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.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

We’re going to talk about pizza in the form of a warm, cheesy dip today. We’re going to ignore any and all dietary restrictions and get down to brass tax.

Cheese plus tomato sauce plus pepperoni plus more cheese plus bread for dipping equal appetizer bliss.

My ronis got shuffled in transit...

Do we understand each other?

Delightful!

If there’s one thing you’ve caught onto by now, it’s that I love making dips. Think…guacamole, white beandip, taco layer dip…it’s something I love. Let’s embrace it!

Dips are a quintessential party food and are designed by nature to feed the masses. This particular Pepperoni Pizza Dip is much more cost friendly than buying 4 pizza pies for a bunch of friends. Put this dip out and let people take little bites here and there, and your next gathering will be a hit!

Here's my friend Rich getting ready to dig in to some pepperoni pizza dip I brought to his apartment this weekend. Yum! We ate SO MUCH FOOD and had SO MUCH FUN!

Oh, by the way. Like most of my dips, this isn’t difficult at all to put together. It starts where all great things in this world start.

CREEEEAM CHEEEESE! (imagine me shouting/singing "cream cheese"
and that’s what I intended that to be).

Softened cream cheese gets mixed together with fresh basil, pepperoni slices, olive oil, sour cream, mozzarella, and a little bit of crack black pepper for a kick.

This mixture gets spread into the bottom of a casserole or baking dish. Then it’s time for your favorite marinara sauce.

Look, go ahead and use the jarred stuff. There are some good ones out there. You can always start with a jarred sauce and jazz it up with lemon juice, fresh herbs, whatever you’d like. This is a judgement free zone. We want this dip to be easy peasy!

Atop the marinara goes a a bit more of mozzarella and cheese. It’s like – why not?!

Some full pepperonis for flare on top, and so people know what they’re getting into!

Bake, wait, and enjoy. I served my pizza dip with chunks of French baguette. Tortilla chips are also a fine dipping vehicle. Go crazy, get wild, put in your favorite pizza toppings, be yourself—always!