Pots and Pins

Quilt Group Friday...Happy Halloween!

There's not a better treat I can pass out today than showing you pics from my quilt group - these gals never disappoint!  I was so happy to host them this month so I pulled out ALL of my Halloween crap to try to impress them!

As usual, I ended up being the one impressed - not them - they are so clever and talented and so prolific!  I dare say I was shamed into working on a UFO early this morning (unfinished fabric object)...as it turns out, shame is fleeting around here so after an hour of sewing, and an hour of UNsewing I turned off my machine and moved on...oh well, tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll work on it tomorrow, it's only a day away...and now, on with the show! 

Terry's quilt, turned sideways, is still a beaut - yes, another circle quilt, they just won't die!  But they are the easiest and fastest quilt to make - and so dang cute!  I love how Terry sewed faces on two of the circles...she's one clever gal! 

Stephanie's candy-corn-meets-Cheetos quilt!  This pattern is from the book Strip Lovers by Suzanne McNeill - it's half-square triangles so it sews up quickly too.  It's just fun, isn't it?  And so is Stephanie who came dressed as...see if you can guess... 

IRON CHEF!  HIGH-larious! 

This rail-fence quilt on the right belongs to Michelle, but it's not just a rail-fence...she's added in different blocks, randomly, which makes this very fun...kind of like an I-Spy-thru-the-fence! 

If I remember correctly, Barbara bought a bag at a garage sale that had some of this fabric on it (quilt on left), along with the red chenille that is around some of the blocks...she took apart the bag, added in some fabrics from her stash and made this adorable little quilt for her grandson Nathan. 

This is an oldie but goodie...Helen's Halloween quilt - we NEVER tire of seeing it and every time we do we all say we want to make one just like it...yet, curiously, none of us have!

This WIP (work in progress) is by Janet - who asked the group for their opinions on borders - sometimes a dangerous thing to do as we are never without opinions! We all wanted to see polka dots around the outside of this quilt... 

Above is Helen's latest creation...the camera didn't capture the colors right...the background is a beautiful brownish-khaki color which really sets off the leaves...now look closely...do you see the COLORS she used?!?  Helen is the MOST colorful person around - inside and out - and it's always so fun to see how she uses fabrics that I would never dare to use...which is why Helen's quilts are so great! 

After our quilt show for American Hero Quilts last February, we had a lot of fabric left over - fabric that was donated for us to sell...most of that fabric was "orphan fabric," which is a nice way of saying that it was UGLY.  Stephanie, who has not met an ugly fabric, created these wonky blocks with some of the leftovers and then framed them with shot-cottons...we thought this was the perfect picnic quilt!

Another masterpiece from Helen.  This is her "Thomas Quilt".  Thomas was a guy who showed up for a quilting class years ago at Quilt works...he walked in with a totally original quilt that was also totally random...everyone loved it!  Helen decided to make her own "Thomas Quilt"...which she did by sewing blocks together but she didn't like the outcome so she cut up her blocks and resewed them into the quilt above - which is her totally original and random quilt!  Kind of like a New Gee's Bend Quilt...Great, no?  That's Barbara peeking around the corner...HI BARBARA!

Halloween pillows...the one on the left is from Barbara - so sorry it's blurry!  The two on the right were made by Denise - our paper-piecing queen.  We surprised Denise at our meeting with a "Grandma Shower" as she is expecting her first grandchild in two weeks - a little girl who will be named Katherine Grace...there is just nothing like a new baby...and nothing like being a grandma!  Speaking of which, I'll leave you with a pic of the most perfect baby on the planet...Baby Max...in his halloween costume, he's a sock monkey, of course!

Baby Max didn't feel good, he just had his vaccinations and they discovered he had an ear infection...but the little trouper was not going to miss out on chocolate and a chance to wear his costume!  He's so much like his grandma! 

Happy Halloween!

Witch's Brew...Swamp Juice...Liquid Pus...

Call it what you want - just know that it's good.  It is a rather "interesting" color so it's best not to dwell too long on that!  Just serve it up and drink it - it'll leave you howling for more!

Witch's Brew - Pots and Pins

1 quart apple cider

1 quart Diet 7-UP

1 quart lime sherbet

1/2 can (12 oz.) frozen limeade

2 cups water

Pour all in a large pitcher or container, mix well, breaking up the sherbet.  Serve cold over ice cubes. 

