2011 Halloween Party, another year behind us

Well another Halloween party has come and gone and the day after is probably the best morning after ever. I consciously decided to not feel bad and it worked. I didn't plan on being productive I just wanted to be human and I succeeded. It was a small party, less than 10 but I'm finding the less the better because it allows me to actually enjoy my own party and socialize more with my guests. This was the first party I was totally prepared for, no last minute running around or craziness. House was clean, food was prepared and actually baked before guests arrived. Problem was everyone was an hour late so what I learned was a crostini bar doesn't work out well unless people are their to eat it when it comes out of the oven. They don't sit well, the breads become less crispy and more chewy and cold cheese doesn't look good. Back to the crock pots or cold foods I go. So as always there were winners and losers.

Crostini Bar

Pimento Cheese (NC find)

Homemade Jelly & Goat Cheese

Spinach Artichoke Dip and Tortilla Chips

Eggplant Caponata

Beef, Carmelized Onions and Horseradish

Marinated n Crunchy

Pickled Carrots, Dills and Olives

Spicy Pretzels & Mexican Crackers

Bites and Balls

Buffalo Nuggets

Sausage Balls

Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

Sweets and Treats

Ghost Marshmallows

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

The pickle chips although I did two different recipes, tasted almost exactly the same except one may have been a bit sweeter, I liked the one with the vinegar best, the cheeseburger egg rolls were my number one favorite new recipe, the Mexican CheeseIt's were a bust, the pimento cheese spread was good, the buffalo nuggets which I've made before worked out well in the small crock pot but I really need a smaller crock pot that is adjustable because it gets too hot, the Sausage Balls are a freezer staple for our house, the Spicy pretzels are always a party favorite, the marshmallows were a hit in my mind but not really party food unless you had a hot chocolate bar, I am still in search of a winning spinach artichoke dip recipe, last years attempt was better and finally the pumpkin coffee cake was good but I need to cut back on the sugar, it was a bit much. So below are the recipes that made it into my cookbook. The others will not be repeated.

The pickle chips and marinated olives would make a good gift as part of a food basket.

PIMENTO CHEESE

3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature½ C. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
½ C. mayonnaise
¼ t. black pepper
¼ t. garlic salt
4 T. pimentos, diced
3 t. onion, grated
⅛ t. cayenne pepper

In a food processor or mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat till well blended.

Serving Suggestions:

·         Serve with a sliced baguette or triscuits.

·         Use as a spread for a toasted cheese sandwich.

·         Use this spread for the Cheese square filling.

CHEESEBURGER EGG ROLLS

1 sweet onion, finely diced

1 T. EVOO
1 lb. ground sirloin
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 C. sharp cheddar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
½ T. dijon mustard
1 pkg. (15) egg roll wrappers

Dip

¼ C. ketchup

1 T. mustard

Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a large skillet cook onion in oil till soft. Add beef, cook and crumble till no longer pink. Drain grease and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add meat to a medium bowl to cool. When cool add cheddar, Worcestershire and mustard. Mix. Lay eggroll wrapper on a plate with a corner pointing towards you. With fingers wet all four edges with water. Place 2 heaping tablespoons (⅓ cup) diagonally on wrapper. Fold in the right and left corners over beef touching in center and press down edges to seal. Grab corner pointing towards you and fold it over filling, tucking slightly under filling and roll eggroll over itself towards opposite corner. This will create a long skinny roll. Place egg rolls on wire rack over cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 20-25 minutes or till golden brown. Serve with dipping sauce.

Do Ahead Tip:  These can be made the day before and wrap in plastic wrap till ready to bake. Best when served hot.

Variation: Add finely chopped sweet and dill pickles to the filling.

"Original recipe came from Rachel Ray."

SIMPLE BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

1 qt. hambuger dill pickle slices

Marinade

2 C. sugar

½ C. tarragon wine vinegar
1 t. cellery seed
1 t. dry mustard
½ t. crushed red pepper flakes
⅛ t. garlic salt

Drain pickles and rinse. In a medium non reactive sauce pot combine marinade ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Pack pickles into jar (1 qt., 2 pints or 4 half pint jars). Pour liquid over pickles. Cover and refrigerate 6-8 hours. Store in refrigerator.

MARINATED PIMENTO OLIVES

8 oz. pimiento stuffed green olives, drained

¼ C. tarragon wine vinegar
¼ C. EVOO
1 T. dried chives
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ t. whole black peppercorns

Place olives in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over olives. Seal and shake to coat olives. Marinate at room temperature for 2 days. Shaking daily, drain before serving.

PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE

⅓ C. water

15 oz. can pureed pumpkin

2 eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 t. ground cinnamon

½ t. ground ginger

¼ t. ground cloves

¼ t. ground nutmeg

1 box yellow cake mix

1 t. baking soda

Crumble

½ C. brown sugar

½ C. flour

⅓ C. walnuts, chopped

4 T. butter, melted

Glaze

½ C. brown sugar

¼ C. sugar

1 t. vanilla

¼ C. heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13" pan with butter. In a large bowl mix water, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and spices. Mix till well combined. Add cake mix and baking soda. Mix. Pour into greased pan. In a small bowl mix crumble ingredients. Sprinkle over top of cake. Bake 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted in cake comes out clean. In a small sauce pot combine glaze ingredients and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. When cake is done baking, poke holes all over cake with toothpick. Pour glaze over top of cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MARSHMALLOWS

3 pkg. unflavored gelatin

½ C . water
1 ½ C. sugar
1 C. light corn syrup
¼ t. kosher salt
½ C. water
1 T. pure vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting

In a mixer with the whisk attachment add gelatin and water. In a medium sauce pot combine remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat till sugar dissolves. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Increase the heat to high and cook till syrup reaches 240˚F. Remove from heat. Set the mixer to low and slowely add syrup to bowl. Change to high speed and whip till mixture is thick, 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix. With a seive generously dust a 9x13 inch pan with powdered sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan, spreading top evenly with a rubber spatula. Dust top with more powdered sugar. Allow to sit, uncovered at room temperature ovrenight to dry out. Turn onto a powdered sugar dusted cutting board and cut into squares. Wrap in wax paper. Place in individual bags.

Note: These made 1/2 inch thick marshmallows a smaller pan will make thicker marshmallows. If thicker you can put them on popcycle sticks.