Halloween

My favorite time of year is right now. I love Fall. I love Halloween. I love trying new foods and try to come up with some scary names. This move has really disrupted my Halloween cooking. So, I wanted to give you a list of some of the dishes we have named with some spooky names. Enjoy and cook something for me. Just maybe don't mail it to me unless you want me to be scared once I opened it.

Mummy Cake Pops
Chicken Enchiladas with scared face
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Crazy Face Sloppy Joes
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies aka Mouse Cookies
Stromboli, Mummy style
Black Forest Cherry Torte with spiders
Hamburger with pumpkin face
Alien Cupcakes
PB Cookies with Honey-Roasted Peanuts aka Spike Cookies
 Pretzel Buns with Bratwurst aka Mummy Dogs
Crab Rangoon aka Witch's pouches
Fried Sausage Dumplings aka Red Goblin Noses
Chocolate Cookies aka Funny Face Cookies
Roasted Vegetable Panini (aka Scary Claw Sandwich)
Pumpkin Juice
Pirate Cookies
Zombie Brains aka Chili Mac
Doggie Cupcakes
Snail Cookies aka Sugar Cookies
Witch Dunk Brew
Two Tone Halloween Cookies
Scary Soup aka Roasted Tomato and Pepper Soup
Grave Dirt aka Apple Crisp
Shark's Teeth aka Homemade Croutons
Meringue Ghosts
Asparagus Soup aka Swamp Alien Soup
Even Zombies would eat these biscuits
Cheese and Intestines aka Mac and Cheese

Meringue Ghosts

Have you ever seen a ghost? Well, I haven't. I have family members who have said they have. Our oldest son house sat one time and he claims our house is haunted. I have never seen anything unusual. My husband has never seen any ghost in our house until now. He saw many hanging out in our kitchen on my baking sheet. He called the kids to the kitchen to show them the ghost. He told them they had to be real quiet. They were quiet as my husband looked out the kitchen window. They looked out the window searching for the ghost. Then he turned and showed them how our kitchen had a few ghost hanging around. The ghost didn't stay around long since the kids ate them. The poor ghost were gone within no time. I'm unsure if they will return again this year. However, I have a feeling they will be back again this time next year.

Meringue Ghosts
9 egg whites
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp sugar 
1/8 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.
4. Slowly add one Tbsp at a time of the sugar while beating the mixture.
5. Continue to beat the mixture until stiff glossy peaks form. 
6. In a large resealable food storage plastic bag, spoon half the mixture into the bag.
7. Cut one corner of the bag and pipe ghost shapes onto the baking sheet. Form a circle for the head and zip zap lines moving downwards for the body.
8. Insert two chocolate chips  into the circle head shape to form the eyes.
9. Bake the meringues for 45 minutes and check the mixture has set. 
10. Leave the meringues in the closed oven for 8 hours.

Recipe adapted from Pillsbury Easy Halloween cookbook #349.

One year ago..................................I made Vanilla Cupcakes.
Two years ago...............................I made Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

Ghostbuster!

Did you already know...................
-If more than one person sees a ghost, it is called a collective apparition.
-According to a 2005 Gallop Poll, one third of Americans believe in ghosts.
-Other names for ghosts are: specter, phantom, wraith, spirit, and apparition.

Mars Alien Cupcakes not Pluto

Have you seen any aliens lately? I figure I'll see a few next week on Halloween. Well, my sister made these aliens and brought them over. My daughters thought they looked adorable. I'll remind them of their comment when if we are invaded. Cute? Not scary?

One thing about these aliens are they are tasty. I know some people are into trying strange cuisine but I don't think I'll ever try real alien in my lifetime. Would you if they were edible? Or would you be finicky and only prefer aliens from Mars but not Pluto?

Alien Cupcakes
24 cupcakes
2 cups of frosting
1 package of candy melts
4 strings of black licorice, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 black food pen or candy or sunflower seed (for the eyes) 

1. Crumble 12 cupcakes in a bowl.
2. Stir in 1 cup of frosting into the crumbled cupcakes. Mix well.
3. Roll the cupcake mixture into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls.
4. Place the balls on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
5. Take the cake balls out of the freezer and add a little frosting to the bottom of the ball. 
6. Place the frosting side down onto a cupcake. Press well.
7. Place the cupcakes with the cupcake ball into the freezer for at least 1 hour or overnight. 
8. Add water to pot with a heat proof bowl on top of the pot to make a double boiler.
9. Place the candy melts in the heat proof bowl and stir until melted. Remove from burner.
10. Take a few of the cupcakes from the freezer.
11. Dip the chilled cupcake upside down into the bowl quickly into the melted candy to coat. 
12. Carefully place the cupcake onto a plate to cool. Be careful not to remove to many of the cupcakes from the freezer at a time of the cake ball will fall off the cupcake. 
13. Stir the melted candy melts between cupcake dips. If the candy starts to harden, reheat or make goblins or crazy looking aliens. 

Recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake! cookbook by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.

One year ago...........I made Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes.

Did you already know...
-Currently, Mars can be seen low in the southwest at dusk.
-The surface of Mars can be seen in detail from Earth.
-This month, NASA's rover Curiosity is taking samples of soil on Mars and analyzing it.

Halloween PB Cookies

With this cookie, I was trying to make it look like the back of a stegosaurus. I think I failed. When I asked the kids what it looked like, I was told a flower by my son. Yes, my son did said a flower. My youngest daughter said it looked like a scary mouth and teeth. My oldest daughter said witch's warts. At least the girls was thinking spooky. My husband was the only one who said stegosaurus. What do you think? Stegosaurus?

My husband declared these are one of his favorite cookies. Yes, they are that good. I made several with the jelly in the middle like the original recipe called but I didn't like how the jelly turned out. My husband still liked them especially since he isn't a peanut person even if he loves peanut butter. My youngest daughter brought one in for her lunch and her friend saw it. She traded a piece of gum for a piece. After trying it, she traded my daughter another piece of gum for more. In the end, my daughter gave her cookie to her friend who loved it. Don't feel bad for my daughter since she had another one for snack after school. 

PB Cookies with Honey-Roasted Peanuts aka Spike Cookies
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup honey roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter until fluffy.
4. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix until incorporated.
5. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
6. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined.
7. Using a 1 3/4 inch scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Space the cookies at least 2 inches apart. 
8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
9. Remove from the oven and carefully place the peanuts vertically into the cookies about half way through.
10. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen cookbook by Rebecca Rather. 

One year ago.............................I made Onion Dip. 

Did you already know....
-Stegosaurus dinosaurs name means roofed lizard.
-It is thought the stegosaurus brain was the size of a walnut.
-The cluster of spikes at the end of a stegosaurus is called a thagomizer.
-The thagomizer was first named by Gary Larson in his Far Side Cartoon.

Pretzel Dogs

Near our house, there is a bike path for bikers and walkers. While I was out walking, I passed a tiny woman pushing a stroller. Inside the stroller, there was a Pit bull bigger than her. I couldn't help but smile. He is one spoiled puppy.

Every year, I make the mummy hot dogs for my children. This year I wanted to try something different. So, I made Pretzel buns with bratwurst inside. I knew my husband would love it and I was right. I just wasn't sure about the kids. I shouldn't have worried since they have asked for me to make these mummies again. I will say I was surprised by how sweet the bread tasted but it was still a nice combination.

 Pretzel Buns with Bratwurst aka Mummy Dogs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 packet active dry yeast
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, grated
3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup bread flour
8 links of Bratwurst sausage
3 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 
2. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, 1/2 cup water, sugar, and honey until the mixture reaches between 105 to 110 degrees F.
3. Slowly, add the milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer.
4. Sprinkle the yeast mixture over the milk mixture and let rest for 15 minutes for the yeast to bloom.
5. Wipe out the small saucepan. Add the butter and garlic over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. 
6. In another bowl, combine the all purpose flour with the bread flour.
7. Add the flour to the yeast mixing bowl with the melted garlic butter.
8. Mix the flour and garlic butter into the milk mixture on medium speed for about 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic plus pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
9. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured clean surface and form a ball.
10. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place onto the parchment paper lined baking sheets. Cover and place in a warm place to rise for 15 minutes.
11. Roll out each ball into a log and place onto the baking sheet to rise for another 30 minutes. Make sure to cover and place in a warm place. 
12. While the buns are rising, heat the bratwurst in a small skillet over medium heat with 3 Tbsp water and 1/2 tsp vegetable oil until golden brown. Set aside to cool. 
13. Cut each bratwurst in half and set aside.
14. With a sharp knife, slowly and carefully cut each bun down the middle vertically but leave one bun alone.
15. Place the cooled Bratwurst in the center of the bun and press the dough together. Continue with all the buns until the one bun is left.
16. Take the last bun and cut off about 1/2 tsp of dough. Roll the dough into long, vertical pieces. Continue making long pieces until all the dough of the last bun are just pieces of dough like . Secure the pieces of dough over the buns with the Bratwurst inside. Cris-cross the dough over each other and press down to flatten. 
17. Sprinkle with the sea salt if desired.
18. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place one oven rack high and the other in the low position.
19. Place the baking sheets into the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure to rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking so the top sheet is on the bottom rack and the bottom sheet is on the top rack.

