Halloween Cupcake Crazy

 Nothing is as fun as a Halloween cupcake. Home bakers can have a field day with creating all sorts of fun decorations  from witches hats to mummies. Yet you start out with the right icing and topping to create an Insta ready little cake (it big cake if you want ).It just takes patience and a flair for fun.

The first thing is do you use a store bought or homemade frosting (keep in mind that frosting and icing are interchangeable words but they are different. Frostings have some ki nd of fat, - whether butter, plant butter  cream cheese, whipped cream or eggs  in them while icings are just confectioners sugar , milk cream juice or egg whites. ) Store bought frosting is denser while homemade is lighter and airier thanks to it constantly being whipped. However you can lessen the density of the store bought kind just by whipping air into it. One important tool you will need is either wax or parchment paper. Tear off a good sized sheet (about six inches long ) and cut into squares. Use them when you have to flatten the puffs of icing into a workable canvas. A n icing spatula can also come in handy when smoothing a frosting's surface and sides. If you're planning on using sprinkles  make sure you have a bowl for them. This also makes it easier to roll the cupcakes in them for decorated edgea.

Decorating is the fun part once all the cupcakes or cakes are iced.Reese's mini peanut butter  cups can double as witches hats or as the bottom of a broom, once iced. Mini ice cream cones can also work well as a crone's hat too. Just thoroughly dip these in either dark or milk chocolate , let set and them place on the cupcakes. Use black gel icing for the band around the base of the cone part and add yellow or gold icing to create a belt. A broom us made by inserting a pretzel stick in the center of a mini peanut butter cup and then using brown or dark yellow icing draw lines up and down to simulate straw. YOu can also create either white, dark ro milk chocolate spider web ls by pouring chocolate in thin, concentric circles and then attaching them .Let dry and stick on the top of  the cakes, Spiders are made just by putting two blobs or black icing together and then drawing eight legs out from the body. Use candy eyes for the eyes. You may have to use tweezers for this. A spooky cupcake might have a tombstone on top. Use Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies for this. Write RIP on them and just stick into the icing. Add a gummy work or two for more creepiness.

Halloween cupcakes are always a nice addition to any holiday party. Go wild with decorating.It wil only add to the day.

Lovely Fall Cakes

 Autumn may be known for it's home baked pies yet it's the cakes that stand out.They feature the flavors of the season , whether spicy or fruity. These are perfect for Sunday teas or even ending a holiday meal.

Maple is the flavor of the season - other than pumpkin spice. It's reminiscent of the sweet smell of turning and falling leaves.Add it to a Bundt cake for a different kind of flavor.A Bundt is perfect for the chill fall weather.It has a dense crumb and it's perfect as an afternoon snack or even breakfast with a good strong cup of coffee or tea. You could also bake a scratch maple pound cake  with a maple rum glaze on top. The glaze is a mix of dark rum, butter and the syrup.it's brushed warm over the cake and then left to soak in. for a fun party dessert try maple cupcakes with a bacon frosting, Yes bacon!  The cake is a simple scratch maple vanilla cake. The frosting is a cream cheese one and every cupcake is decorated with a few slices of homemade maple bacon.Maple bacon is made by lining up the strips on a foil  lined sheet pan. Maple syrup is brushed on each side and them brown sugar is sprinkled over the top sides. (Keep in mind this makes a great brunch side too).If you prefer cookies then think about maple shortbread.This is a wonderful marriage of butter and maple syrup.shortbread is an easy cookie to make and bake and it would be perfect after any Sunday dinner.

There are other flavors too for this season. Apple and pear reign supreme in the fruit area. Look to the French for inspiration. They bake a buttery apple cake that has a hint of rum in it.Chunks of tart apples are sunk into a rich crumb. dark rum is used but if you want to intensify the flavor then sub in apple cider for the liquor. As for the apples ,a tart sweet variety like Granny Smith work perfectly here. You could also use the Honeycrisp kind as well.  Cinnamon and apples go well  together. Try a scratch cake loaded with the two. You can also add walnuts for more flavor and crunch. for this kind of apple cake you'll only need two apples. pears are also the fruit of the season right now. A pear cake is a different and tasty treat, perfect for a weekend dessert.As with the French apple cake, pear cake has a moist buttery crumb that works perfectly with the fruit,. It's topped with a simple sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. (there;s no need for  a lush buttercream here.The pears provide all the flavor).Keep in mind that this luscious fruit can also be used in a dense Bundt cake, adding supreme flavor to a simple scratch recipe.

