pumpkin chai ice cream

Top 10 Halloween Foods

YES. Halloween is upon us. Break out the Hocus PocusThe Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and your favorite horror DVD. But what good are these delightful fall productions without fall-themed food? Well, frankly they are nothing without our beloved food. Clearly, you’re doing it wrong if you have not yet enjoyed some sort of “halloweeny” food. Here are our top ten suggestions:

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10. Acorn Squash Fondue

Who needs the melting pot? Get the acorn squash while their on sale and fill it with ooey, gooey cheese.

9. Caramel Apples

Yes, that apple is supposed to be me. My favorite part (other than eating them) is trying to design the most vulgur apple.

8. Butterfinger Cheesecake

Tell yourself that you didn’t have to go back to the store for candy because you didn’t blow through the first bag. OR, you could make a more refined candy treat that won’t tempt you to go through that second bag “for the kids.”

Pumpkin Caramel Mousse Cake_Endless Simmer

7. Pumpkin Caramel Mousse Cake

Pumpkin at a whole new level.

6. Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

This version is pretty much a pumpkin pie in a pumpkin. If that’s not your thing, think of the other possibilities (cheese, meet, ya know – the basics).

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5. Black Bean Spaghetti

BS showed us the blood and guts of spaghetti with a gourmet spin.

4. Pumpkin Chai Ice Cream

In the BEST of households, ice cream is NEVER out of season. Don’t you dare tell me otherwise.

3. Three Musketeers Pop-Tail

Who needs candy anyway when you can have a dessert that also has booze?

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2. Butternut Squash Pizza

No, Domino’s does not have this flavor.

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1. Butternut Squash Quiche

And finally, something for those who still want to eat “healthy” on Halloween.

Endless Beer: The Forbidden Traveler

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ABV: 4.4 %

The brewery that brings us the Curious Traveler has unearthed new shandy ground with their Forbidden Traveler Apple Ale. Traveler aims to create a crisp wheat ale brewed with real apple. Contrary to its hard cider counterparts, the Forbidden Traveler looks to bring beer back into apple cider. The suds bring about mixed reviews. But no worries, we’re here to set it straight.

Flavor Profile:

Appearance:  Hazy yellow with a bit of an orange hue.

Aroma: Sweet apple cider with wheat malt scents and even a little bit of lemon and spice.

Taste: Apple flavor up front and throughout. A mix between apple cider and apple juice. Wheat malts come through from beginning to end, but are more subtle than the apple. While the apple stands out, the beer flavors are there.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and clean with a smooth finish. Lingering sweet aftertaste.

Overall: If you drink this expecting the flavor of a hard cider, you are going to be disappointed. If you drink it expecting the flavor of a wheat beer, you won’t get it. This is not for the faint-hearted, but for the adventurists out there. While the brew has a low ABV, the sweet apple flavor is in your face with a challenge to open up your mind to a new kind of beer – apple beer!

Endless Rating: 3 out of 5 suds

Endless Pairings:

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Cocktail O’Clock: Apple Ginger Brew

Apple Ginger Brew

Has anyone else noticed that ginger shows up as an ingredient on every single cocktail list lately? Not that I’m complaining. It adds just the right mixture of sweetness and bite to any drink.

Here’s a perfect fall  that I can’t believe I haven’t thought of before — mixing ginger beer up with apple for a spicy-sweet autumn mix (and of course adding a l’il rum).

Apple Ginger Brew

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Cocktail O’Clock: Spiked Pumpkin Cider

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Mulled wine is cute. Sure, for those cold fall days nearing winter, why not heat up some wine and mulling spices for a warm and alcoholic treat? But what about those nights that you need something more? Try something new for a change – a modified sweet and boozy night cap. Sons of Liberty’s pumpkin spice whiskey is offered with a few cocktail suggestions on their website. I decided to try out the pumpkin cider martini (with no martini glass). The sweetness of the cider is a good pairing with that of the pumpkin spice flavors. Then, you get hit with the booze and spices of the whiskey. For some extra sweetness, rim the glass with some cinnamon sugar…and some maple syrup. I may even try some syrup shaken in with the drink for some extra sweetness.

Sons of Liberty suggests making it pretty damn strong. I tried it strong at first, then tried it in equal parts. It all really depends on whether you want more sweetness or more of a boozy warming feeling. However, with such a sweet whiskey, the strong variation is not exactly overpowering because of the general sweetness of pumpkin spice whiskey to begin with. Try it out  and let us know what you think! I may try a variation of this in the pumpkin tap sometime in the near future…

Spiked Pumpkin Cider

  • 3 oz.  Pumpkin Spice Whiskey (for a strong drink – 2 for sweeter drink)
  • 2 oz Fresh Apple Cider
  • Crushed Ice

Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake vigorously. Rim fancy-shmancy cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar and pour. Garnish with apple wedge and cinnamon stick if you are REALLY fancy.

Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Stuffing

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If you ask me, it is NOT a holiday meal without stuffing. Nothing says celebration like cooking some old bread up with an unreasonable amount of butter and fatty meat. Honestly, I don’t even care if we have a bird. Whether it’s turkey, goose or even ham on the Christmas table, I’m expecting stuffing on the side.

And this year I’m pretty proud of my new invention: stovetop stuffing amped up with apple bourbon slow-cooker pulled pork, walnuts and apples. YEP.

Apple Bourbon Pulled Pork Stuffing

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Artsy Photo of the Day: Bearded Apple

It’s a tradition in our family to create caramel apples decorated in unique ways. And one apple every year is dedicated to me…and my beard. Since it is fuller than other years, my sister decided to go above and beyond. And I love it.

Can’t wait to eat it though…

Hashtag: #beardedmanforthewin

Artsy Photo of the Day

Pot of chicken liver mousse from the delightful “head-to-tail” restaurant Salty Sow in East Austin.

Topped with apple geleé and served with crostini and pickled onions, this is one heavy-duty appetizer (despite the fact that it melts like butter on your tongue). I think part of the reason I loved it is that it strongly reminded me of our legendary ES Philly food fantasy, duck in a pot.

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