Mmmm....Homemade Apple Pie.......

I was painting the top of an unfinished wooden side table on Sunday afternoon, just having a little arts-n-crafts time, when my daughter came to me and said "I feel like baking something!" Little did she know that I'd been thinking about apple pie all weekend - so I put my paints away in about 10 seconds flat we we headed out to find the perfect apples! We've never made a pie together - heck, I can hardly remember the last time I made a pie myself. But I can tell you that whenever it was, it was not a two-crust pie. I've thought about baking one now and again, but like many people, when you think of pie, your brain automatically thinks 'Pie means pie crust! Noooooo!!!!!' All of the pie crust 'anthems' run through your mind....'it has to be flaky!', 'don't handle it too much!', 'you cannot have a tough crust!', 'it's gonna be hard to roll out!' and on and on and on.... Well, for the good of conquering my own hang-ups and showing my daughter that we can bake anything we want - I decided we would indeed tackle an apple pie if for no other reason than to prove we could do it. I did not want to teach my daughter that 'a pie is too hard' to make. That's like telling her, 'math is hard for girls'. Blanket statements like that can be so harmful - especially coming from a parent. Besides, for a young girl who is enjoying cooking/baking more and more, think of all the wonderful dishes that she might never make just because a crust is involved! I had to start her off on the right 'pie foot'. And...being a pie novice myself, it was fun to kill the crust-ghosts together.
Mixing the pie crust ingredients was so simple - and the crusts rolled out with ease. I used my Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer to prepare the apples. What an awesome tool - every apple was uniformly sliced into 1/8 inch slices, ensuring a soft and tender apple filling. I do not like crunchy apples in my apple pie! We spooned the apples into the bottom crust and dotted the top with tiny bits of butter, put on the top crust - then I realized I'd trimmed the bottom crust too close to the pie plate to allow proper closure/sealing of the two crusts. So....the pie crust challenges began. We took off the top crust, emptied the out the apples, and made a brand new crust for the bottom - one I wouldn't trim so closely. That second crust.....was pie crust hell. I rolled it too thin and couldn't roll it or fold it to get it in the pie plate. I tried rolling it once again - knowing in the back of my mind that a tough crust was looming. That second roll-out was worse than the first, so I tossed the dough and made more, again. This one - with a lot of finger-crossing and praying and breath-holding, came out well - so into the pan it went. The apples were re-load, re-buttered and another new batch of dough was made for the top crust as I had to toss the orginial one. This new top crust came out fine and we placed it atop the arromatic apple filling, brushed it with a little milk and then put our labor-heavy creation into a nice, hot oven.
All in all it was a really fun baking project. I ended up making tons of dough (first batch made two crusts...then I made three singles). Thinking about it afterwards, I figured it might've actually been a good thing that I had to make all those extra crusts. Here I'd told my daughter why so many people shy away from making pie -and then our very first attempt almost turned out too perfectly (until I'd trimmed it incorrectly)! In the end, she saw alot of what can happen, and that it can be a bit frustrating but also very fun. And that's what's important.
After dinner on Sunday night, we were so excited to cut into the still-warm pie - I'd bought vanilla ice cream to have along side as well. With the first bite, my husband's eyes rolled back into his head and his pleasure was easy to see - he immediately requested a pie for Thanksgiving. My first bite was a little more exporlatory - but it was pleased....the crust flaked with my fork...it was tender and beautfully golden - the apples...not a crunch in the bunch - it was heaven in my mouth.
My daughter.....her first bite, "It's pretty good..." by the third bite, "I don't think I like apple pie'. Oh well :-) We shared the experience and that's what counts. Baking together is a real joy - like it, or not ;-)

Lighting Up Halloween.....

I sure wish these photographed better - they look so wonderful all lit up in my living room. My daughter and I, along with my sister and her two daughters painted a bunch of these Halloween candles a few years ago. They were relatively easy - and we learned some great tricks to make them better - after we'd painted them, of course. But that's the lucky part for you - 'cause I can pass on the tips so yours are even better from the get-go! I'll share other art projects we've created as they fit the seasons or my mood :-)
These candles are some of our most prized Halloween decorations in our Halloween 'lot' Each year, as they're unwrapped from their tissue paper 'tombs', my daughter and I get to remember the night that all of us girls sat around our dining room table painting and laughing as these Halloween spooks came to life.
Art projects are such a fun way to while away the autumn hours and they don't have to break the bank - which in this economy, is a real bonus! Also, if you make an 'arty-party' out of it with friends or family, you can share the expenses for the paint and other supplies. An activity like this is great for kids parites too - not only can the kids have fun painting and creating their own masterpiece, but they also end up with a one-of-a-kind party favor to take home and keep forever!
There are no patterns to follow for this project and you're only limited by your imagination! So, below, I've listed the basic supplies you'll need and a few tips to make them turn out beautifully :-) Have fun!!