Cakes are the perfect fall sweet and dessert go to.They finish off a Sunday roast dinner or make for a good snack alongside hot coffee or tea. Bake one now with the flavors of the season

Favorite Halloween Treats

 What is your favorite Halloween  homemade treat?Is a a caramel dipped candy apple. A witch cupcake?Or a bat cookie

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Let us  know

A Tasty Formaggio For Fall

 Italian rustic cooking or cucina rutica shines in the fall. There are delicious pork dishes and clouds of gnocchi in harvested tomato sauce. Joining them is foccaccio ,a bread that's good on it's own or topped with salame.Imagine it with cheese and it's the perfect bread for right now.

New contributor Kevin Pang  who's alsoeditorial director  for  digital at America's Test Kitchen wrote an interesting piece on this flatbread in yesterday's New York Times Food section. The breathakingly beautiful   town of Recco in Liguria invented this bread .The seaside town which was bombed heavily during the Second World War reinvented itself as a food  destination.Pesto with walnuts, and her bed infused ravioli called pansoti are the stars yet its focaccia col formaggio is what three dozen restaurants in the area feature.r Pang describes as a sort of Italian quesadilla - with a stretch bread instead of a crispy tortilla. The cheese is solid made from Crescenzo cheese which melts into a tangy cream cheese It's the breakfast of choice amongst locals, often served with bracingly strong espresso.Focaccio col formaggio is so popular that there are strict regulations on how it's; made  Regulators even bring back a sample of cheese and olive oil back to labs to test their autheneticity.It's even received protection back in 2005 from the European Union.

Yet home bakers can bake it here in the States thanks to Mr Pang's recipe.The only problem is finding the right cheese Home bakers can find fresh Cresscebzo in Us groceries however the top quality is only found in Italy.However bakers here recommend using Stracchino or Taleggio cheeses with the addition of a little buttermilk.Strive for the dough to be a millimeter thick which is ultra thin. It should b that sunshine can be seen through a thinly rolled piece of dough. what kind of flour should be used? Mr. Pang recommends KIng Arthur's bread flour. The cheese should be Crescenzo but the other two are fine as well. Just add two tablespoons to the mix.If using Taleggio, get rid of the rind. The dough is made with a mix if the flour, a pinch of sea salt and two tablespoons of olive oil. The oil is also used to grease the bread pan as well. Once it's been rolled out. dollops of the cheese are placed on it. These dollops should be no bigger than a cherry tomato. after this roll out a top sheet and place on the cheese and bottom sheet,Bake in a 500 degree Farenheit oven for ten to fifteen minutes. Turn the baking pan around mid way through.

This is the time for cucina rustica. enjoy foccaccio con formaggio  with a good glass of wine or a bring cup of espresso.It's a great autumn dish.

The Best Bagels In New York

 Manhattan can be considered to have the best pizza in the world , possibly followed by hot dogs.Yet it is the simple bagel that makes this urban island so well known. The city has always been known for its' delicious bagels.Yet there are so many good bagel shops. Where to go? There's a guide.

Regular contributor Becky Hughes has compiled a guide to where to find the tastiest in today's New York Times Food section.This covers all the boroughs, and not necessarily Manhattan island.If you just want the city then try The Bagels , which has three locations,They're oth both upper East and west sides and in tony Gramercy Park.THe bagels are known for their perfect crust - thin,bubbly and crackly. enthusiasts can also try Tompkins Square Bagels located in the Flatiron district and the East Village. These are not your traditional bagels. They sandwich style, big, fluffy and holeless. Go for the Weezer , at tasty mix of chorizo,bacon and eggs.There's also a cheddar and cheese mashup .for sweet tooths they have a birthday cake flavored cream cheese.If you want different flavors , then visit Utopia Bagels which feature red velvet,prosciutto and Pina colada.The East and West Village have Apollo Bagels which has a tight crackly taut crust and a tangy , chewy crumb.

