Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins and Black Boot, Union Square Farmer's Market, October 2010

Graveyard Cake

Halloween was never my favorite holiday.  I prefer happy, smiling ghosts and never really enjoyed the goriness that most people seem to love about the holiday.

The costumes and free candy were wonderful - at least until I turned 13 and was thereby deemed to old to go trick-or-treating.  Now I find myself on the other side of the door, the adult handing out candy to children who, on any other day in this city, would be considered pan handlers.

But I do enjoy seeing all the costumes, all the Daddies carrying around little bumble bees who are too young to talk, all the Mommies going crazy for the wallpaper in our entryway, and all the almost-teenagers (I am over the word tween) entrusted to trick-or-treat all by themselves in the building.

Besides costume watching, there are a few other, non-scary, things I enjoy about Halloween each year:  It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and this cake.

I remember my mother clipping the recipe for this treat from a magazine and how my sister and I used to fight over whether to mix gummy worms into the chocolate pudding.

Let's just say that I detested real worms and my sister used to keep them as pets in a tin under her bed.  I am sure you can guess which sides we took in the argument.

Nutella Bomboloni with Hazelnut Sugar

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up.  Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts.  She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann, and Epicurious.

Personally, I have never liked doughnuts.  Crazy, right?  

But I only speak the truth.  Ask my father who was forced to purchase a blueberry muffin on weekend morning runs to Dunkin' Donuts.  If he forgot to purchase the muffin, or if they happened to have sold through their stash for the morning, I would refuse to eat breakfast.  

I was a bit stubborn as a child.

Martha's Apple Butter

When cool fall days arrive here in Manhattan, I instinctively begin to miss home.  The smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves make me homesick for weekends I spent baking with my mother and nights when my father would slowly mull apple cider on the stove top.

Perhaps what I miss most about being home in Virginia are the people - family and friends.  Besides feeling nostalgic for my own family and food, I miss the community.

My parents talk about our neighbors as very close friends - our conversations include updates on all the neighborhood children, pets, and get-togethers.  A community that considers each other family and are quick to offer a helping hand.

Meanwhile,  as I juggle grocery bags and dig in my purse for the keys, my neighbors walk quickly past without even so much as a hello.

Pretzel Bread

When fall arrives, my Sundays are taken hostage by a little game called football.  This is not only because Mike is obsessed with watching as many games as humanly possible, but also because I love football.

By 1 pm on Sunday, all errands must be completed.  Any open houses scheduled during this time will not be attended. Oh - and pretzel bread should be rising in kitchen.

As with most things in life, one of the things I like most about football games is actually the food.  And when I served pretzel bread with Mike's spicy chicken chili one Sunday last year, a heavenly combination was unknowingly created.