Tag Archive for: Halloween

Red Wine Caramel Apples

/0 Comments/in , , /by

This just might be heaven.  This recipe popped up on my Yahoo.com home page, and this might be the perfect adult Halloween treat.  I would definitely be in an apple bobbing contest for these- so fun.

Red Wine Caramel Apples

Ingredients:
8 small McIntosh apples, stemmed, washed well, and dried
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
6 tablespoons heavy cream
Equipment: 8 wooden ice-pop sticks; a candy thermometer

Directions:

Insert a wooden stick halfway into each apple at stem end. Line a tray with wax paper and lightly grease paper. Boil wine in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 2 1/2-to 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber. Add reduced wine (mixture will bubble up and steam) and swirl pan. Add cream and simmer, stirring, until incorporated, then continue to simmer until thermometer registers 238°F. Remove from heat and cool to 200°F. Holding apples by the sticks, dip them in caramel and swirl to coat, letting excess drip off, then hold apples up (stick end down) for about 15 seconds to allow more caramel to set on apples. Put caramel apples, stick side up, on greased wax paper and let stand until caramel firms up, about 30 minutes.

Happy Halloween!

/1 Comment/in , /by

The day is finally here!!  Tunnel construction has begun, and according to Walker and my dad- it is going to be a 22nd Century Scare.  The 21st century is way to passee- obviously!  The ideas that they have and are trying to institute this year are maybe beyond ridiculous, but as long as they are happy, I am not going to get in the way.  My only job so far is to download scary music for Walker to play in the tunnel.  As a quick little aside, I made the pumpkin pudding from Blackberry Farm last night and it was amazing.  It did take longer to bake than the 30-40 minutes the recipe said, but I was very please with the way it turned out.  And the hard icing is so sinfully good!  I can’t wait to post pictures from the tunnel, and I can’t wait for all of this candy to go away because the amount I have eaten is getting silly.  I feel like I need awesome salad ideas and great veggie recipes.  That will be for November.  Here is a shot of Walker’s “army man” pumpkin. Hope everyone has a great night!

 

Halloween Costumes and Pumpkin Cheese Puffs

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Halloween has always been Walker’s favorite holiday especially since we have moved back to Charleston.  He loves the carnival at school and of course the candy is great, but Walker actually doesn’t go in for trick or treating. Every year, Walker and my dad build a haunted tunnel up the front steps of my parents house, and Walker hides in the tunnel and scares the trick-or-treaters.  As he has gotten older, he has gotten much scarier in the tunnel.  We now have to ask children and their parents whether or not they want a big scare or a little scare.  If they want a big scare, then Walker has full reign to jump out and scare the living daylights out of them.  If they actually don’t want to be scared, then we have to yell to Walker in the tunnel to “tone it down” at which point he comes out completely disgusted and lets the children through the tunnel without scaring them.  While all this is going on, Corby, my dad and mom, and myself are sitting on the front porch (at the top of the tunnel) drinking wine and handing out candy.  By the end of the night, we are laughing so hard at Walker scaring people that he gets mad that we are ruining it and not making it scary enough.  To be honest, with this whole tradition, Halloween is my favorite holiday as well.  Here are some pictures of Walker through the years- first when I got to dress him up in whatever I thought was cute- then we moved on to a “Star Wars” stage (my favorite is the jazz hands Darth Vader), and then we got scary- initially with the Headless Horseman, and now he is just a zombie.  This year, I think I will add to the wine and candy aspect of the evening with this great recipe for Pumpkin Cheese Puffs that I found on www.tasteofhome.com.

Pumpkin Cheese Puffs

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 drops yellow paste food coloring
1 drop red paste food coloring
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 eggs
20 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, stems removed

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the yellow and red food coloring; stir Romano cheese and food coloring into dough. Add eggs, one at a time; beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny.
Drop by level tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Using a star tip and reserved cream cheese mixture, pipe stems onto puffs. Add parsley sprigs. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 10 servings.