The Good Plate

Archive for the ‘Halloween’ Category

Ah yes! The time has come again to get all those tools out for the Holiday cooking. These days are pretty hectic, so it’s important to have your tools on hand, and that they are clean and in working order.

I’m always surprised to see people buying cooking tools that only do one job. A friend of mine went out and bought a Quesadilla maker, that couldn’t be used for anything else, and she already had several frying pans that were perfectly suitable to the task. That, to me, is a waste of time and money.

So, what I’m going to talk about here are tools that you can use any time of year, and that can be used for many jobs. I have all these products in my kitchen.

I’ve done a lot of shopping for you, found the best prices, and best products. This is a no-brainer! You can shop for the products by clicking on the link provided, or the picture, the choice is yours.

1. Stand Mixer
2. Food Processor
3. Cookie Press
4. Cookie Sheets
5. Nesco Roaster Oven
6. Electric Knife
7. Knives
8. Measuring Tools
9. Timer
10. Thermometer
11. Mitts
12. Bowls
13. Organizer

Read the rest of this entry »

Recipes in This Post

Jolly Roger of Rack Rachham

• Jolly Roger Cake of the Pirate Rack Rachham
• Cannon Rum Balls

I just love marzipan. It is so forgiving, easy to work with, and delicious. As a child living in Germany, I remember every year at Christmas time, the bakeries would put out a nativity scene made from marzipan, with the structures made from gingerbread. These were true artisans. So, when I decided to make a Jolly Roger cake, I wanted to do something in that tradition.

Originally, I was going to make large cannon (rum) balls for Spane’s pirate themed party, but I soon realized that I could not put a candle on them the same way I could a cake. I still made the rum balls, and they turned out wonderful as well.

Making the cake was easy. I used my standard chocolate cake recipe, using Hershey’s Dark Cocoa, with the addition of a little Chipotle powder and Saigon cinnamon. Black food coloring made for an intensely dark chocolate.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re going to have good pirate themes food for Spane’s Eighth Birthday Party on November 19, 2011. Just as I did for Spane’s seventh birthday, I have loaded up my Lotus Organizer and started my recipes and grocery list. I thought I would share the menu and recipes. Note that all of these recipes can be used for other occasions.

Pirate Party Menu

• Dead Men’s Fingers
• Dead Parrot Wings
• Pirate’s Balls
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Cucumber Boats flying the Jolly Roger
• Orange Banana ships
• Cannon Balls
• Jolly Roger Flag Cake
• Grog

Read the rest of this entry »

I made Aztec Day of the Dead Brownies for Caleb’s birthday present, but you could also make them any time of year, and just change the marzipan top. I used the Crystal Skull at the British Museum as my reference when making the marzipan forms. Spane helped and he did a great job.

I suppose I am brownie challenged, or lazy. One of these days, I promise to make brownies from scratch, but for now, the Betty Crocker Frosted brownies in the box had Box Tops (you need those when you have a child in a public school), they’re good, and easy to make.

But, I wanted the brownies I was making for Caleb to be special. Considering that Halloween precedes the Day of the Dead celebration, I thought it would good to put some of the spices the ancient Aztecs used in their chocolate.

Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors have been observed by Mexican indigenous civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. The festival fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the god known as the “Lady of the Dead”, corresponding to the modern Catrina.

In most regions of Mexico, November 1 honors children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. This is indicated by generally referring to November 1 mainly as Día de los Inocentes (“Day of the Innocents”) but also as Día de los Angelitos (“Day of the Little Angels”) and November 2 as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos (“Day of the Dead”).

WikiPedia

[GAN_Image orientation="vertical" maxads="1" width="468" height="60" ifwidth="468" ifheight="63" target="new"]
Read the rest of this entry »

We had a great time this year, 2011, at Halloween, and I wanted to share our spooky lawn with you. This project was very inexpensive, and fun to do, if not a little messy.

[GAN_Image orientation="vertical" maxads="1" width="468" height="60" ifwidth="468" ifheight="63" target="new"]
Read the rest of this entry »

Halloween is my favorite holiday for crafts. There are so many fun projects you can do. Amber is making Zombie Dog Pumpkin for her son’s pumplin contest. I’m sure she’ll win. I decided my theme this year was going to be about dead people, as I already have some Styrofoam I am going to use to make tomb stones.

We started our Halloween project this afternoon. A few weeks ago, I found some Polyethylene Foam laying discarded on the side of the road. As I walked past it, I thought, gee, it kind of looks like a ghost. Well, I went right back, picked it up, and took it home. Then when I was helping at the school a few days later, I found some smaller sheets and took those home, too, thinking I could make smaller ghosts.

So, I thought I would make a bride and a groom, since I still have a lot of tulle left over from making Spane’s First Communion favor bags.

Read the rest of this entry »