Let's get crafty! Halloween edition

boooooo... It's that time again. Halloween. Time for pumpkins, candy, black + orange, and all things dark and eerie. Here is a cute and simple craft that can be used as little gifts or for party favors. I got this craft from Martha Stewart (her website is great for arts and crafts ideas). I present you: Pumpkin favor pouches for Halloween. I must note that I found it hard to find orange crepe paper, but did get my hands on orange tissue paper and used that. I kept the instructions the same by doubling the paper.

For party favors or treats on Halloween night, fill crepe-paper pumpkin pouches with tiny toys and candy eggs. To make a pouch, cut two 10-inch-diameter circles from orange crepe paper. Stack circles and put goodies -- candy and small toys -- in the center. Pull sides of paper up around treats to make a pouch. Gather paper just above the treats, and twist a little. Secure by wrapping green floral tape around the base of the twist, binding upward to create pumpkin stem. If necessary, trim excess paper before binding. Foliage curls can be made by wrapping floral tape around a pencil.Here is the one I made. I added some "pumpkin leaves" using green tissue paper. You can do that, or use the method used here with the floral tape.

Tip of the day...

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Wallets get lost. Wallets get stolen. Cards get forgotten, or eaten by the ATM. And then.... you have to remember which card(s), the number and "Was it a Visa or Mastercard?" so you can call to report it. Not such a fun task. Which brings me to something that was told to me: make a copy of your the cards in your wallet, front and back. And if you can, write the customer service number next to it to make it even a smoother process.

Halloween Chocolates

A couple weeks ago sis and I headed out to Surfas in Culver City to attend their Halloween Chocolates cooking demonstration with pastry chef Jean-Marc Viallet (he is the pastry chef for the Disney Resort). As with all cooking demonstrations at Surfas, you get step by step visual of how to make the recipe, a recipe print-out and the best part, to taste it. Everything was delicious! You can't go wrong with these pumpkin and chocolate combinations. Below is the recipe for the pumpkin empanadas with chocolate chipotle sauce. Yes. It was special. And if you want to visit Surfas or get on their email mailing list to find out about all their cooking demos, click here.


Pumpkin Empanadas with Chocolate Chipotle Sauce Recipe
From the demo: Halloween Chocolates Recipe
Courtesy of Chef Jean-Marc Viallet

Ingredients:
Dough:
20 oz flour
10 oz cold butter
4 oz cold shortening
1 oz sugar
1/2 oz salt
1 cup ice cold milk
Filling:
8 oz of canned pumpkin
3 oz of sugar
Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (to taste)
Egg for wash
For Chipotle Sauce:
12 oz of heavy cream
1/4 tsp of cayenne
Cinnamon stick
Vanilla bean
Procedure: For dough: Mix flour, cold butter and cold shortening. Add sugar, salt, ice cold milk. Mix just to combine. Place in a container with flour, let rest. Roll to 1/3 ” thick, cut rounds of 3″. Reserve.
For filling: Mix pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Deposit a dollop of filling mixture in the lower part of the dough circle. Brush outer side of the circle with egg wash, fold the dough to create a 1/2 circle and press the edges lightly. Bake at 350 for 10-12 mins. Serve warm dusted with powdered sugar.
For the sauce: Bring to a boil heavy cream, chipotle chili, cayenne, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean split open. Let infuse 5 minutes. Pour the hot cream infusion over 12 oz of 75% chocolate drops, mix well . Sauce can be refrigerated for 3 days. To serve reheat in a microwave or in a double boiler.
Serve warm as dip for empanadas.

Holistic Breast Cancer Presentation

Free workshop on Holistic Breast Cancer prevention and treatment offered this Saturday. You can register by calling 626-303-3300. Snacks will be provided by Whole Foods.

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when in brooklyn...

Wow, I can't believe it has been about 10 months since my visit to these two places I am about to recommend, but here you go kids.

First place: Madiba Restaurant

In reality Madiba was our plan B spot; I've been wanting to try Jive Turkey for quite some time and we end up going on the one day it's closed, and so off to Madiba we went (and I'm glad we did!) The restaurant is so cozy and colorful, perfect for the cold winter night in which we went to. We first ordered Amagwinya Vetkeok (fatcakes) a delicious fried dough served with marmalade. It stated "artery-clogging and delicious" it seemed quite right to give it a try. For the main course I enjoyed the Yebo Burger with salmon. Yum yum. The restaurant was a pleasurable experience in thanks to the company (my sister), the ambiance and food. Give it a try when in the area!

Madiba Restaurant

195 DeKalb Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11205

at Carlton Ave.
718-855-9190

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Secondly, Desserts by Michael Allen. This quaint shop is located in the Clinton Hill area. There is a seating area, a couple little tables and couch. The fam and I ordered a couple of the cupcakes, cookies, madelienes and coffee; all were enjoyable!

Desserts by Michael Allen

1015 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-230-3360

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