turned out:

No-Bake Grasshopper Pie

(Adapted from Family Circle)

Crust:

1 bag (7 oz) oval chocolate and mint filled sandwich cookies

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Filling:
8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup creme de menthe syrup

2 tbsp confectioners' sugar

1 1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup heavy cream

Garnish:

mint and chocolate curls

Slice 1 inch off one end of each sandwich cookie. Pulse these trimmed pieces in food processor with almonds until crumbs are formed and almonds ground. Add softened butter, pulse until evenly combined. Press crumbs onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate, covering your hands with plastic wrap to avoid sticking. Prop remaining cookies, cut side down, around rim of plate. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling: Beat mascarpone slightly with hand mixer until smooth.

Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water in 1 cup glass measuring cup. Let soften 2 minutes, microwave 15 seconds until gelatin is dissolved. Cool slightly.

Gradually beat creme de menthe syrup and sugar into mascarpone until blended; mixture will look curdled.

While mixer is running, add 1 1/4 cup heavy cream. Beat until soft peaks form.

Gradually beat in gelatin; beat until medium-stiff peaks form.

Pour into prepared crust, swirling top decoratively. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.

Once pie is set, beat remaining 1/3 cup cream to soft peaks. Dollop on top of pie. Sprinkle with chocolate curls and mint springs.

I found the creme de menthe syrup near the ice cream toppings, but if you don't want to buy it you can make your own following this recipe:

Creme de Menthe

2/3 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon pepperment extract
6 drops green food coloring

Stir to combine. Store at room tempreture.

Yields 1 cup.

Italian Fondue

It's been a busy week and it's only gonna get busier! I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Winnie, Texas to attend the Texas Rice Festival. Then this week I won concert tickets to Rob Thomas which is on Sunday sooooo I'm gonna do an advanced post to pop up on Monday and then by Wednesday I'll have an update on how the cook off went. I hope you don't mind!

This post is a little overdo. I had some girlfriends over a couple weekends ago and I made this fondue. It's one of my favorites and taste really good. I've tried it before with the potatoes recommended by Sandra Lee, but didn't' like it so much so stick with some yummy french bread.

Italian Fondue

(Adapted from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
1 (16-ounce) jar Alfredo sauce
1 (8-ounce) package shredded four-cheese Italian blend (provolone, Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses)
Bread slices, for dipping
Red potatoes, cooked and diced, for dipping

Melt butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add sage and cook until butter is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Whisk in Alfredo sauce. Gradually add cheese, whisking until cheese melts and mixture is smooth. Transfer mixture to a fondue pot, chafing dish or ceramic bowl. Serve with bread and potatoes.