Happy #Halloween Week! This packs a punch!

Happy Halloween!!

From Daryl aka Avery:

I love to dress up, don’t you? There’s something flat-out fun about putting on a costume. You can become whoever you wish to be for one full night. I rarely can get my husband to dress for Halloween. It’s a little silly, for his taste. But we went on a Disney cruise with the family to celebrate a big anniversary for us, and I was able to wrangle him into a pirate costume. Whee! Think I can talk him into putting it on for tomorrow night? Probably not. It’s okay, once a year is a big step!  LOL

Anyway, are you having kids over to celebrate? If so, you probably have all your decorations up, your pumpkin cut, your bagged candy poured into a bowl, and your costume ready.

But did you remember to make punch?  I’ve been scouring the Internet and magazines and cookbooks for colorful (maybe frightful) food and décor to include in my third Cookbook Nook book, which will come out next October (right before Halloween); it features a spoo-o-o-ky theme!  Okay, maybe not spooky, but fun!

While thumbing through the latest Food Network magazine, I saw this punch recipe and knew I had to try it. It isn’t hard to make. And the frozen hand isn’t hard to do, either. It involves freezing punch in a non-powdered latex kitchen glove. Cool, right?

Kids (especially teens) will get a kick out seeing a floating ice hand in their drink. I’ve got to tell you, my husband nearly screamed when he opened the freezer and saw a frozen hand! I’m trying to come up with other ideas that might scare him tomorrow. Suggestions?  (Cue: maniacal cackle.)

This punch is fun for all ages. I’m sure if you want to make it for adults, you can lace it with your choice of hard stuff.

By the way, check out my Pinterest Halloween board to see some of the décor I’ve found online.

HALLOWEEN PUNCH

(tweaked from recipe found in

Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:

(serves 6-12)

3 cups cranberry raspberry juice

3 cups Hawaiian punch (or similar)

1 12-ounce can Dr. Pepper

1 16-ounce bottle ginger ale

For the “hand”:

1 extra cup cranberry raspberry juice

1 powder-free latex glove.

Directions:

Fill the power-free latex glove with cranberry raspberry juice. Use a rubber band to tie closed. Freeze at leat 6 hours or overnight. (I hung the glove, using a chip bag clip) on the door side of my freezer, fingers pointing down.

Chill all the rest of the ingredients.

When ready to serve, combine all the liquids. Remove the “hand” from the freezer. Set into the middle of the bowl, curved side up. If desired, cut and peel off the glove, though warning: a finger or two might fall off.

Bubbly fun!

Taking a cue from Cleo, 

I'm starting to make pdfs that you can download.

 Click on the picture to do so.

In addition to punch, I also made this cute hamburger. It's simply a hamburger with cheese cut out (no recipe), but for the little ones in your crowd, they'll enjoy! Needs cheese and a soft-edged knife. Enjoy!

Other fun recipes recently shared in my most recent newsletter:

  Halloween cupcakes and Pumpkin Chili.

And take a look at this silly thing. I saw this on a buffet. Maybe you can figure out where to put it in your decor. It's an apple "jaw" with teeth. I used pumpkin seeds. I saw it made with almond slivers. Too fun, right?

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Next up: 

Days of Wine and Roquefort Feb 2014, preorder here

Inherit the Word March 2014, preorder here

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