Halloween Round Up

Before all last memories of Halloween pass and we jump right into the Thanksgiving season, I wanted to give you guys a quick peak at the table I set up for a very impromptu Halloween party we hosted last night.

I snapped these pictures on my very pitiful iPhone 4, but I think you can get the gyst. This spread was all about being festive and cute...I think I did ok :-)

First off...let's talk costumes.

Cory and I were Gru and a Minion from Despicable Me! We made Cory's horrifying nose out of silly putty, and the rest were just items from his closet - a striped scarf, black zip up, black pants. For my costume I found a pair of blue overalls and made the "G" symbol. I found a yellow shirt with yellow stockings that matched perfectly and then made the goggles with some electric tape and black toy glasses frames. I am all about making a costume out of things that can be re-used or that are already in your closet--I think we nailed it!

As for the food, I didn't want to go crazy. I just wanted to make a few treats that people could snack on throughout the night. But everything was super yummy. Here's what I made.

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip a la Skinnytaste. Served with whole wheat tortilla scoops and celery sticks. Added bonus -- this is a Crockpot recipe!

Spicy Whiskey Barbeque Sliders a la Ree Drummond from her new holiday cookbook (which I'm obsessed with by the way). Also, these appetizer picks...how fabulous!

Roasted Corn, Bacon, and Feta Guacamole. This was a total hit and I am going to make a fresh batch with some nicer pictures and share it here! The consensus: bacon makes everything better. Words to live by.

Chocolate pumpkin cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream. Moist and sweet and great to eat. I tinted my buttercream orange using 1 drop red gel food coloring and 2-3 drops of yellow. I also decorated a few with black decorating gel to create a spider web. Just make a dot in the middle then 3 circles about 1/2 inch apart. Take a toothpick and drag from the center dot, outward to create the web effect. So fun, especially when adorned with (non-edible) spider gem rings.

I hope you all had fun this Halloween! Can't wait to see what crazy recipes November brings.