Let each party guest pluck a fortune card from this spooky soothsayer's tree.
What you'll need:
Floral foam for dried arrangements
Large opaque vase or flowerpot
Gnarly tree branch
Silver paper shreds
Candy corn
Bat stencils or cookie cutters
Black art paper
Metallic silver marker
Small translucent vellum, glassine or waxed paper envelopes
Standard hole punch
Thin (1/4 to 1/8 inch) ribbon
Rubber skeletons and spiders (optional)
1. Cut a piece of floral foam to fit the vase and push it into the vase, leaving about 1/2-inch space at the top. Push the trunk of the tree branch deep into the floral foam, making sure that it is anchored securely. Spread silver paper shreds or candy corn over the surface of the vase to cover the floral foam.
Prep: 25 min.
Bake: 1 hr. 30 min.
Chill: 2 hr.
Serves: 12
Cost per serving: $1.34
The crust:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 2/3 cups crushed gingersnaps
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar
The filling:
4 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
6 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin puree
The topping:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
3 (1.4 oz.) milk chocolate English toffee bars, chopped into rough shards
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Mix gingersnap crumbs, butter and brown sugar with hands until mixture holds together when pressed. Press into bottom of pan. Bake crust until firm and slightly darkened, about 12 minutes. Cool crust. Maintain oven temperature.
2. Make filling: Beat cream cheese and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in butter, then eggs, one at a time, to thoroughly incorporate. Mix in heavy cream. Add flour, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt, and then mix until smooth. Add pumpkin puree and mix until smooth. Place springform pan with cooled crust on a large baking pan (crust will ooze some melted butter as cake bakes) and pour mixture into springform pan over crust.
3. Return to 350°F oven and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until filling is puffed around edges and moves slightly in center when pan is gently shaken. Remove from oven and immediately place hot cheesecake, uncovered, in refrigerator; let cool overnight.
4. Make caramel topping: Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium heat. After sugar dissolves, do not stir. Cook until mixture turns deep amber in color, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to low and add cream, stirring with a wooden spoon until bubbling subsides. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 11/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Chill until firm but still pourable, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove cheesecake from refrigerator and spoon caramel over top, just to edges, being careful not to let it drip down sides. Make a ring from candy bar shards on edge of top of cake. Use white chocolate chips to make a jack-o'-lantern face in center. Chill for at least two hours and up to one day before serving. Gently run a knife around sides of pan to loosen the cake and release pan sides.
PER SERVING: Cal. 873, Fat 55g (Sat. 32g), Chol. 252mg, Fiber 2g, Pro. 13g, Carb. 84g, Sod. 527mg
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Prep: 40 min.
Cook: 8 min.
Yield: 16
Cost per serving: 99 cents
2/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
1 1/4 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 16 bite-size pieces (about 2 small breasts)
16 cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and stems removed
8 round carrot slices, blanched
4 small, pitted black olives, halved
4 large, pimento-stuffed green olives, halved
1. Soak 16 round, wooden toothpicks in water for 30 minutes. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sage and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Pour half into a separate bowl. Add chicken to one bowl and mushrooms to other. Toss; let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from marinade and season with 1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. To make an "eyeball," place a cube of chicken on cutting board and push toothpick through. Push mushroom onto toothpick, cap side down; center carrot round on toothpick and push into indentation in mushroom to make "iris." Finally, center black olive half on toothpick and push onto carrot to make "pupil." Make 8 "eyeballs" this way. For other 8, omit carrot and black olive and push green olive half into indentation in mushroom. Discard chicken marinade; reserve mushroom marinade. ("Eyeballs" can be made up to this point and kept, covered, in refrigerator for up to 8 hours.)
3. Preheat broiler. Place "eyeballs" on a broiler pan. Position in oven so that chicken is 6 inches from heat source. Broil until chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with mushroom marinade, 6 to 8 minutes. Arrange on a platter, in pairs, to look like a plate full of shifty eyes.
PER SERVING (1 "eyeball"): Cal. 95, Fat 6g (Sat. 0g), Chol. 21mg, Fiber 0g, Pro. 9g, Carb. 2g, Sod. 145mg
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Paint a clear glass vase with rubber-stamped spiders and fill it with a bouquet of freaky flowers made from pipe cleaners and a variety of crafting bits.
You'll Need
1. Assemble flowers: Make stems by twisting 2 to 4 pipe cleaners together. Fold 1/2" of flower end of stem into an L-shape so you have something to glue flower to.
2. Trace bat cookie cutter and cut shape from stiff black felt. Decorate with fake jewels; hot glue to a stem. Cut a free-form cat head from felt and decorate with fake jewels and "whiskers." Glue silver craft leaves around a black pom-pom to make a giant daisy. Glue wiggle eyes to tips of a free-form felt flower and add "stamen." Make a hairy monster by wrapping top of stem with eyelash yarn. Add craft store stamen and wiggle eyes. Glue floppy felt petals to a fancy feather to create a fantasy flycatcher. Finish flowers by winding short pieces of pipe cleaner around a pencil to make coils. Twist once around stem to attach.
3. Make vase: Load rubber stamp with black ink and press it against vase. Repeat until you are happy with design.
4. Let dry overnight for temporary use. For permanent design, place vase on a large baking sheet and bake in a preheated 150°F oven for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before handling.
5. Fill vase about halfway with stones. Use stones to anchor flowers in vase.
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Use these cackling cuties on a mantle, as dinner table place markers or to light the pathway to the party house.
You'll Need
Medium or large peat pots (we used 3" x 3" and 4" x 4" rounds)
Crafts knife
Votive candles in glass cups
1. Carve a jack-o'-lantern face into side of each peat pot with a craft knife. Try different faces on each pot.
2. Line pots up in a row. Place a glass cup with a votive inside each pot and light candle when ready to use.
Be sure to use candles safely: Keep burning candles within sight at all times and make sure to extinguish them when leaving a room or going to bed. Visit www.candles.org for more tips.
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You'll need:
1. Print out template. To make three luminaries, print out three copies of each template. Cut out shape, following image outlines as closely as possible.
2. Tape a moon shape inside each bag. Position in the upper right hand corner of each bag.
3. Center a witch inside one bag. Tape it in place. This will be the center luminaria. On a second bag, position a witch almost directly below moon. Tape in place, folding bristle end of broom around inside of bag. This luminaria will go on the right. On the third bag, position a witch to left of moon, so she appears to be flying off left-hand edge of bag. Tape in place, folding broom handle around side.
4. Place each candle in a holder. Light, then set in bag. (If you're using luminarias outdoors, fill bottoms with sand first to weigh bags down.)
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Fall decorating: 
 | I love to play Everyone Wins Bingo Work as a team to call as many bingos as you need to reach the Team Goal. | ||
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It's getting to be that time of year again. Time to pull out all of that creativity and get started on decorating for Halloween. Follow the links below for some great ideas.
Now does this look like appropriate office wear?
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