Well, it is Halloween today. Though we celebrated with our Halloween Cocktail party four days ago. I hope you enjoy today’s spooky treats and treasures.
I am sorry it took me these three days to get this post about our party up. The tail end of October has just got away from me for some reason. Maybe it is my day-dreaming of the up coming Christmas season, which I always love and greatly anticipate.
I was a bad blogger and did not get as many photos as I planned of our guests. There were many wonderful costumes. Here is hubby and myself as the “Spirits of the Jazz Age”
Hubby in his coattail tuxedo and I in an early 1920’s rendition of a Jazz baby. Though you can’t see it very well in these pics, the beads hanging from my headpiece are actual vintage beads from my husbands great Grandmother. I am lucky to have a few such treasures saved from old clothing from the Edwardian and into the 1920’s from various family who thought it wise to clip and save bits of old beads and trim from outmoded and worn out dresses.
Here we are at the piano. My fan is also vintage 1920’s black silk.
Here my good friend took our theme of ‘fancy dress’ costuming and went as an ‘owl’. I like costumes that are themes but more ‘evening wear’ with a nod to an idea. 
Such as this Victorian fancy dress costume of a butterfly. One still wears evening clothes but with a nod to the costume, here butterfly wings and insert panels into the dress similar to the patterns on a butterfly wing.
Though we had a fair share of other such costumes. Here a friend came as her interpretation of a Starbuck’s Latte and another friend with her as a Gypsy.
I unfortunately did not get photos of all our guests. I am always faced with the conundrum of very meticulously documenting my life verses simply living and enjoying it. I am rather apt to choose the latter and forget the camera all together.
Here is a photo of the table. Not everything was set up at this shot, but you can see the general feel. My lovely punch bowl in the middle was a gift this year from Gussie for my birthday. My birthday is in November but she said she couldn’t wait as it was so perfect for our party. She was right.
My friend brought these darling little bag rings which we placed as favors on the cups and I think they look simply darling.
Everyone loves a good brownie. And I as I was making candy anyway, I found these darling skeleton molds. The brownies become little graves with delicate peppermint scented white chocolate deadlies sneaking out. I thought they looked ‘haunted house’ sinister presented on my old Victorian Transferware Severn Platter.
This recipe HERE for brownies is what I often use and find it really easy and good. I always sprinkle a bit of chocolate pieces into the mix before baking. And as I was making candy that day, I had scrapings leftover and into the mix they went.
I adore old fashioned cake doughnuts. And this time of year, cider and cinnamon doughnuts are a sort of tradition. It always makes me feel such a part of a New England Autumn. This is the recipe I used for these and they are very easy to make and wonderful warm from the fryer or even two days later! I always find that a cake doughnut ages better than a yeast raised.
1 cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves 2 eggs 1/4 cup melted butter 1 cup milk or 1/2 milk and 1/2 cup cream 4 cups flour and a touch more to handle dough oil or lard for frying cinnamon sugar
Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk to blend. Add wet ingredients (melted butter, eggs, milk/cream) and mix well
Next add the flour and mix with wooden spoon or flour covered hands. If the dough feels too sticky, add up to another 1/2 cup or so of flour.
Roll into ball (don’t over handle) cover and but in ice box for at least an hour. I prefer to make it the day before. And any leftover dough can be refrigerated for up to a week. Or keep some made up in the freezer for a few months at a time.
Let stand for 20 minutes out of ice box, roll out on floured or marble surface and cut with doughnut cutter.
Your hot oil should be about 360F. I always test with a donut hole first. Let it brown and turn a few times if you need to. When it is done inside in under 3 minutes, it is the right temperature.
Drain and shake in a bag of cinnamon sugar mixture or confectioners sugar. Delicious!
These darling little candies were simply made by melting chocolates and using a little mold. The mold was designed to hold an Oreo sized cookie. I put a Christmas themed one HERE in the corner store. They are around $5 and are rather fun. I used white chocolate for the white and green and regular chocolate (milk) for the darker. I flavored the chocolate with peppermint, as I really love mint and chocolate. Though that would probably be better for a Christmas party, there were no complaints and the plate was soon emptied!
One of our guests makes incredible cakes. She delighted us all with this scary confection. It was home-made red velvet cake and homemade raspberry jam ‘blood’. He was rather scary but Very tasty.
We had many beverages and cocktails, but in the center was our 'spooky punch’. It was made with strawberry daiquiri fixings (smashed up strawberries and sugar) and orange juice and ginger ale to make it bubble away. The scary ‘Goblin skin’ is simply scoops of lime sorbet. It was made without alcohol so those quests who don’t drink could enjoy it and those who wanted to could spike it with some white rum. You can also see a delicious bowl of peanut butter caramel corn home-made by one of my guests. I am lucky that my guests always see fit to bring such wonderfully made things to my parties, I am lucky in that.
I am going to close with these fun Halloween ideas from the vintage cookbook Holiday Cookbook.
Enjoy and Happy Homemaking.
