Lisa's Log: Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween!

Well, okay, it's over with now.

So here I am recording how it went for me this year.

First, I must express a special thanks to my friend Tammie who helped make it all possible. I worked her like a slave. Thank you Tammie!

Before she came, I got most of my decorating done. Here is my pathetic looking tree:

Here are a few more pictures of my decor:

Tammie arrived on Wednesday night, and I set her to work on Thursday and Friday, helping me get all the food prepared. Most of you who read my dreary blog have received my menu in the mail, and I suppose you are wondering what all those items are. I will explain what they all are by starting with the appetizer.

Jack Splat

Jack Splat was pumpkin hummus. Very tasty. When I went to the store to get some dipping veggies, I ran across some "rainbow carrots" which added a nice touch of fall colors.

After whetting the appetite with Jack Splat, we served a bowl of Wiley's Swamp.

Wiley's Swamp

Wiley's Swamp was a bowl of White Bean and Spinach Soup. I wanted something with spinach in it to give it that "swampy" look. I also added a can of black beans to give the broth a more swampy color. I wish I had gotten a better picture of the spinach dangling from the spoon, but you get the idea. Oh yeah, the soup was served with "Brom's Bones", which were - you guessed it - dinner rolls. Somehow I neglected to include that in the picture.

For the main entree, our guests were given two choices: "Sliced Cranium with Jack's Squat" or "Ichabod's Bane".

Sliced Cranium with Jack's Squat

The "Sliced Cranium" was a baked slice of acorn squash, and then I filled the hole with arborio rice, topped with toasted panko crumbs and bacon bits. And of course, the guests were also free to add their own "Ichabod's Psoriasis Flakes". I'm sure you are smart enough to figure out what that was.

The second entree choice was "Ichabod's Bane".

They are chicken and cheese quesadillas. I was trying to go for the pumpkin look, thus "Ichabod's bane", but I was quite pleased with how they turned out, even if they don't resemble a pumpkin by a long shot. After cutting apart the jaw and pulling it apart, the gooey cheese really added a nice effect that I wasn't expecting.

Now on to the desserts:

First there was "Headless Redneck"

They are Rhubarb-Strawberry Chia Seed Pudding Parfaits. Tammie did a good job dressing them up with black toulle. (did I spell that right?) I called them "Headless Redneck" because they resemble a decapitated neck (with blood and pus), and they have a red color marbled in, so a red neck with no head was the first thing I thought of, and no one would be able to guess what it was.

Then there was the "Ichy Schnoz"

How did I come up with "Ichy Schnoz" for pumpkin pie, you ask? Good question!

Pumpkin pie is pointy and long, like Ichabod's nose. As you know, a schnoz is another name for a nose, and "Ichy" is short for Ichabod. So there ya go - "Ichy Schnoz". I know it's lame, but I was desperate.

And who would be smart enough to figure out what that one would be?

The last dessert on the menu was "Gunpowder Plop"

"Gunpowder" was the name of the horse that Ichabod rode when he was invited to a dinner at the Van Tassel's house. (If you read the original story, you would know this.) So, now you can figure out why I called chocolate pudding "Gunpowder Plop". I wanted to called it "Gunpowder's Poo", but thought plop would be funnier, just because of the sound that it would make if the horse really did, well you know.........plus "Gunpowder Plop" would be harder to guess than "Gunpowder Poo", especially if they hadn't read the book. I wasn't going to serve this at all, but I knew I needed something on the menu that my kids would eat. In order to not waste any good food, I generally don't let them order something that I know they will not eat.

As for the drinks, the "Hudson River Sludge" was coffee, and "Tappan Zee" was tea.

By the way, notice in this picture how Chuck's whipped cream has "melted" over his "Ichy Schnoz"? Now compare his whipped cream to the whipped cream on mine and Tammie's. See how our whipped cream is still nice and fluffy? That's because Chuck is eating Reddi Whip. Tammie and I are eating homemade whipped cream, made with coconut cream - okay I cheated a little and whipped it up with a packet of "Whip It". But it was SO good. And since Tammie and I are both watching our dairy intake, we had to make our own cuz, after all, "Ichy Schnoz" just isn't the same without whipped cream. And I gotta say - whipped cream made with coconut cream tastes WAY better.

And I refuse to eat Cool Whip. Have you read the list of ingredients on a container of Cool Whip?

Nuff said.

Okay, now here's the bummer part. Tammie and I spent TWO WHOLE DAYS cooking for this meal, and we were supposed to have 3 more guests show up. But at the last minute, they bailed out on us. Wow, talk about a big let down! However, it turned out they had a very good excuse, so I could not be mad at them - only terribly disappointed that they weren't able to enjoy our hard labor.

But I am so glad that Tammie was there - at least we had ONE guest! And she even stayed at my "Bed and Breakfast" for a whole week! And survived to tell about it!

When Saturday came, our hard work was all over and we were able to just relax. Throughout the week, Tammie came and went, visiting with some friends, and I'm really glad she was able to do that. When she wasn't out, we did a lot of things together and it was so fun having her here. We went to a play at the Valley Theater ("Bell, Book, and Candle"), did some shopping, and also did some scrapbooking together.

After she left, I still waited for Halloween to come. I transferred a few decorations out to the front porch to greet all the kiddos, even though we don't get very many trick-or-treaters at our house.