Recipe adapted from Jeff Mauro of the Foodnetwork. 

One year ago...........................I made Chicken Enchiladas.

Did you already know...
-Other names for the Pit Bull is the American Pit Bull Terrier.
-The Pit Bull usually weighs between 22 to 78 pounds.
-Some dog associations do not accept blue eyed or merle coats for a Pit bull into the registry. 
-The Pit bull was first bread to be an all around farm dog.

Chocolate Cookies

We always decorate cookies at Christmas time but when I saw this posting I figured it was time to create some monsters. 

I wanted to use a dark cookie since I thought it was more appropriate for Halloween. Since the cookies are pretty plain tasting by themselves, I wanted a sweet filling. My daughter just happen to place the jar of Nutella on the counter. I think she thought she needed to take a spoonful to make sure the newly opened jar still tasted good. After I assembled the cookies with the Nutella filling, we created our monsters using candy corns, Reese's pieces, marshmallows, and other candies. The kids loved it. Don't be afraid to make some crazy cookies!

Chocolate Cookies (1 1/2 dozen cookies)
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg yolk
4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium  bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until fluffy.
3. Into the creamed butter, add the egg, egg yolk, chocolate, and vanilla until incorporated.
4. Slowly, add the flour and beat until just combined.
5. Shape into a disk and refrigerate for 1 hour. (The dough will feel really soft.)
6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
8. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to 1/8 thickness.
9. Cut out 2 inch circles. 
10. Space the circles onto the parchment paper 1 inch apart.
11. Bake the cookies for about 7 to 9 minutes or until set.
12. Allow the cookies to cool before filling.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

Nutella Filling
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup Nutella spread
1-2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream the butter.
2. Add the sugar and incorporate well.
3. Add the Nutella to the butter mixture. Mix well.
4. Add 1 Tbsp milk and mix. Add more milk until the desired filling consistency. 

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris. 

One year ago I made................Sloppy Joes (even with a funny face).

Did you already know...
-The fear of Halloween is called Samhainophobia.
-The fear of the color black is Melanophobia.
-The fear of teenagers is called Ephebiphobia.

What to do on a rainy day! The Artist!

Roasted Vegetable Panini

We just started to decorate for Halloween. I have several containers full of spooky stuff. I even have some of my sister's decorations. I had stored her scarey crows away and the kids thought they were great. I did have to remind them that she will want them back. Instead, they decorated my house with them. When I saw them, I told my husband the bad news how some black crows had actually entered our home. He said he saw them and didn't know how our cat was going to take the news. It wasn't our cat that we should have been worried about but our dog. He kept staring at them. My husband thought it was funny to make one chase our dog while making cawing noises. Our dog retaliated by jumping up on him. Don't worry the crow is safe.

My youngest daughter calls these broccoli sandwiches. I guess she is right. I think of them as roasted vegetable sandwiches. I tried to make the photo look like claws. The kids thought it looked scarey or acted scared.

Ahhhh..........

Roasted Vegetable Panini (aka Scary Claw Sandwich)
2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 cup cremini mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
4 oz. butter
1 clove of garlic
 8 thick slices of french bread (I ask the bakery to slice the loaf)
4 slices of provolone cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler on high.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Toss the broccoli with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Place the broccoli on the parchment paper and broil for about 5 minutes.
5. Remove the baking sheet.
6. Add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and zucchini to the broccoli. Toss.
7. Broil the vegetables for about 5 more minutes, tossing once while in the oven.
8. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
9. In a small microwave safe bowl, add the butter and garlic.
10. Microwave the butter for 1 minute or until melted.
11. Brush two slices of the bread with the melted butter.
12. Place the slices in a heated panini press or skillet.
13. Top the bread with the vegetables and a slice of cheese.
14. Place another slice of butter bread on top.
15. Cook until golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats.

One year ago I made...............Black Forest Cherry Torte. 

Did you already know...
-The old English word wicce (witch) meant wise women. 
-It is said that witches held meetings on Halloween.
-Witches is a popular costume in the U.S.

