Today I had a small, girls Halloween crafting get together. I used Pinterest to get inspired and I found some really amazing dishes. Here are some of my faves:
1. Firstly, the C
heese Spider!!! This is probably my absolute favorite of the day because he looks so cute!! (So cute, in fact, that only two people took a tiny piece of cheese from the back because they didn't want to mess him up).
The recipe called for four shallots sauteed. Then, you combine the shallots with feta and goat cheese, in the food processor. Once it is smooth, you refrigerate it so it gets cold enough to mold. You roll out two circles. Then, you roll them in black sesame seeds. Twigs are used for legs and, the night before, I had painted them black. I used candy eyes for the eyes.
Here is the original recipe from Food and Wine magazine online:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/black-widow-goat-cheese-log
And here is a pic of my version!
2.
Olives dressed up as Bugs.
This was a really cute idea. You take olives, a toothpick and a nice, strong, sprig of rosemary. You use the toothpick to poke holes in the olives (I did three on each side like a bug) and then stick in sprigs of rosemary on either side. They do look creepy indeed!
Here is one:
3. Frightening Fruit Kebabs.
These looked really cute! You need cantaloupe, a melon baller, kiwi and a bag of jumbo marshmallows. You also need a bag of melting chocolate and a pastry bag with a very tiny tip in order to make very tiny faces. This wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be because I had a tiny pastry tip.
4. Candy Apples!
This was one of our activities for the crafting party. First, we used a hammer to lightly hammer a skewer in to the stem of the apple. Then, we made the caramel. First, we melted white sugar over heat. We put nothing else in the pot except sugar. When it finally melted, we added heavy cream and butter to the bowl.
I would suggest letting the caramel cool slightly before dipping the apples, because then the caramel gets thicker and gives a better coat to the apple. Also, it is then tackier so, if you want to roll the apple in anything (We used granola, pecans and chocolate chips), the items will stick to the tacky caramel.
The caramel tasted really good on its own. I haven't tried the apple yet, but I think it's looking pretty good too, right?
5. Chocolate Mice.
I was so excited to make these because I read The Night Circus and, in that novel, the characters nosh on chocolate mice with licorice tails and almond ears while exploring the magical night circus. So, I was really excited to put this together.
I found a recipe that called for melting semisweet chocolate, adding sour cream and cookie crumbs and then refrigerating the mixture until it is malleable though solid enough to mold. I molded them, rolled them in more cookie crumbs. (By the way, I had to put the chocolate cookies in a ziplock bag and hammer them into crumbs first). Then, I used black licorice whips to make tails and added candy eyes and almond ears. They looked really adorable (I thought).
6. Spiked Spiced Cider.
I used Emeril Lagasse's spiced cider recipe from the Food Network web site. It was really good. People could add a shot of rum or bourbon to the hot cider and we garnished with a cinnamon stick.
This is a picture of the apple that I studded with cloves and which was then used to spice the cider. This allows you to easily remove the cloves instead of having to strain the cider to get rid of them.
7. Cupcakes. I didn't make these. They are from Georgetown cupcakes in Soho (https://www.georgetowncupcake.com/) and my friend bought them. This place makes amazing cupcakes. Here's a pic:
In addition to these items, I also made black bean hummus, queso fundido, butternut squash pasta with broccoli rabe and pancetta and a Fall Salad with candied pecans and a maple vinaigrette. I don't have pictures of all those things though... sadly.
Anyway, festive food is always more fun. Here's to the next party!
