Halloween Cake Pops

I saw these on the cover of Family Circle magazine and instantly wanted to make them. After buying everything (a rather expensive indeavor when you add the lolly-pop sticks, Styrofoam, and chocolate), at 10:30 the night before we (I conned Joel into helping me) were ready to roll. the chocolate melts, lolly-pop sticks, styrofoam were all found at Michael's Craft store.

I recommend baking the cake (store box cake mix) a few days before.

Once it is cool, crumble it up into small pieces.

Add store bought frosting (in no way are these good for you, hello transfat). only use 3/4 of the container, otherwise they'll be too wet.

roll into balls about the size of a walnut. if done properly, 1 cake should yield about 48 balls. put the cake balls onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper and put into the freezer, cover. you can do up to this part, days or even a week or two ahead.

I recommend watching the video - the shortening does help immensely to get the chocolate to the perfect consistancy.

Also mini M&M can be used for many different things - eyes, nose, stems. chocolate chips make good animal ears. we decorated everything at once. Joel dipped the cake pops and I decorated and put them in the Styrofoamto set up.

lessons learned - think ahead about transporting. the largest piece of Styrofoam is not easily transported with 2 car seats. have 2 people handy when ready to decorate. the first few will not be perfect, that's ok. the food markers are not vibrant - get the paint if you want something defined. keep the cake balls cold prior to dipping, they'll have a tendency to crumble otherwise

In these pictures I made 3 cakes - devil's food with chocolate frosting, vanilla with vanilla, and lemon with cream cheese. We started decorating around 10:30 at night and finished at 1.

Butternut Squash, Apple, and Onion Galette

There is a reason there isn't a picture - next time I will put a piece of foil under the whole thing to make tranferring it from the cookie sheet to the platter easier.

I also used refrigerated pie crusts (both of them that come in the box) instead of making my own dough. I included the dough recipe but cannot vouch for it. If you don't make our own pie crust, the preparation is quick as you leave the skin on the apples and squash.

I used a combination of acorn and butternut squash too. The Dijion whole grain mustard from trader joes worked well. Leftovers were equally as good the next day.

Ingredients
Dough:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling:
1 large baking apple, such as Rome Beauty or Cortland
1 small or 1/2 medium butternut squash (about 3/4 pounds), halved, seeded, and skin on
1 small yellow onion, peeled, root end trimmed but intact
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1/3 cup crumbled Stilton or other blue cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)** Since I hate blue cheese, I used about the same amount of feta in its place

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

For the dough: Pulse the flour and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse about 10 times until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few bean-size bits of butter in it. Add the egg and pulse 1 to 2 times more; don't let the dough form a mass around the blade. If the dough seems very dry, add up to 1 tablespoon of cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and pulsing briefly. Remove the blade and bring the dough together by hand. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For the filling: Halve and core the apple. Cut each 1/2 into 8 wedges and put them in a large bowl. Slice the squash and cut the onion into wedges so that both are as thick as the apple wedges, and add them to the apples. Add the butter, rosemary, and thyme and toss gently to combine. Don't get distracted like I did, the butter will solidify quickly on you. Season with salt and pepper and toss again.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch disk. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and brush with mustard. Starting 2 inches from the edge, casually alternate pieces of apple, squash, and onion in overlapping circles—if you have extra pieces of one or another, tuck them in where you can or double them up until to use all the filling. Fold and pleat the dough over the edge of the filling. Bake until the crust is brown and the apples, squash, and onions are tender and caramelized, about 55 minutes. Scatter the cheese over the filling and bake until melted, about 5 minutes more. Cool the galette briefly on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve.

Cauliflower Gratin

This recipe was adapted from an Ina Garten recipe found on food.tv. This was also good reheated the next day and if you don't like Cauliflower like me, a good way to eat it. It would be a nice addition to any fall meal.

The original recipe calls for blanching the cauliflower ahead of time and cooking for less time. since my oven would be on for an hour anyway, I went the easier route.

Ingredients
1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into small florets
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup grated Gruyere, divided (I actually used the Trader Joe's Gruyere swiss blend and did not use the Parmesan at all - and probably used a lot more cheese than called for)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup panko

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.
Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish (sprayed with Pam). Place the cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the panko (or breadcrumbs) with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Chocolate-Avocado Mousse Martinis with Fresh Raspberries

This does not nearly do justice to how dark and velvety the mousse looked in person.

The fabulous LRK also turned me onto this recipe, which comes from Sheryl Crow's cookbook, If It Makes You Healthy: More Than 100 Recipes Inspired By the Seasons.

