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Jenni Bost on Afternoon Live with Halloween Tips and Halloween Party set up
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Halloween Tips with KATU Afternoon Live

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It’s spooky season! KATU Afternoon Live had me back again to share my entertaining tips for my favorite holiday, Halloween! Watch my segment to see simple tips on making a Halloween charcuterie board and spooky Halloween cocktail that is sure to catch your guests eye!

Tips for a Spooky Halloween Cocktail Party:

Whether you are hosting a quick get together for the adults while the kids are out trick or treating, or you are putting together a teen Halloween party with mocktails, these tips are sure to win over even the most frighteningly picky of party guests to have a howling good time. (I know… terrible, but Halloween is just made for puns!)

  1. Grazing Boards: Charcuterie boards (for those who eat meat, cheese boards for cheese only crew, or snack boards for those who like to mix it up) are ALL the rage for a reason… people can make snacks to their tastes and liking!

They can also be catered to different dietary restrictions. Note: Do not put meat and cheese on a board with fruit and nuts and say that it is vegan friendly because it has vegan-friendly foods… that does not cut it. You CAN make a vegan snack board that is completely filled with items that your Vegan friends and family can graze on. I’d recommend putting it on the other end of the table than the meat items or on its own, just to be a bit more accomodating and avoid contamination if possible. Same goes for any allergens! 

Links marked with an asterisk

How to make your Halloween grazing board more spooky: 

      • Use dark fruit and vegetables on the tray to pair with your meat and cheeses. Add in some dark chocolate for a fun sweet pairing to a tasty soft cheese like brie.
      • My favorite cheeses for a halloween cheese board or spooky charcuterie are Blue Cheese, a bright yellow Gouda, and white cheddar.  A good way to add to the creepy appeal, and tastiness!, is by adding goat cheese balls rolled in black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or fresh herbs. Oh, and don’t forget the famous cream cheese, cheese stick, and prosciutto meat hand with a clever trick!  (I bought my cleaver cheese board knife on Amazon*!)
      • Add a meathead! I did this YEARS ago for a halloween party and have been perfecting my meathead game for years. (haha!) The trick to making it look super creepy (and keeping things food safe) is first adding a layer of saran wrap over a plastic halloween skull and covering it with a bit of cream cheese. Add in some roasted bell peppers for an extra creepy layer! Finally, pull off strips of prosciutto and lay onto the skull, dipping into the crevices and making sure the eyes and teeth stay clear of the meat. After covered put the meathead in the middle of a dish with tasty charcuterie and olives. My son likes to say, “this guy has a bit of meat on his bones!”
      • Add olives and peppers. Seriously, do it.

2. Decorate with things that creep you out! I am not a big fan of gore or scares. But, things that give me the heebie jeebies… spiders, rats, bugs, snakes, skulls, ghosts, vampires, witches, that is my jam. I like to decorate with layers of textures and lights.

3. Make a cocktail extra eerie with eyeballs! Use a 1 inch sphere ice tray* and blueberries to make the coolest little eyeballs to FILL your glass with to pair with nearly any cocktail. I paired it with a Booberry Eyeball (blueberry highball) cocktail.

What are your Halloween go-tos!?

 

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Cocktail overhead shot with peach slice in it. Peach and lemon on table with brightly colored mum flowers.
A Well Crafted Pantry

The Peach Plunge: A Peach Twist on the Lemon Drop Cocktail

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The kids are back to school and it is Mom’s Night! Gather your mom friends together that you haven’t seen over the long, busy Summer season and enjoy catching up with a Ladies Night complete with the perfect end of Summer appetizer and signature cocktail, the Peach Plunge!

Cocktail with peach and lemon, crater lake vodka, wild roots peach vodka, spiced peach simple syrup, and brightly colored mums

My favorite Ladies Night drink is one that I rarely get unless out for a Ladies Night—the Lemon Drop. The sweet and sour combo is always one that makes me feel like cutting it up with friends. I wanted to create a drink with that same feeling, that also helped celebrated the best flavors of the end of Summer and early Fall. This Peach-variation of the Lemon Drop was dubbed the Peach Plunge by my husband upon first taste! He included some cheesy tagline about plunging you into the flavors of Summer. It was perfect!

The Peach Plunge Cocktail Recipe

This end-of-summer sipper is sweet and sour and has the spices you’ll recognize from your favorite peach cobbler desserts. It all starts off with a homemade Spiced Peach Simple Syrup. Simple Syrup is easy to make and a cocktail staple. A traditional simple syrup is simply 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water heated over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved into the mixture. It can be stored, sealed, in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Similarly, the Spiced Peach Simple Syrup will include sugar and water, but this mixture has a bit more to it than the traditional simple syrup. Call this a slightly more complicated, but equally easy syrup.

