Halloween is coming!

With Brian around, Halloween is a month long celebration. It's been fun getting in the spirit with him. He really decked the halls this year.


The zombie on his end table lifts his head and screams when you walk by. The "Thing" hand actually runs about. The skull candles drip blood when lit.



Another zombie (on the table), but this one holds chips and dip. Ben's the fastest pumpkin carver. He's playing an Evil Dead game (Brian gave him permission, since there are zombies in it.)


I'm happy with how my pumpkin looks. Brian lectured us for 5 minutes about not carving cute pumpkins. It's a crime. And then his turned out to be super cute! He was disappointed.
(by the way, this is the last picture of me with purple hair. It was getting too icky with all the touch-ups, so now I'm a plain brunette. I might redo the purple streaks, if I get the time)


Brian, Luke, Rose, and Ben. Pumpkins: Mine's on the left, Ben's on the right.


And now for something really special: Eyes and Ears in Blood!



I found this recipe online. It's basically spaghetti and meatballs. It tastes fairly bland, but it looks spectacular!


The ears took a long time to make. I didn't plan on how hard it would be to sculpt ears. The chicken meatballs are steamed, so there's no browning (adding to the blandness).



Coming soon! Check out Ben's blog for an entry on the most vicious of all sodas: Jones' Thanksgiving Dinner.

Company Potluck Cookbook

Unbelievable:
http://www.amalah.com/photos/the_company_cookbook/index.html

Another reason I'm glad I live in the time and place that I do. Thank you, mom and dad, for never submitting me to crap like this.
via

TV

I don't like to watch a lot of TV. But lately I've discovered/continued watching some notable shows:

Arrested Development
Family Guy
Life of Birds (BBC on DVD)
The Daily Show
Kitchen Confidential (not great, but has potential)
Freaks and Geeks (DVD)
My Name is Earl


Also, I found a video clip of Firefly. Some guy decided it's better if (the few) people who see Serenity have a prior knowledge about the show. So he made a 30 minute video of the best/important parts of the series. That way people can feel caught up and know a little more history without having to watch the whole series. I haven't sat down to watch it yet myself, but it's an interesting idea so I'll post it blindly.

Cooking in Autumn

Oh, how I love fall! I've been sick so much this summer . . . I'm sick of it! To celebrate feeling better, and to use some of the delicious groceries my dad bought me, I did some serious cooking this week.


Sloppy Joes: Fast easy, and tasty.



I made Beef Stew for friends on Friday. This stew was hearty:
Sear pieces of round top in a hot skillet with minimal oil.
Add large pieces of shallot, once they start to brown deglaze the pan with a red wine.
Add to shallots, meat, and wine to slow cooker +
beef broth
quartered red potatoes
carrots
celery
parsnips
whole mushrooms
garlic
salt, pepper, and a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce.
Let cook on low for several hours. Add fresh chopped parsley just before serving with crusty bread.



Pumpkin Pie for dessert, of course!

I also created a dish without any recipe:

Combine ricotta cheese with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh parsley and sage, garlic, salt and pepper.



Take a chicken breast and pound it flat, spread the filling, and roll up. Wrap in a piece of bacon.



Roast at 350 until done (I think it was about 40 minutes, I'm bad at keeping track). Baste with white wine 2 or 3 times while roasting. Add a slice of mozzarella and a sage leaf on top and bake till melted. Let the chicken rest while you make the sauce: Put the pan on a burner and scrape all the browned bits up. Add a tablespoon of flour and stir vigorously. Add chicken broth and stir to thicken.



Serve with a mixed green salad and French bread. This is not a very healthy dish, but it tasted really good.



Pumpkin spice cookies with cream cheese frosting.

Tonight I'm adding the leftover chicken and sauce to pasta. Should be good. I'm still working on the leftover pie :-)

serious sitcoms

There's quite a few blogs I like to waste time by reading (blogs are the new magazines!) and I usually don't post the great stuff bloggers find, but this one is too perfect. From TV Squad, a top five list of sitcoms tackling serious issues. This guy is right on! I, and apparently many of my generation, had #4 Punky Brewster episode burned in my memory. Stay out of abandoned appliances! And #2 Saved by the Bell was shocking when it aired. Jesse was so smart, she of all people had a drug problem?!