Bloody Mary Dip

This great dip recipe comes to us from Vermont's Woodstock Inn Resort.

Use the dip with fresh veggies, crackers or chips.

3 cups cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup V8 juice
1/3 cup tomato purée 1 large green bell pepper, finely minced
1/2 cup finely minced onion
1/3 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup mayonnaise
Horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco Sauce and salt and pepper to taste

together in a food processor. Add horseradish,
Lemon juice, Tabasco Sauce and salt and pepper to taste

Bat's Blood Soup

3 1/2 cups tomato juice

1 1/4 cups vegetable stock

2 carrots, grated

2 onions, chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tbsp dried basil

salt and pepper, to taste

chives or parsley, garnish

In a saucepan, combine tomato juice, stock, lemon juice, garlic, basil, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Stir well, reduce heat, and then cover and simmer 30 min. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish and serve

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cooking oil

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

powdered sugar

Combine flour, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla and eggs; beat until smooth. Pour batter into a plastic squeeze bottle with a narrow opening, or use a pastry decorating bag with a small opening. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot; lightly grease.

Working quickly, squeeze batter to form 4 straight, thin lines which intersect at a common center point to form a "star" shape. To form cobweb, squeeze thin streams of batter to connect lines. Cook 30 to 60 seconds or until bottom is golden brown; carefully turn. Cook until golden brown; remove from skillet.

Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes: about 2 1/2

Bleeding Cupcakes

1 egg

8 ounces softened cream cheese

1/3 cup sugar

red food coloring or frosting tint

6 ounces white chocolate chunks

1 recipe homemade or boxed cake batter

Preheat the oven to the specified temperature in your cupcake recipe. Line muffin tins with foil or paper liners.

Mix together the filling before mixing together the batter. Beat the egg in a medium bowl. Beat in the softened cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Add the coloring until the desired color is reached. Make the color several shades darker than the desired end result as the color will lighten as it bakes. Fold in the white chocolate chunks.

Prepare the cupcake batter. Fill the cups 2/3 full with the cake batter. Place about 1½ teaspoonsful of the filling in the center of each cupcake. Bake, cool, and frost as directed in the cupcake recipe.

Baked Eyeball Casserole

1 27.5 oz. jar spaghetti sauce w/ meat

1 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

8 cups hot cooked bowtie pasta

1 8 oz. container fresh mozarella balls

2 T. sliced pitted olives

Mix 1 1/2 cups sauce, ricotta, 1/2 cup parmesan, and pasta; spread into a 3-qt. shallow baking dish coated w/ cooking spray. Spread remaining sauce over mixture and top w/ remaining parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 min. Arrange chhese balls over pasta mixture and place a sliced olive over each ball. Let stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Pumpkin Seed Candy

1 cup hulled pepitas/pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup good-quality honey

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pepitas; toast, stirring constantly until seeds pop and become slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Place sugar and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, about 3 minutes. Add pepitas, and continue cooking until temperature registers 285° on a candy thermometer, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in cold butter.

Let the mixture cool to 240°, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, brush the inside of fifteen 1-inch-diameter black paper cups with melted butter, reserving 1 tablespoon. Spoon a scant tablespoon of the honey mixture into each cup. Brush a clean work surface with the remaining butter, and spoon the remaining honey mixture on it so mixture will continue to cool.

When remaining candy is stiff and cool enough to handle, about 6 minutes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces with a greased knife. Put one piece of candy in center of each of fifteen 4-by-4-inch pieces of orange cellophane wrap, gather cellophane at the top, and secure with a twist of a 4 1/2-inch piece of floral wire. Wrap the ends of floral wire around a skewer to form tendrils.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Orange Sauce

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Powdered sugar

Orange Sauce (see below)

Garnish: orange rind strips

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in pumpkin and vanilla.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to sugar mixture, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Pour into a greased and floured 9-inch round cakepan.

Bake at 350° F. for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

Place a paper doily over cake; sift powdered sugar through a wire-mesh strainer over doily. Remove doily, and serve with Orange Sauce. Garnish, if desired.

Makes: 8 servings.

Orange Sauce

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp lemon juice

WHISK together all ingredients in a heavy saucepan until blended. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Serve warm or cool.

Orange-Ooze Cupcakes

Cupcakes

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups water

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tsp vanilla

Filling

8 oz. cream cheese; softened

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

Yellow and red food coloring

6 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake baking pans with paper cupcake liners.

In small mixing bowl, use electric mixer to combine cream cheese, egg and sugar. Blend in 2 drops yellow food coloring and 1 drop red food coloring, adding more coloring if necessary to reach desired shade. Use mixing spoon to stir in chocolate chips; set filling aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In second small mixing bowl, combine water, vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla. Add contents of small mixing bowl to large mixing bowl and stir with mixing spoon to combine.

Using mixing spoon or soup spoon, fill cupcake liners half full with cupcake batter, then place 1 teaspoon filling at center of each. As cupcake bakes, the batter will rise to surround the filling.

Wearing oven mitts, place cupcake pans in oven; bake approximately 25 minutes or until cupcakes test done.

Prep Time: 15 min.
Serving Size: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 C granulated sugar
• 2 C corn syrup
• 1/3 C cinnamon candy
• 1 C water
• 3/4 Tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp vanilla
• 1/4 Tsp cloves
• 3/4 Tsp red food coloring
• 6 Med apples

Instructions:

1. Remove stems from apples, wash, and pat dry.
2. Insert a wooden skewer in each apple, running through the apple from stem end to base without protruding all the way through the bottom end.
3. Combine sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon candies, and water in medium-sized saucepan.
4. Cook until candies dissolve, stirring constantly. Be careful not to boil.
5. Add cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, and food coloring. Mix thoroughly.
6. Boil mixture to 300 degrees using a candy thermometer without stirring.
7. While mixture is boiling, generously prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray so it's ready ahead of time.
8. As soon as mixture reaches 300 degrees, remove it from heat and quickly dip each apple-one by one-into the mixture until it is thoroughly coated.
9. Set coated apples, standing on their bottoms with skewer pointing up, on baking sheet until mixture hardens.
10. Let apples reach room temperature before eating.

Halloween Crisp Candy Corn Treats

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Butter
• 10 C Crispy rice cereal
• 9 C Miniature marshmallows
• 2 C Mixture of candy corn and Indian candy corn
• 3/4 C Miniature chocolate chips
• Candy pumpkins
• Orange food coloring

Instructions:

1. Melt butter and marshmallows; stir until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, mix rice cereal, candy corn and miniature chips together.
3. Add orange food coloring to marshmallow mixture, or squirt over cereal in bowl.
4. Add marshmallow mixture to cereal mixture; stir quickly to combine.
5. Spread on a large buttered jelly roll pan; press with buttered hands.
6. While warm, press on candy pumpkins spaced 1 to 1/2-2 inches apart.
7. Refrigerate and cut into squares.

Jack-O-Lantern Cookies

Serving: 20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 9 oz Chocolate wafer cookies
• 1/2 c Peanut butter; smooth
• 24 oz Vanilla flavor almond bark
• Orange paste food coloring
• Black licorice candy

Instructions:

1. Spread a small amount of peanut butter on the flat side of the cookies; top with remaining cookies.
2. Cut licorice into triangles and squares to make faces.
3. Melt almond bark following package directions.
4. Remove from heat and tint with food coloring. Using tongs, dip each sandwich cookie in melted candy, coating completely.
5. Gently shake each cookie to remove excess coating. Place on wire rack with waxed paper underneath.
6. Place licorice pieces on the cookies for faces. Cool completely before removing from rack