Turn any large glass jar into a Halloween decoration by cutting shapes out of craft foam and gluing on!

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Get into the spirit before you become one.  Feel free to quote me.

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One year ago today: Roasted Potato Spears, Italian Style

Two years ago today:  Deadman Meatloaf Over Worms - My Emeril-Show-Winning-Entry-Only-Claim-To-Fame!

Pumpkin Sticky Buns With Chocolate Glaze...

Go ahead and lick your lips...you might as well start practicing because these are lip-licking delicious!  And the 2nd best thing about this recipe is it makes 24 rolls!  The best thing is how they taste...but I've already mentioned that.  So, imagine 24 rolls, warm from the oven, screaming at you to be eaten...take my advice and only BAKE a dozen...it's much less pressure...and you can freeze the other dozen to bake another day when your resolve has weakened and you can't take one more day of lettuce and lemon juice. 

This is my new Halloween tablecloth made with CHEAP fabric from JoAnn's Fabrics...$5.00 a yard!  I couldn't resist, especially after seeing one very similar to this in Pottery Barn which was boo-coooo bucks!  It's a huge border print and would be great around a quilt - which I thought about - but I'm SO OVER cheap fabric on quilts...so I sewed on a candy-corn binding, called it good and won't care one bit if the mister and boy slop all over it.

Pumpkin cookies with chocolate frosting were my inspiration for these pumpkin sticky buns...pumpkin and chocolate...two flavors destined to fall in love and marry.  These buns take a bit of time to make, they have to rise for two hours and then after they are shaped they have to rise for an additional 45 minutes...and then they bake for about 30 minutes...so give yourself plenty of time - they're worth it.

Since there was NO way I could eat all 24 rolls by myself, although I was willing to try, I made a few deliveries to friends and they all reported back that they were GREAT!   And they wouldn't lie or else they'll be off my delivery list!

Pumpkin Sticky Buns With Chocolate Glaze ~ Adapted from Family Circle Magazine and some Family Recipes

1 envelope (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

1 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

4 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream, for glazing tops of buns before baking

**Glaze: 

8 oz. Semi-sweet Chocolate (do not use chocolate chips, they are formulated to hold their shape and don't melt well)

6 tablespoons cream

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in large bowl (do not use an electric mixer, just your own brute strength and a wooden spoon.)  Add 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar, let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, the eggs, butter and pumpkin.  Gradually add 5 cups of the flour and the salt, scraping sides of the bowl, until soft dough forms.  Turn out onto floured surface and knead remaining 1/2 cup flour into dough, adding more if sticky.  (Okay, at this point if you want to use an electric mixer with a dough attachment to knead the dough, that's okay by me.)  Knead for 10 minutes, until smooth.  Dough will be soft. 

Grease a large bowl, add dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until doubled, about 2 hours.  Coat two 13x9-inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. 

Make Filling:  Mix butter, granulated and brown sugars, and cinnamon in a bowl.  

Punch down dough.  Roll out half onto a lightly floured surface to form a 16x10-inch rectangle.  Spread with half of the filling.  Starting on one long side, roll up jelly-roll fashion.  Pinch seam to close.  Repeat with second half of dough and filling.  Cut each log crosswise into 12 generous 1-inch pieces.  Arrange 12 pieces in prepared pan.  Cover with plastic wrap, let sit in a warm spot until buns double in size, about 45 minutes.  (You can refrigerate one pan overnight or cover plastic with foil and freeze at this point.  Thaw in fridge overnight, then thaw on counter while preheating oven.  Saving the second batch in the freezer for another day is a good thing to do...hard...but good!)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Uncover pans and spoon heavy cream over the tops of each roll, about a teaspoon on each one.  Bake buns until they are lightly golden brown and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.  After 20 minutes do the touch test...if the buns feel done on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, they are done, avoid over-baking or the buns will not be as good! Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 10 minutes. 

Glaze:  In a small sauce pan melt chocolate over low heat.  Stir in cream until combined.  Drizzle over top of rolls.  **If you want a more traditional glaze then you can mix powdered sugar and milk together until you get the consistency you want and drizzle that over your buns...or try a combination of both!

