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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2012)
Food Scare Up Some Fun: Plan a Halloween Party T his Halloween, why not put a fun twist on pumpkin carving by making some Jack O’Melons? Watermel- ons carve up boo-tifully, and you can eat the fruit right away, making it easy to scare up some delicious Hal- loween fun. Watermelons are a healthy addition to any Hal- loween party. They’re the lycopene leader among fresh produce, are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, and contain 6 percent of the daily value for vitamin B6 — all of which boost your immune system. Tiki Mask Table Decoration 1 oblong seedless watermelon Pencil or green dry erase marker Melon baller Paring and kitchen knives Spoon Channel knife Toothpick Slice 1/4 inch off end of watermelon to provide a stable base. Use pencil to draw the face, making adjustments in scale to your particular watermelon. Use melon baller to scoop out nostrils; use small paring knife to clean up edges. Next use paring knife to cut out the inside mouth area, leaving room for the teeth. Next cut individual teeth, using the same small paring knife, and use a spoon to dig out a large area of flesh for the mouth cavity. Next carve out eyes, digging a deep cavity in each, for drama. Use a channel knife to carve details. Use some carved out pieces to cut a “bone” decoration for top of head, and attach with a toothpick. Carving Tips • Have the watermelon at room temperature when you carve. The cuts will be easier to make. You can chill the watermelon in the refrigerator after cutting and before serving. • After you’ve drawn the design on the rind, insert tooth- picks in key places to use as guides for your cuts. B e the ghostess with the mostess this Halloween, and throw a wickedly wonderful celebration. Start by scaring up some fun with an array of graveyard goodies. There’s no bones about it, a spooktacu- lar skeleton cake will make for a boo- tiful Halloween centerpiece. Using a skeleton casket pan makes this impres- sive dessert — filled with fall flavors like cinnamon and apples — easy to achieve. Simply decorate with icing and watch as your skeleton comes back from the grave. For added fright, surround the coffin with Spooky Pop Cupcakes — swirled with brightly-colored icing and things that go bump in the night. Just be sure to pair sweets with a be“witch”ing bever- age and you’ll be caught in a web of friends all evening long. Back From the Grave Cake Makes about 12 servings 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar 3 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 cups sweetened applesauce 1-1/4 cups diced Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium apple) 1 can (16 ounces) White Decora- tor Icing Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare pan with vegetable pan spray. In medium bowl, combine flour, bak- ing powder, cinnamon and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla; mix well. Alternately add flour mixture and apple- sauce to butter mixture. Spread about 1/2 of cake batter so that it reaches the first horizontal line inside the pan. Sprinkle diced apples evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter, smoothing out the top. Bake 58 to 62 minutes, or until tooth- pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on cooling grid. Decorate cooled cake with tip 5 and decorator icing. Spooky Pop Cupcakes Each cupcake serves 1 12 solid color baking cups. 1 can (16 ounces) White Decorator Icing Orange, Green or other desired Icing Color 1 can (16 ounces) Choco- late Decorator Icing Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cav- ities of standard muffin pan with baking cups. Bake your favorite cupcakes in prepared pan. Cool completely. Place some cupcakes in Skeleton Cupcake Wraps. Tint white decora- tor icing with icing color. Use a spatula to ice smooth or pipe tip 1M icing swirls on cupcake top. Insert icing decorations.. Popcorn Ball Monsters Each serves 1 1 jar (about 7 ounces) marshmallow crème Violet and Orange Icing colors 4 cups popped popcorn, divided White Candy Melts Candy, melt- ed following package instructions Large Candy Eyeballs Animal and People Faces Sprin- kle Sets, candy corn, Jumbo Con- fetti Sprinkles Green and Black Candy Strings Spray Dimensions Multi-Cavity Mini Pumpkin Pan cavities with vegetable pan spray. In large microwave-safe bowl, microwave marshmallow crème 1 minute at 50% power. Remove bowl from microwave and divide marshmallow crème in half; stir icing color into each half (tint slightly darker than how you want your finished treat to look). Stir 2 cups popped popcorn into each Page 8 The Portland Skanner October 10, 2012 marshmallow mixture mixing until evenly coated. Press popcorn treat mixture in bottom cavities only of pumpkin pan to 1 1/2 in. deep; reserve some unmolded popcorn. Let set; unmold. Attach 2 popcorn ball halves together on one edge, using unmolded popcorn to prop oppo- site edge open. Using melted candy, attach Candy Eyeballs and sprinkles and candy corn teeth, and Jumbo Confetti nose. Attach candy strings for hair. Peanut Butter 3D Sandwich Cookies Makes about 1 dozen sandwich cookies 3/4 cup solid vegetable short- ening 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour Buttercream Icing Kelly Green, Orange Icing Color Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray Sandwich Pan with vegetable pan spray. In large bowl, beat shortening and peanut butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar; mix well. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add flour; mix well. Press dough into pan cavities, filling 2/3 full. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan to cooling grid; cool completely. Meanwhile, tint portions of icing green and orange. To assemble cookies, spread icing on half of the cookies; sandwich with second cookie. Pipe details with icing.
