Happy Halloweeeen!!!!
Get cozy and festive this Halloween weekend! Why not have a "trick or treating" cocktail/dinner party for the grown ups? Who says Halloween is just for kids?
Enjoy some pumpkin themed cocktails! Try a Pumpkin Pie Martini...
Pumpkin Pie Martini
Ingredients:
.5 oz Sylk Cream Liqueur2 oz Vanilla vodka.5 oz Pumpkin liqueur (or pumpkin spice syrup)1 tsp Whipped creamGarnish: cinnamon stick
Directions:
Pour the Sylk Liqueur and vodka into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Add the pumpkin liqueur or syrup. Shake again. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with a teaspoon of whipped cream. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
We found this recipe on the Hostess with the Mostess blog, which has tons of fun, festive ideas.
If pumpkin cocktails aren't your thing, a glass of red wine is always cozy and welcome in chilly weather. Queen of Hearts wine has the cutest packaging (makes a great gift!) and their Syrah is quite good.
To make sure you and your guests don't float away, our friend Nat Faxon is sharing his rather famous (and famously secret until now!!!) recipe for Pumpkin Soup! Admittedly, this recipe wasn't handed down to Nat by this great-grandmother, but rather by the great grandmother of cooking in general, Julia Childs. Nat has noted his personal adjustments in parentheses.
Nat's Soup in a Pumpkin
(serves 8-10)
2 1/2 cups lightly pressed down fresh crumbs from homemade type white bread, crust off (*Note: I personally like crunchy baguette type bread that's cubed with crust on. I find it adds more texture and flavor to the soup)
2 cups minced onions (I typically will use yellow)
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, plus 2 tbs or so of soft butter
A 6-7 pound healthy unblemished pumpkin
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated swiss cheese
2 to 2 1/2 quarts chicken stock brought to simmer
salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp sage
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh parsley
Spread bread crumbs in roasting pan and dry them out in a 350 oven for 15 minutes or so, once or twice tossing them about - they should hardly color. Meanwhile, melt the stick of butter and slowly cook the minced onions until they are tender and translucent - about 15 minutes. Toss the crumbs into the onions and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Cut a neat cover out of the pumpkin, scrape out the seeds and strings, and rub the inner flesh of both the pumpkin shell and its cover with the soft butter. Set the pumpkin on a pizza pan. (I usually use an aluminum tin, like for a roast or turkey, because if there's any leak it will catch it)
May be prepared in advance at this point.
Turn the crumb mixture into the pumpkin, stir in the grated cheese, and fill the pumpkin to within 2 inches of the top with hot chicken stock. Season with salt, pepper, sage. Set the pumpkin in the lower level of a 400 degree oven. Bake it until it has softened (usually an hour and a half) - but don't overcook or it will collapse.
Just before serving, bring the cream (optional) almost to a simmer, gently stir into the soup, followed by the chopped parsley. Season if necessary. At the table, ladle the soup into hot bowls, scraping off some of the flesh from inside the pumpkin as you do so.
Enjoy with some crusty french bread and halloween candy!!