Ghost-Topped Chocolate Shots...

First off...let me say...it's OKAY to use a brownie MIX...and Cool Whip instead of REAL whipped cream...and JELL-O Pudding instead of making it from scratch...it's OKAY because it's Halloween week...otherwise it would not be...are we clear?

This rounds out the menu from my Halloween party with the girls...one of their three desserts.  Yes three.  Having just one dessert is rude, don't you think?

 

The first dessert:  Spider-Topped Brownie Bites.  I used a Duncan Hines Brownie mix and made it according to package directions, except that I spooned the dough into a mini-cupcake pan, making 24 brownie bites (and then baked them at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.)  Once frosted, the girls piped on black icing in circles, then used a toothpick to "pull" the icing into a spider web and they finished them off with a black jelly bean/spider stuck on top...they looked great and tasted better! 

Dessert #2:  Severed Fingers...they are an annual favorite...and if you haven't tried them yet then you can only imagine the goodness...almonds - almost ground into a flour but with bits...buttery shortbread...and those toasted almond "nails"...really, what are you waiting for?  Click HERE for my special recipe!

Now on to Dessert #3 - the Ghost-Topped Chocolate Shots.  Start with a large box of Cook and Serve Chocolate Jell-O and make according to package directions.  When Jell-O starts to come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of mini-chocolate chips; stirring until they melt.  Immediately pour into 8 shot glasses.  Put in refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool.  Top with thawed Cool Whip, about 2 large tablespoons; covering the top of the shot glass and mounding up to a point...forming a ghost.  Add two mini-chocolate chips for eyes (or get carried away and make a mouth, too!) and you're ready to serve!  

We were so busy trying to get everything on the table to eat that I forgot to take pictures! 
So this pitiful shot will hopefully give you an idea of what they are supposed to look like...the girls kept adding mini-chocolate chips...go figure!

***************************************************************************************************************************Halloween "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.  Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls

Deviled Spider Eggs...

Everyone loves deviled eggs, everyone but me.  It's the chickens-don't-pee-yellow-yoke-thing...can't get past it...but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a beautiful deviled egg!  The girls had fun turning ordinary eggs into spiders - and they were really creepy!  I hate spiders and I hate eggs, so seeing the two together was enough to make my skin crawl!  But like I said, everyone loves deviled eggs, and these were no exception - they were wolfed down - spiders and all!

Spider Eggs - Pots and Pins

(For normal deviled eggs, those that don't look like spiders, leave off the olives...these are really, really good...even if I don't eat them I can tell you I always get asked for the recipe!)

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

3 to 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon finely minced green onion

1/2 teaspoon mustard (you can use regular yellow mustard or Dijon, which it was I prefer)

2 teaspoons dill pickle juice (from a jar of pickles)

salt and pepper to taste

1 can (15 oz.) whole black olives

Cut all 6 eggs in half lengthwise and slip out yolks into a bowl.  Reserve 10 egg-halves and either eat two or toss them, as you will only fill 10 egg-halves.  Mash yolks with a fork.  Stir in 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise, onions, mustard, pickle juice, salt and pepper.  Fill 10 of the whites with yolk mixture, mounding slightly in the center.  Cut olives in half, use one half of the olive as the body of the spider.  Cut the other half, lengthwise into thirds and use these pieces as the spider legs, putting 3 legs on each side of the body...(I know spiders have 4 legs on each side but the egg just isn't big enough so just pretend!)  Makes 10 deviled eggs.  Cover and refrigerate until serving time.  

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"Clothes make a statement...costumes tell a story." ~ Mason Cooley

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One year ago today:  Barbie Boob Cake

Two years ago today:  Dinner In A Pumpkin

Shrunken Heads On Spikes With Blood Drippings For Dipping...

It's a "semi-homemade" appetizer at the Slaughterhouse!  Everyone can see these are meatballs with marinara sauce...but when you call them Shrunken Heads on Spikes with Blood Drippings for Dipping...well, now you've got a "visual" in your head and eating one of these little meatballs becomes a real test of mind over matter!  Or is it matter over mind?  Oh well, it  doesn't matter because these are fun to have at a halloween party and great to eat.  A half of a hollowed out pumpkin serves as the holder for the sauce and "spikes"...and it looks even better with parsley tucked around the top of the pumpkin at the base of each skewer...gives it that "jungle look"...c'mon, use your imagination!  But I forgot the parsley and by the time I thought about it the meatballs, I mean heads, were long gone.

