Spooky Cookies

Chris came home with these cute Halloween cookies Friday. They were part of his school's culinary program's Halloween Buffet. What a cute idea! Wouldn't it be great to make these with the kids before they went trick-or-treating?

Here's what they are made of:
Chocolate cookies body, purple frosting guts, white chocolate chip teeth, googly eyes (you can buy these at most grocery stores or put a little chocolate frosting on a white chocolate chip), and a fruit roll tongue.  

Spooky!!!

Happy Halloween/Foodie Penpals!

Happy Halloween, everyone! There is a nice chill in the air that is just right for trick-or-treating. As we are child-free, however, we will have our traditional Halloween night festivities - carving jack-o-lanterns, eating take out, answering the door over and over again, oohing and aahing at all the costumed kids, and roasting pumpkin seeds. Then, perhaps, after the treats have been given out, we'll stop at a neighbor's house (or two) for "trick or shot." Or maybe not. It is a school night, after all.

In addition to all the Halloween fun, This is our first month participating in Foodie Penpals. Are you wondering, "What is Foodie Penpals?" Because you ought to be. Foodie Penpals is a program started by blogger Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean. Over 1,300 participants from the US, Canada, and the UK receive a different penpal each month, and send them a box of foodie goodies. Even though we just joined, we are already hooked. Our sender pal was Jacqueline of Run With Chocolate.

She sent us an amazing box filled with her local (California) and all-around favorites. Take a look!

Flavored California almonds (butter toffee and "fruit-loop" flavored - sweet and addicting!).

Unreal/Unjunked Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bar (loved it...wish we could find them here) and a KIND Fruit and Nut Bar in Almond Coconut (almonds and coconuts...two of Amy's faves).

Creamy Sunbutter (a fabulous nut-free spread made from sunflower seeds) that combined so nicely with the Marmaletta Peach Pie Preserves for a unique twist on pb-n-j (and a fine school lunch).

And, Amy's particular favorites from the box, which she enjoyed the day after Hurricane Sandy during an unexpected day off of work: English Breakfast Tea, Tea Honey and a hand-made tea cozy (to keep Amy-the-Tea-Fanatic's fingers from burning), with Daelman's Jumbo Caramel Wafers (which Amy ate as Jacqueline suggested - warmed by the steam of that wonderful tea). Note how the papers that need grading are strategically hidden beneath that tempting Food Network Magazine!

What a nice welcome into the Foodie Penpal community! Thank you so much, Jacqueline!

If you want to read about what we sent to our Foodie Penpal, check out her blog right here. To learn more about the Foodie Penpal Program, go here.

Halloween Hummus Bites

Amy writes:

Chef Dave, the culinary teacher at school, started up a cooking club for students this year. I decided to join in on the fun, and once every couple of weeks we have a great time cooking up food that is easy to prepare, and then, of course, we eat up!

Being the excellent teacher he is, Chef planned the first meeting as an introduction to the kitchen and to the club. So, instead of club members doing the actual cooking that day (as we do now), he did a demonstration on how to make red pepper hummus. Many of the students had never tried hummus, and when they saw how easy it was and tasted how delicious, they were hooked. Meanwhile, I now had my plan for a simple appetizer to serve as our neighbors came around on Halloween night! Notice the festive colors, perfect for Halloween, and sort of spooky looking, too!

Halloween Hummus Bites

Makes 24 "bites"

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice, to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 packages mini fillo shells (found in frozen food aisle)

24 whole black olives, pitted

Place chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and all but one roasted red pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while processing until smooth. Take fillo shells out of package and place on a serving tray. Carefully spoon red-pepper hummus into fillo shells. Chop remaining red pepper into small pieces. Stuff the red pepper pieces into the hole in the olive. Top each filled fillo shell with the stuffed olive and serve at room temperature.