re.CAP: HALLOWEEKEND

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Just because Halloween is over, doesn’t mean it’s really over. Sure, the parties have come to a halt, the treats have been collected, and the costumes are already in the dress-up drawers. But Halloween is one of those delicious holidays that lingers. The kids at school are still talking about how much candy they got trick-or-treating and bowls, jars, bags and boxes are heavy with their loot. The taste of freaky cupcakes and ghoulish goodies remains on the tongue, and the candy everywhere teases. Let’s face it; Halloween isn’t over until the candy is gone (hidden, eaten, or given away). Take a peek at my foodie ventures this Halloweekend!

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Mine involved a party with meaty treats, cupcakes and pies, and even more sweets. There was pumpkin carving and a birthday cake made by my mom for my sister. This Halloweekend was delicious. How was yours?

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11.5.14

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not just nourishment: HALLOWEEN food fun

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In lieu of foodie ventures Halloween Wars, I put my kiddies to work during my Food Fun Activity at the school where I work. Like that one time I subbed last year, I made far too many cupcakes the night before and purchased far too much candy. But yesterday, it was all about Halloween. So instead of gushy red candies and jelly hearts, I brought in some creepy crawlers, fall favorite Candy Corn, marshmallow Peeps shaped like cute ghosts and cheery Jack-O-Lanterns, and good old M&Ms. I also went out on a limb and bought some frosting inspired by the spooky holiday. The orange variety was obnoxiously orange and the purple was just not a color that exists in nature. Over all, it was a sweet time! Too much fun and probably, too much candy (if that’s a thing).

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Any fun Halloween adventures headed your way? Too old for trick-or-treating or have your own trick-or-treaters to feed? Parties? Fangs? I would love to hear from you! Happy Halloween my hungry friends!

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10.31.14

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not just nourishment: fall fun with PUMPKIN(s)

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So we saw beautiful fall harvest foods when we went to Demarest Farms over the weekend. We ate some tasty snacks from the farm, and picked out a pumpkin from the patch to bring home with us. The next day was dedicated to carving that pumpkin of ours and roasting the seeds for a yummy treat, like we did last year.

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Ok, we also ate more apple cider doughnuts and made a fall dessert of our own. Stay tuned for more fall fun and deliciousness. Don’t forget to follow on facebook, instagram, twitter, and yelp to keep up with all the food adventures.

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10.27.14

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MangiaMore: TRICK or TREAT cupcakes

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RER 11.1.13

The final cupcake in the Halloween Cupcake Wars, was crunchy, chocolaty, salty and caramelly, the Trick or Treat Cupcakes. Refined caramel cake, with smooth chocolate buttercream frosting and a fun topping of crunchy homemade caramel corn with savory surprises. Trick or treat, sweet or salty.

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The moment I saw this recipe on The Cake Blog, I knew I needed to make it. It wasn't for the caramel cupcake, or the caramel batter, or the caramel frosting, it was definitely because of the caramel corn. And in the blog post featuring these cupcakes, the caramel corn was littered with another one of my most favorite things, candy corn. I HAD to have it.

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See, the thing with me is, anything with popcorn is simply irresistible. My sister and I went to the Izod Center this weekend to see Mr. JT (!), but once I saw the concession stands offered popcorn, that was my focus. I found myself more fixated on my box of popcorn than his smooth moves. When I'm bored I eat popcorn, when I'm sad I eat popcorn, when I'm happy I eat popcorn. Sweet, spicy, salty, buttery, it doesn't matter. It is literally one of the only things I crave. So when I saw this recipe, and sweet, delicious, salty caramel popcorn parading in the images, I knew it was going to be a contender.

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There was nothing particularly difficult about the recipe, though preparing the popcorn (melting down the butter, sugar and corn syrup until it was that amber color) was the most intimidating. Tossing some sunflower (salty) seeds and candy corn (sweet) on the hot caramel corn right after the oven seemed delicious and intriguing in theory, but in practice the extra toppings did not stick. But no worries, the popcorn won’t last long. 

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 note: I would highly recommend making a full batch of the popcorn, even for half a batch of the cupcakes. It is super addictive.

Instead of making another layer of caramel, caramel frosting, I decided to whip up a quick batch of chocolate frosting to counter the salty sweetness of the popcorn. The chocolate frosting broke up the monotony of caramel, and added another adult flavor to the cupcake’s profile. As it turns out, it was pretty tasty. The caramel cake was not very sweet, and it almost tasted like plain cake with a hint of browned sugar and caramel. The popcorn added a fun texture and a pretty decorative element. All the pieces came together nicely, for a festive treat that can be adapted for any holiday.

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note: do not put popcorn in the freezer or fridge, it turns into a soggy mess (learn from my mistake).

And that wraps up this year’s Halloween Cupcake Wars! Stay tuned for more food fun and check out our facebook and twitter!

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11.8.13

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