Get yourself a bag of cooked meatballs from the frozen food section of your store...heat them in the oven according to package directions.  Heat up some bottled marinara sauce and pour into a bowl/ramekin that will fit inside the cleaned and hollowed out pumpkin.  Stick wooden skewers around the pumpkin and top skewers with meatballs.  Tuck parsley all around the top of the pumpkin.  Bone appetit!

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"Witches will not fly in a dark, stormy sky. They'll sit and wait for you to walk by.  Snatch you up, oh yes they will.  Then their gullets they will fill.  Be wary.  Be scared.  Be afraid...or a scrumptious meal of you will be made!"  ~ Yours truly.

Yummy Mummy Pizza...

This has been a favorite at the Slaughterhouse for years...the mister likes to make his own...and let me tell you, there is nothing scarier than seeing him flattening out dough or trying to "braid" his mummy.  He doesn't quite have the necessary finesse...his mummy ends up looking like road-kill...but he gets points for trying.  Not that that matters, because he's always in the point-hole, which doesn't seem to bother him.

   

Now the girls, on the other hand, at the halloween party, had no trouble fashioning their dough into wonderful mummies...complete with heads and toes!  They filled them with pizza sauce, pepperoni, cheese, onions and olives...and while they were baking the house was filled with the most wonderful aroma...baked bread...does it get any better than that?   

As you can see, not all mummies are created equal...but they were all equally delicious!  These are not difficult to make and they'll be even easier if you go to the Rhodes Bread website and watch the 5 minute video on how to correctly make a mummy.  Of you can just wing it and your mummy will no doubt turn out like the mister's!

Yummy Mummy Pizza - From Rhodes Bread

1 loaf Rhodes Bread Dough, thawed but still cold

grated cheese

pizza sauce

pepperoni and other pizza toppings like onions, mushrooms, olives

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  This recipe makes two mummy pizzas.  Cut dough in half and roll out each half into a tall, rounded pyramid shape and cut slits, about 1 1/2-inches deep, down each side on the outside edge.  On the top, the widest part of the pyramid, cut into thirds, the center piece of dough will be the head.  Layer sauce, cheese and toppings in the middle of the dough, being careful not to go past the slits.  Roll the head under, forming a ball.  Take the dough on either side and gently pull each towards center, forming "shoulders."  Continue to weave the cut strips over the toppings, one at a time, covering the ends with the last strip.  Fold the two slits on the narrow bottom into the middle and roll the whole piece up, tucking it under the last woven strip.  Press it down firmly to keep it from coming unrolled.  Clip it in half and pull it slightly apart to form the feet.  Brush the mummy with egg and let it rise for 15 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with additional pizza sauce on the side.   

"Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night."  ~Steve Almond

Monster Toes and Ghoul Fingers...

IF you're going to have a halloween partry - this is the kind to have!  Invite over young girls, between the ages of 11 and 14 - girls who are not boy crazy, who don't have to be glued to their cell phones, who can pass a mirror without stopping...(and good luck finding those!)...but if you are lucky enough to round up 5 girls like that, like I did, then you'll be guaranteed a darn good time!  We cooked up a storm, ate ourselves silly and then did a few rounds of ding-dong-ditching...it was, in a word...Spooktacular...no, make that Spookalicious...better yet...Spooktabular!

Grace, Patricia, Katie, Kayla and Kiera...5 of the nicest young girls on the planet...and they worked like fiends in the kitchen preparing their meal...Yummy Mummy Pizza, Swamp Punch, Spider Brownies, Severed Fingers, Blood Filled Test Tubes, Spider Eggs, Ghost-topped Chocolate Shots...and roasted pumpkin seeds.  Of course, they started with appetizers...Monster toes, Ghoul Fingers, Shrunken Heads and shots of Pus...it couldn't have been yummier!  The rest of the recipes will be coming soon...'cause I know you'll want to make all of them for your little vampires!  The girls also did a little painting project and not one drop of paint landed on the floor...nice AND neat - what more could I have asked for?! 