Yes there are other bagel places outside the city.Try the Bake shop in Bushwick Brooklyn. They're known fo r their vegan pastries but their bagels are reminiscent of bagels past. THe crust is  crispy, the inside taut .They're cooked in small batches making them artesenal.Bushwick has another great bagel bakery.It's Knickerbocker Bagel and they're known for a bagel with a squishy inside and a chewy crust that holds their bacon, egg and cheese. THey have knock out spreads in such flavors as jalapeno and Asiago cheese.True bagel lovers will trek to Prospect Heights or Clinton Hill to Bergen Bagels.They have warm big bagels that go well with their refreshing cucumber dill schmear. Park slope has Shelsky's Brooklyn Bagels.They're smaller one with a truly crispy crust.They offer the highly unusual szechuan pepper one that's sure to wake up any New Yorker than a double espresso.The famed Russ And Daughters in Brooklyn also has some great bagels that are stuffed with thinly sliced lox and schmeared with cream cheese.

Bagels are a sNew York as the statue of Liberty or Broadway. These are the best shops to get them. Visit and enjoy.

October Cookouts

You would expect mid October t have a bit of a nip in the air. That would mean hot chocolate and warm , hearty meals. Not so. Many of the areas around the country are experiencing a second summer? WHat to do? Barbecue  but with a fall twist.

With temps in the almost eighties, many home chefs just don't want to cook or bake. yet fall has some of the tastiest ingredients and recipes out there. What to do? Incorporate them into easy to grill, easy to cook and easy to bake recipes. Pork chops with apples have always been a popular  October dish.It can easily be put on the grill and till deliver the same rich taste/There is a slight problem with pork.It can dry out quickly when cooked on a high heat/Baste the chops with a barbecue sauce or marinade. To keep the fall themed try an apple cider marinade.The is a blend of apple cider, brown sugar and such spices as dry mustard and garlic powder. To give it some silkiness and body add a teaspoon or two of olive oil. Brush the pork chop with this every fifteen minutes. To maintain the juiciness let the pork chops sit for about five minutes before cutting into them. This allows the meat to bathe in the juices a bit more. You can serve with grilled apple halves. This is just putting them on the grill for six to eight minutes , then flipping them over for another five. You can also whip up a potato salad but add a small diced apple for texture and flavor.

Baking is a big part of the fall canon. You can easily bake an apple or pear galette on the grill.You will need those cheap foil pie pans.The fruit filled dough is placed in it and then on top of an inverted foil roasting pan.Doing such will prevent the  pies' bottom from burning. The grill's temperature should be the same as your oven. Bake at 350 to 400 degrees Farenheit for about twenty to thirty minutes. as with any pie , keep an eye on it, making sure it doesn't burn. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel.If you made ice cream over the summer, don;t stop because it is autumn. It's a hot autumn and that means the cooling relief of a frosty dessert. Try a salted caramel ice cream to go with those apples. You will need to use your stovetop to create the caramel.It's cooking a cup and a quarter of granulated sugar until it becomes a syrup.whole cream is then added to this to create the caramel. it's cooled and then the sea salt (try Malden's flaky sea salt) and vanilla are added. while this cools make the ice cream base. This is eggs being whisked with a blend of cooked milk ,and cream.The caramel is added to this then strained through a fine mesh sieve. This is chilled  for three to six hours and then you can put the mixture through an ice cream maker. Freeze until solid. Serve with cinnamon coated apple slices.

THis is a rare October heat wave. Cook like it's summer ,using fall ingredients. You can still get a taste of autumn but with a hot weather twist.

Pre Birthday Yum

 It is Coleridge's birthday today and a good time to celebrate. The Early Romantic poet may not have been to Italy like the Latter Rpmantics, Byron, Keats and Shelly, but he would have appreciated good Italian food and wine

I celebrated over the weekend at Que Pasta, a local Italiam restaurant in Saddle Brook. The food is phenomenal. They have excellent appetizers like their fried zucchini slices or coins and their smashed baby artichokes in a lemon butter sauce.

These can also be ordered as sides for holiday dinners (which I plan to do next month for Thanksgiving.) Both dishes were full of tender and flavorful veggies. Que Pasta is also known for its' wide array of pasta and homemade sauces.

Their spinach and eggplant filled ravioli do not disappoint. Each fat little pillow was full of flavor and the homemade marinara sauce worked well with them. There is also the thick straw like bucatini,

Again the marinara sauce highlighted the rich pasta taste perfectly. Grapefruit sized meat balls were served with them and they were tender and rich with oregano and thyme.

Que Pasta in Saddle Brook -home to another famous writer born on this day - is the perfect place for any kind of party.It's great for smal gatherings and large ones like birthday parties, showers and even weddings. The food is fantastic as are the servers. Go there for your big day.