Peaches in brown sugar and water mixture with cinnamon stick

Spiced Peach Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup frozen peaches
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • Supplies: small heavy-bottomed saucepan, sieve, and heat resistant jar with airtight lid

Directions:

  • Add all ingredients to the saucepan and heat on a stovetop at medium to medium-high heat. Stir occasionally, you do not want the sugar to burn.
  • Bring ingredients to a low boil for 5 minutes, or until peaches are very soft and all sugar is incorporated into mixture.
  • Turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to cool and let flavors meld.
  • Pour the mixture through a sieve reserving the liquid. Use a fork to squeeze all liquid from the peaches. Discard the peach/spice mixture. The liquid, once cooled, is your Spiced Peach Syrup!

Now, on to the cocktail! This recipe makes 1 cocktail.

Peach Plunge Cocktail Ingredients:

  • Supplies: 1 shaker, ice, martini glass
  • 2 oz Vodka
  • 1 oz Peach Vodka (or peach schnapps)
  • 1 oz Spiced Peach Simple Syrup
  • 1/2 oz of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Garnish: Slice of Peach and Sugared Rim

The Peach Plunge: A Peach Vodka Cocktail Twist on the Lemon Drop – Directions:

  • Add the vodka, peach vodka (or peach schnapps), lemon juice, and spiced peach simple syrup in a shaker over ice and shake or stir until thoroughly chilled.
  • Take a lemon slice around the edge of a martini glass and dip the edge of the glass into granulated sugar to rim the glass.
  • Strain the chilled cocktail mixture into the sugar rimmed martini glass, top with a slice of peach.
  • Enjoy!
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A Well Crafted Pantry

End of Summer Appetizer: Peach & Corn Bruschetta

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Celebrate the end of the summer season by highlighting the best of the produce from this special time of the year. This produce grew sweet and delicious in the heat of the Summer sun and tickles the taste buds with memories of summer fun even as the evenings get cooler. This appetizer is an easy-to-assemble dish that is perfect for your next dinner alfresco or impromptu meal with friends.

If you’ve followed my blog for long you know I like EASY recipes that are more assembly situations than full days of cooking. I do sometimes get involved in my meal plans (for instance my 7 course Italian dinners!) but, especially while entertaining at home, I really value quick to assemble, delightful dishes that don’t take all my time and energy. Let’s be real, you know I’m cleaning the house until the very last minute anyways. This peach and corn bruschetta dish is inspired by my favorite flavors from the end of summer and the desire for quick to assemble!

peach and corn appetizer on wood tray with colorful appetizer plates and colorful mum flowers

Peach & Corn Bruschetta Appetizer

This recipe makes around 30 individual bruschetta bites. This is dependant of course on the size of your baguettes and portions on your toasts. Like I said, I’m more of an assembly gal! 😉 But, it does make a hearty amount!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Peaches
  • 4 ears of corn (or 16 oz of corn)
  • Tablespoon of butter or oil
  • 1 cup of heirloom cherry tomatoes (or any ripe cherry tomato will do)
  • 2-3 large balls of burrata – I used 3 because I like burrata!
  • basil shredded
  • pesto
  • olive oil
  • balsamic glaze
  • salt & pepper
  • Ciabatta Bread or baguette  sliced into small bite sized pieces and toasted. I did around 2 inch wide and 1/4 inch depth on my cuts. To toast, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and toast in a 400 degree oven around 10 minutes.

 

Directions:

  1. Dice up peaches.
  2. Dice up cherry tomatoes.
  3. Slice corn from cob and then cook in pan with a pad of butter or tablespoon of canola oil. Let the corn sit in the pan with infrequent stirring so that it can get a good char on it. A good shortcut here is to buy frozen corn or frozen pre-charred corn that you simply. have to heat! Trader Joe’s has a great frozen Charred Corn.
  4. Mix the corn, peaches, and cherry tomato in a bowl. It is okay if the corn is a touch hot.
  5. Top toasted bread with a spoonful of the above mixture. Repeat until all are topped.
  6. Break up the burrata and top each of the bruschetta bites with burrata. (This is a messy job, but so worth it!) Get a good amount on each piece.
  7. Mix two tablespoons of pre-made pesto with 2 tablespoons of good quality olive oil. Drizzle on each burrata topped bruschetta bite.
  8. Drizzle balsamic glaze over all of the appetizers.
  9. Sprinkle shredded basil on the top as a garnish!

These peach and corn bruschetta bites are surprising, sweet, and all of the best of Summer. If you make them, please let me know what you think! And, stay tuned for more peach-inspired recipes coming soon!

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