AN Elegant Halloween Party

 Halloween parties are not just for kids.Adults can have fun with elegant dishes and drinks to make the night more bewitching. It can be a fun night , full of delicious recipes with a sophisticated spin.

What would make a Halloween party worthy of Gomez and Morticia Addams?Think a Brie wrapped up in puff pastry ala mummy style. Use puff pastry to create the bandages and drape them over the top of the cheese.It's an egg wash first then baking them for twenty minutes until the puff pastry is golden. Add pepperoni and green olive eyes for some spooky decoration. The best part of this is smearing the cheese on the puff pastry for an added treat. Mostly serve with crackers or toasted French bread slices. For a sit down dinner think a pasta dish with eyeball meatballs.The meatballs are baked with flattened ciligiene  - small rounds of mozzarella on top in their last two minutes f baking. Sliced olives are used as irises.Smaller meatballs would make excellent hors d'ouvres too.Pumpkin patch deviled eggs are also a fun starter. Round out the filling more and then lightly press the surface with a fork to resemble the pumpkins' indentations. Add a tiny bit of scallion on the top for the pumpkin stem and liberally sprinkle with paprika for the bright orange color. You can also serve finger sandwiches , preferably roast beef that squish blood gravy when bitten into.

Adult parties call for adult drinks.Start everyone off with Midnight Jello shots which is vodka and grape  Jello cooked together with black food coloring. Set in the fridge for two to three hours before serving.No one would say no to a candy corn martini. This is a layering of grenadine, vodka and orange juice with a topping of whipped cream. For a stronger quaff think a poison apple cocktail. This is taking sour apple Schnappes and mixing it with Crown Royal apple flavored whiskey and cranberry juice. A shot of grenadine gives it a dose of sweetness.Of course the best Halloween cocktail is ---- the Bloody Mary!. This mix of tomato juice, vodka and Worcester sauce is the ultimate drink, especially if you're hosting a Halloween brunch party. You can even set up a Bloody Mary bar where guests can choose between Clamato juice or regular tomato, along with hot sauce and different add ins from celery to olives. What about dessert? You could have caramel apples but add miso to a homemade caramel. Roll the dipped apples in ground pistachios or walnuts. A blood soaked cake may not sound too good. but imagine a devil's food cake that squishes out a raspberry coulis when cut. It's simply  lightly hollowing out the first layer , pour the coulis into that and then top with the second layer. Frost with a fudgy chocolate butter cream.. Stick a large steak knife in it for an extra scary effect.

Yes, adults can have fun and elegant Halloween parties too. Think Brie as a tasty mummy washed down with a  spicy Bloody Mary. Or a dessert with a candy apple ripe with umani. Have an fun and elegant All Hallows party.

Too Hot To Eat

This is the e time of year when temps spike and the air is thick with humidity.It's also the time when our appetites decrease because of the excessive heat. We become everything from lethargic to just plain lazy.It's even a chore to eat yet we have to . The question is how do we stimulate a lagging appetite?

Always remember summer eating is light eating.Don't beat yourself up because you;re not eating thee square meals a day. Sometimes just a bowl of cold cereal along with a cup of coffee or tea makes the perfect breakfast as opposed to the  whole works, full of bacon toast and eggs. Even a piece of fruit such as a plum or a nectarine can kick off the day. These also make good snacks too because they're easy to carry around and easy to eat A bowl of mixed fruit is not only tempting but it can provide you with the required antioxidants and vitamins along with minerals.

Lunch and dinner can be tricky.Lunch is especially hard because it's during the hottest time of the day. Sometimes you don't feel like eating anything, preferring to snack. Don't fall  into this. Go for a salad along with an iced tea.You can make one yourself or buy a tasty one form any place even the fast food joints. Fill it with grilled chicken for protein along with a variety of veggies. Keep the portion small. Dinner can be just a s light with a miso soup. If you're up to it, try making an airy tempura of fresh veggies and your favorite meats. .It's a fun and crunchy way of teasing the appetite. Even finger sandwiches can be made for a summer dinner. They're these small delicate bites of various fillings on thin bread slices.

Summer weather can decrease the appetite yet don't let it. Eat light, eat healthy. You can survive the scorching temps and horrible humidity by having lighter than air meals