If you didn't know that this dessert was vegan, you would swear it was loaded with butter and cream. The texture is more closer to ganache than mousse -- I was amazed at how dense, creamy, and decadent the avocados made it. Because I am a complete fool for dark chocolate, I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder, which resulted in a mousse that was dark as sin with a rush of deep, intense chocolate flavor. The tartness of the raspberries cuts the richness and keeps you from going into a complete chocolate coma.

The martini glasses serve no purpose other than to look pretty; you could use small dishes or ramekins to serve. I bet that adding a splash of Grand Marnier, Chambord, Domaine de Canton, or the like would take it to yet another level.

The mousse was darker than my table.

Ingredients

• 2 large ripe avocados
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Sheryl likes Green & Black's organic fair trade cocoa powder, but I'm a fan of the Special Dark)
  
• 1/2 cup agave nectar, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract (which I thought I had, but I didn't, so I omitted)
  
• 1/2 pint fresh raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

1. Halve and pit the avocados and scoop out the flesh. Transfer the avocado flesh to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Using a spoon, break up the avocado a little in the food processor.

2. Add the cocoa powder, agave nectar, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the processor and process for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then process again until the mousse is very smooth, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

3. Taste the mousse and if not sweet enough, add more nectar, 1 teaspoon at a time. Pulse to mix.

4. Spoon the mousse into martini glasses or similar serving vessels. Cover the glasses with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

5. Serve the mousse chilled and garnished with raspberries.

Yields 3 to 4 servings. I doubled it since I expected 5 people, and the servings were quite generous.

Bulgur Pilaf with Spinach

This was easy and tasted great -- perfect for weeknights, when you don't want to put forth a ton of effort. I'd imagine that using frozen spinach would work just fine and cut down on prep time even further.

I made a half batch of this one, too, but am posting the recipe as it is written.

Courtesy of myrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups bulgur wheat
• 1 qt. chicken broth or water (I used vegetable broth)
• 1 pound spinach leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat, 2 minutes. Add oil, then stir in onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.

2. Pour in bulgur and stir to coat with oil. Add broth. Let mixture come to a boil, then stir in spinach, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all liquid has been absorbed and bulgur is tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice.

Serves 8.

Green Beans with Lemon, Garlic, and Parmigiano Gremolata

This is another LRK recipe. I made a half-batch, as the original recipe is written as a side dish for a Thanksgiving meal. If you make the whole batch, use two pans. Slowly steaming the green beans lets them soften without getting mushy. These are fabulous at room temperature, so they are a great make-ahead dish. I stupidly forgot to by a nice block of Parmigiano-Reggiano to grate, so I punted with grated stuff from a can; frankly, I don't think the taste suffered.

Ingredients

Beans:

• Good tasting extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 pounds green beans, stem ends trimmed
• Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 cup water

Gremolata:

• 5 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/3 cup water
• Shredded zest of 2 large lemons (organic preferred; after all, you are eating the entire rind)
• 1 tight-packed cup Italian parsley leaves
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1-1/2 cups coarsely-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

1. Lightly film the bottom of 2 straight-sided 12-inch sauté pans with oil. Heat them over medium-high heat. Add the beans and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper, and sauté for 2 minutes, or until the beans begin to brown. Add 1/2 cup of water to each pan and immediately cover it. Turn the heat to medium-low. Cook the beans for 15 to 20 minutes, checking them often for burning and adding a little water if necessary. You want the beans very tender.

2. As the beans cook, make the gremolata. Put the garlic and 1/3 cup water in a coffee mug and microwave 1 minute, or simmer in a small saucepan to 1 to 2 minutes (this mellows the garlic just a little). Then, in a food processor, mince together the garlic (with its liquid), lemon zest, and parsley. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.

3. When the beans are tender, uncover them, cook off any liquid in the pan, and turn them into a serving bowl. Toss the beans with the gremolata and the grated cheese.

Serves 10-14 as part of a large meal.

Cheese Straws

This recipe was featured on The Splendid Table, and it comes from The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, ©2003 Alfred A. Knopf.

I could see freestyling this recipe, too... using pepper jack instead of extra sharp cheddar, or maybe gruyère cheese with garlic powder and nutmeg for a Frenchy flair. The pastry blender and the pizza cutter are your best friends when making the cheese straws.

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Sift together the flour, salt, dry mustard, and cayenne pepper. Put the butter and grated cheese in a mixing bowl, and mix for several minutes, until thoroughly blended. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter and cheese, and mix until completely incorporated. Add the water, and mix for one minute longer.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead five or six times. Roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick, and cut into strips 1/4 inch wide and 4-6 inches in length. Place the strips on ungreased cookie sheets 1/2 inch apart, and bake in the preheated oven for 12-16 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Cool completely, and store in airtight containers.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cheese straws.