Sous Chef Wendy filled in at the last minute...SO thankful she was there!  She's like a little White Tornado - washing, rinsing, scrubbing and always smiling...thanks Wendy!    

 
 

To make Ghoul Fingers I used salami, but any lunch meat will do.  Fill with cream cheese, roll up and stick half of a grape tomato in one end for the fingernail...they are most excellent! 

This recipe is from Taste of Home Recipes.

To make Monster Toes, which are SO realistic that you may not want to eat them...you'll need tortillas for the bandages, cocktail wieners for the toes and ketchup for the blood, or BBQ sauce or mustard...which makes a lovely pus!   

Heat cocktail wieners in a pan with your favorite BBQ sauce. Set aside and let cool just a bit.  Cut a little bit off the end of the wieners, to make a fingernail bed.  Cut tortillas into strips, heat in microwave for a few seconds to soften and then wrap a strip around the end of the wiener, secure with a toothpick if needed.  Fill the "fingernail bed" with ketchup or BBQ sauce...truly gross but who doesn't like cocktail wieners?!?

For the exact recipe, click here.  I chose not to heat the wieners in the oven, like the recipe calls for...the way I did it was a bit messy but I thought it just added to the fun.

 

"Eat, drink and be scary."  ~ Author Unknown

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One year ago today:  Blog-a-versary

Two years ago today:  Severed Fingers

Hallofunkyween Aprons...

Okay, so maybe they're not so funky...but these are the latest halloween creations from the factory.  It seems I am always making aprons of one sort or another...these are for my annual halloween party for the little girls in the neighborhood - which is tomorrow night - I think this is the 9th year I've done this!  (This is what you do when you don't have small children of your own, or grandchildren who live by you, or family of any kind around...you create work for yourself and call it FUN.)  This year, instead of catering to their every whim, I'm going to put them to work in the kitchen - making their own frightful food...should be great fun...or a total disaster - either way works for me.

Costco Business and some Sam's Clubs sell restaurant supplies, including black and white aprons, two in a package for $6.00.  You can't beat that - and you can't MAKE them for that either!  So I purchased the black ones and just machine appliqued on jack-o-lanterns - could not be easier.  If they don't burn down the house tomorrow, I'll be posting pictures of the little darlings in their aprons on Sunday.

German Potato Salad with Bacon-Vinegar Dressing and Dill...

Our version of Oktoberfest is pretty simple...we don't have a beer garden or any oompah-oompah music and while I'd like to see the mister don a pair of Lederhosen, that ain't going to happen in my lifetime...so I settle for brats cooked in beer and then grilled - served with whole-grain mustard, onions and peppers...and along side those brats is this fabulous potato salad...served warm...it's a show-stopper folks, and that's the truth! 

By the way, I grew that pumpkin...yes, it's a little small, and it didn't really turn orange, but it was the ONLY one I got from three HUGE pumpkin vines!!  I haven't lost my mojo after all! 

I got down the steins from the top shelf for Oktoberfest...shined them up and filled them with Gingerbeer...an Aussie drink that came highly recommended...tasted like a cross between Lysol and 7-UP but it kind of grew on me after a while...the trick to drinking out of steins is to OPEN the lid FIRST!

Red-skinned potatoes boiled until they are fork tender...bacon, white wine vinegar, whole grain mustard...it's almost a meal by itself.  The mister took a bite and started yodeling...and then started choking ...fortunately my Heimlich maneuvers weren't needed, as I have none. 

German Potato Salad with Bacon-Vinegar Dressing and Dill - Adapted from Bon Appetit, October 2002

2 1/4 lbs. medium-size red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, cut into bite-size pieces

6 bacon slices, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Steam potatoes until tip of knife easily pierces center, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to large bowl. Cover with foil.

Sauté bacon in large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Discard all but 2 1/2 tablespoons drippings. Heat drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Whisk in next 6 ingredients. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add potatoes to skillet and toss to coat with dressing. Let stand 3 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and fresh dill; toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer potato salad to serving platter. Serve warm. Serves 6. 

"If you come back from Oktoberfest and you're not hurting, then you did it wrong."  ~ Anonymous

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One year ago today:  Cider Marinated Pork Chops with Cider Gravy, Sauteed Apples and Onions