Monthly Archives: October 2013

HALLOWEEN-Y CROSTINI AND A HALLOWEEN COCKTAIL

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While waiting for trick-or-treaters tonight, my husband and I will be enjoying some Halloween treats of our own.

About a week ago, I made black maraschino cherries to use as a Halloween cocktail garnish. They’re easy — just add black food coloring to a jar of maraschino cherries, and let them sit in the refrigerator for about a week.  Depending on the size of the jar, use about 1/2-1 teaspoon of black food coloring.  Rinse and drain the cherries before using.

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McCormick black food coloring works great

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Steeping in the inky liquid

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Black cherries!

Because it’s almost always hot and muggy on Halloween here, a cold drink is welcome on Halloween. Aperol is an apertif made with bitter and sweet oranges and other “herbs and roots.”  An Aperol Spritz, with its neon orange color, garnished with black cherries, makes a very Halloween-y cocktail.

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APEROL SPRITZ
Author: 
Recipe type: Beverage
 
Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 ounces Prosecco
  • 1 ounce Aperol
  • Splash of club soda or seltzer
Instructions
  1. For each cocktail, fill cocktail glass with ice. Pour Prosecco into the glass, followed by Aperol and a splash of club soda. Garnish as desired.

aperol[1]

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 Aperol spritzes in their Halloween costumes

Now you can’t just drink on Halloween — or can you?  Halloween-y Crostini is a colorful twist on tapenade, made with kalamata olives, carrots, and pickled banana peppers.

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HALLOWEEN-Y CROSTINI
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 2 tablespoons chopped jarred banana pepper rings
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • Toast crackers or toasted baguette slices
Instructions
  1. Place olives in a food processor or mini-chopper, and process until finely chopped, but not pureed. Transfer to a small bowl. Place capers, banana peppers, garlic, and carrot in food processor, and process until finely chopped. Add to bowl with olives. Stir in olive oil and oregano, and mix well. Transfer to a small ramekin or serving container, and serve with toast crackers or baguette slices. Provide spreaders to spread mixture on crostini.

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 Halloween-y Crostini

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IT’S BEGINNING TO FEEL A LOT LIKE AUTUMN

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It’s finally over!  Summer, that is.  We’ve had glorious autumn weather these past few days — not really cool enough for a jacket, but cool enough to turn off the A/C — and signs of autumn are everywhere.

For me, one of the first signs that fall is on its way (not counting the Halloween stuff that appears at the craft stores in July, and anything related to back-to-school), is the Golden Raintrees bursting into brilliant bloom:

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The blossoms give way to seed pods:

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And soon the trees are covered in papery salmon-covered seed pods:

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Another sure sign that fall is on the way, is the arrival of pumpkins at the grocery store. It seems like each year there are more and more colors and shapes to choose from:

pumpkins

Soon, Halloween decorations creep into the landscape.  I always get a kick out of seeing all the ghosts and graveyards popping up around the neighborhood:

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ghosts

Disco ghosts

My friend Bill and I went to the fall Herb Fair put on by the South Texas Unit of the Herb Society of America this past weekend, where I stocked up on their special herb blends, including Rosemary’s Cookies, Spaghetti Zip, and Royal Salt.  I also bought some interesting-sounding jams, and of course, herbs:

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As the parent of two high-schoolers, Homecoming is another sign that fall is here.  For my daughter’s last high school Homecoming Dance, we hosted a fajita party at our house before the dance, which the kids really enjoyed.  At the last minute, I ordered a tres leches cake from one of my favorite bakeries, Ideal Bakery.

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As the sun-faded sign in the window declares, “te encantara!” which translates to something like “you’ll love it!”

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The bakery is filled with tempting Mexican pastries of all sorts, and it’s always fun to grab a tray and pair of tongs and select a few from the cases.

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 Special for Halloween

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How do they get the sugar coating to do that?

The cake was delicious, and true to its word, everyone loved it.  One caveat — although their baked goods are delicious, spelling is not their forte:

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The couple working at the bakery were so sweet, and made me a cake on very short notice, and when they brought it out and asked if it was OK, I just had to smile and say, “It’s perfect.”  Which it was.

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