Does she convince you that she is scared?

Stromboli, Mummy style

I love Halloween. When I was in school, the school lunch menu always had scary titles for the month like worms and eyeballs (aka. spaghetti and meatballs). Did your school do that? The school lunch menu that my children have doesn't have any creative scary titles. I don't want them to be missing out so of course we have "scary" tasty meals for the month.

The Stromboli gooey filling

Another reason I think I like Halloween is that it was the month to watch scary movies and scare everyone around you. I know I inherited this from my Dad since he would always scare us. Remember I warned you,  I will scare you if you watch a scary movie with me. I think I am immune to being scared by a scary movie. I can normally predict who will live and who will have to exit the movie early. My husband has banned me from the room while he watches them. One time my Dad's siblings came to visit and they decided to watch a scary movie. My poor husband was scared several times from them plus I helped.

 The mummy wrappings

 To celebrate Halloween I have decided to make a scary Stromboli. I am normally good and try not to buy the little cookbooks found at the grocery store checkout but I can not resist the Halloween ones. So again this year, I broke down and bought the Easy Halloween by Pillsbury. This stromboli recipe was inspired by their Mummy Stromboli. You could use refrigerated pizza dough or crust but I made mine.

Do you like his face?

  
Stromboli, Mummy style  
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 medium onion
3 clove of garlic
5-6 mushrooms
1 bunch of broccoli rabe
1/4 cup of red peppers
10 pepperoni
1 Pizza dough (see below for recipe)
8 oz. package of Italian cheese blend
3 slices of provolone
additional olive oil for brushing the dough

Directions

1. Heat a skillet with the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Place your dough on a flour surface and roll out. This should only take about a minute to do.
3. Brown the sausage for several minutes.
4. While the meat is browning, chop your vegetables. I chopped mine small except the broccoli rabe.
5. Add the vegetables to the skillet.
6. Chop the pepperoni and add it to the skillet.
7. Stir the skillet mixture every few minutes for five to ten minutes until your sausage is cooked through.
8. Add half the package of cheese to your skillet mixture and stir.
9. (It will look gooey but its good because it will hide some of those vegetables.)
10. Take your dough and roll out into a long rectangle about 7 x 11.
11. Move the dough onto your cookie or pizza sheet.
12. Take scissors and cut about 2 inches into the dough on the long sides of the rectangle. Keep doing this with about a 2 inch space between each cut. Repeat on other side. There needs to be a large space in the middle for the filling.You are basically cutting strips that will wrap around the top of the filling.
13. Place half a slice of provolone down the middle of the dough. The cheese should not be on the sliced dough.
14. Place the skillet mixture down the middle of the dough.
15. Cover with the remaining cheese.
16. Take a strip of the cut dough and pull over the skillet mixture. Alternate pulling the strips over the dough from both sides to make it look like a mummy.

Pizza Dough
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Prep Time: 1 hr 10 min

1 1/2 cups water, around 110 degrees F
1 envelope instant dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus a little additional
1 tsp oregano
A couple sprigs of rosemary

Directions
1.  Make sure your water if not too hot or too cold for the yeast. I do not use a thermometer but the inside
     of my wrist (like when you check the temperature inside a baby's bottle).
2.  Add the sugar to the water with the yeast. Stir and put aside. I like to do this just to check if the yeast is
     good.
3.  Grease the inside of a large bowl and set aside.
4.  Dust a clean area for rolling and leave some about 1/4 cup of extra flour on the side of the area.
5.  Mix the bread flour and salt in a bowl.
6.  Add the yeast water and the olive oil to the flour. Stir until it starts to clump together or becomes to hard to stir.
7.  Knead the dough together for about 3 minutes. Add the oregano and fresh rosemary and knead for 2 more minutes so the dough comes together and starts look smoother.
8.  Use the reserved flour on the side if the dough is sticky. If the dough becomes too dry, add only a little water.
9.  Add the dough to the greased bowl and flip it. This way both sides of the pizza dough is greased.
10.Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and wait an hour or two. I do spray the plastic wrap with a nonstick before covering the dough.
11.The dough should have doubled in size in one hour. I have let it sat for two hours and it was fine.
12. Punch down and use above.
Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html

Did you already know........
-Stromboli are similar to a calzones.
-Stromboli are usually oblong in lenth. Calzone are usually a semi-circle.
-Stromboli originated in Pennsylvania and Calzones are from Italy.