mmmmm....food.....

So, the following are the recipes we did for our Halloween Party. I would so suggest trying these out for Holiday parties, particularly the Broiled Ricotta. For those of you reading that were at the party, we actually made it last night and it was lick the bowl good! For anyone else, we didn't make the ricotta because there were so many people and the pork and mac and cheese took up the oven.

At any rate, here you go!

This one is from Food and Wine and it was about making your own Ricotta. I got mine from Whole Foods and it was to die for yummy!This dish is really a must try for the holidays, it was so incredibly good!

Broiled Ricotta with Olives and Sun-Dried-Tomato Relish
Recipe by Maria Helm Sinskey Broiling ricotta intensifies its creaminess: It’s ideal with both sweet and savory toppings. Here, Maria Helm Sinskey serves it on garlic toasts garnished with olives and a tangy sun-dried-tomato relish.Cheese Recipes, Tips and More
ACTIVE: 45 MIN TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 10 MIN SERVINGS: 4 FastVegetarian © Tina Rupp Ingredients
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes,
thinly sliced2 teaspoons minced shallot
2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped oregano
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Salt
12 slices peasant or ciabatta bread, about 1/2 inch thick
1 garlic clove
2 cups Creamy Ricotta
1/4 cup pitted oil-cured Italian black olives, coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small bowl, combine the sun-dried tomatoes with the shallot, parsley, oregano, vinegar, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and the 2 tablespoons of oil.
Season with salt.
Brush the bread on both sides with oil and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and crisp. Rub lightly with the garlic clove.
Preheat the broiler and position a rack 6 inches from the heat. Spread the ricotta in a shallow medium gratin dish in a 3/4-inch-thick layer. Drizzle with oil and broil for about 10 minutes, turning the dish occasionally, until the ricotta is bubbling and golden. Spoon the relish and olives on top. Serve with the garlic toasts.

I made this one after an appetizer at Cuba Libra in Philadelphia. They served it with a pineapple, avocado salsa which we recreated and it was phenomenal with this recipe!

monster shrimp with orange chili glaze
Epicurious 2006 by Mario BataliSporting News Books
These are big shrimp, the ones that ate the other shrimp. When they opened the cage door after the death match, these are the shrimp that walked out of the ring.Don't turn your back on the grill while you're cooking these — someone's liable to abscond with them.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon Asian red chili paste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds extra-large shrimp (16 to 20-count size), shelled and deveined
1. Put the orange juice, cilantro, chili paste, olive oil, garlic, scallion, chipotle, and salt in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade and blend until smooth.
2. Place the shrimp in a resealable freezer bag and pour the orange juice mixture over the shrimp. Chill in a refrigerator or ice-filled cooler for 2 to 3 hours but no longer.

I wish I had thought to take pictures but trust me, they both make great presentation!

Halloween Party

This is our friend Pam and a sampling of the food!

Jamie ready to grill the shrimp and looking confused!

Our friend Bobby Jo and our dog, Hera.

Towards the end of the night, you can see the tent broke in the upper left corner. We had high winds and drenching rains and the tent couldn't handle it. You can also get an idea of how freakin cold it was!

All in all the night was a fantastic success. Great friends, great food and lots of booze. Good lord! I made some great recipes that I'll post in another post and we'll definitly be repeating all of them, particularly the pork! We actually just finished it off last night, it was that good!

My only problem with the party was the 25 people that didn't bother replying to the evite and the six people that said they were coming and never bothered. That just really irks me - all it takes is a phone call! We were worried all night that we wouldn't have enough food and of course we had a ton left over. Boo-urns.

Anyway, we're looking forward to actual Halloween to see the trick or treaters! Although, once again, do we have enough candy????

Pumpkins

This is the finished product. Jamie's scary one looks much better than mine!

Jamie freezing while I take the photos!

The final product! Mine is just sad!

This is the photo of set-up with the big white dog in the way.

Our Halloween Party is on Saturday so we had to start with the carving of pumpkins. The night before we cut out lots and lots of black rats and bats to hang all over the house. I'm so excited, Halloween in by far one of my favorite holidays! Lots of pictures to come on Sunday!