Painted Glass Halloween Candles
Supplies -
*Glass vessle of your choice - the ones shown above are 6" 'tulip'vases from the dollar store.
*Glass Paints - Opaque white is a must (details on that to follow), other recommended colors for Halloween candles are green, orange, purple, yellow & black
*Black, glass paint pen - or, in a pinch, a medium-tip black Sharpie pen
*Pencil
*Paint brushes of various sizes - but at leat one small one for detail work and one larger one to cover large areas.
Instructions -
The best way to begin this project would be to paint each glass vase with the white, opaque paint (only to the 'neck' of the vase...not the 'tulip' part round the top). If you'll notice in the picture above, the mummy candle really glows well - this is because of the white paint. The other candles seem to 'shine' more than glow - they also took many coats of color to be vibrant. If you paint a white undercoat on each candle first, their color will glow and the candle inside won't be as noticeable either (the candles aren't as noticable in 'real life' as they are in the picture above). This undercoat is a personal choice....but if we'd known then what we know now.....well, you know the rest ;-) Anyway, the paint dries pretty quickly so once that happens, you can lightly pencil your design onto the vase. Using the paint colors you've chosen, begin painting your desgin onto the white-coated vase. As each feature/area is finished and dried, you may decide to paint another coat to make the color darker/more vibrant. Once the design has been fully painted and the vase is fully covered with color (no clear spots!), use the black paint marking pen to outline the design. This makes the details really 'pop'. You can also add even finer details like moles on a witch or scars and stitches on a Frankenstein....things that can be a bit difficult to paint.
Once your candle holders are finished, drop in a votive or tealight candle and light'em up! You're new spooky 'friends' will warm your hearth and heart this Halloween and every Halloween to come!

Candy Continuance...

I just had to show this. It's the sight that greeted me from our living room coffee table this morning. Looks as if my husband had a bit of a sweet tooth last night, eh? Clearly, the candy for the trick-or-treaters isn't the only candy that I should wait to buy! There are no less than 6 Laffy-Taffy wrappers in the huddle - and what better to wash down the chewy, sugary, teeth-coating candy than a sparkly, sweet pop? Oh...did I mention.....he doesn't even like Laffy-Taffy! Yes....this is Full Throttle Sugar Season! Let the games begin!

Candy Galore!

The candy came out this weekend. Has it made it's way in to your house yet? I look at it as both a good thing (well, a fun thing) and a bad thing. It looks nice in the candy dishes - the trick is keeping it out of your mouth!
Each year, just about a week into the fall season, my daughter starts asking when we can get the Halloween decorations out. She gets so excited to see the spooky figurines and pumpkin candles and other fun things we've collected over the years. Tradition is very important to her and she counts on the decorating to offically welcome in the holiday. As much as I like the Halloween items we have, I'm always a tiny bit sorry to have them displayed. See, I remove all of the 'regular' decor (pictures, knick-knacks, 'pretties') that normally grace our end/coffee/sofa tables and entry way, to make room for the holiday 'stuff'. I love our everyday decor so stowing it all away in a cupboard or two makes me wince just a little. However...once the Halloween boxes come in from the garage and get unpacked and my daughter voices a memory about each piece, my 'regret' disappears and is replaced with her smiling face.
Now, much of our Halloween decor is made up of candle holders - all different kinds from store bought to homemade and there are enough of them to seriously dent a gigantic bag of tealights! So although we light'em up big time when the decorations first go up, we don't and can't continue to light them every night or we'd go broke by the end of the month just buying replacement candles! The other type of item that we have in multiples.....candy dishes. They look really cute...and really empty when they're not filled. Needeless to say, my daughter and I hit the bulk candy section during our weekend grocery trip. She picked most of the candies....chocolate eyeballs filled with pb and caramel, Laffy-Taffys, a few Hershey's minis and snack-sized Whoppers. And although I did grab a handful of individual Bit-o-Honey's for myself, I had to some of my favorite......candy corn! I think candy corn is one of those things that people either love or hate. Kinda of like Peeps....you know, the colored marshmallow treats that used to only be around at Easter but now come in a million different shapes and colors for every holiday? I am a Peeps-hater. I'm not big on marshmallow - ever - save for S'mores or when they're mixed into Rice Krispie Treats. The only time I've ever eaten a chocolate-covered marshmallow Santa was when I was very young. I'd taken a bite...hated it, then walked away, unintentionally letting it sit out for a few days. I remember going back to the dried out Santa and thinking, "Well, there's nothing else sweet to eat.....and it IS still candy..." so I took bite number two - which, by this time was very tough, chewy.....and quite good. Good or not - it's also really kind of gross. So....I don't eat marshmallow candy anymore but instead, go for the sweet, mellow, almost buttery yumminess of candy corn which I'm sure makes some people's faces squinch up just like mine does for Peeps. That's the fun thing about Halloween candy - there's something for everybody!
And as far as the 'other' candy goes...the candy for passing out to the tiny goblins on Halloween night - I can't even bring it in to the house till a few days before the 'big night' - I know my household too well. A day or two before Halloween, my daughter opens all the candy we buy for the trick-or-treaters, dumps them all into a huge bowl and tosses them as if they were a humongous 'candy salad'. It's bright and colorful and if you put your face right down into the bowl and inhale, the smell is quintessential Halloween! Little by little, pieces begin to diappear - and by Halloween night, I know I'll have to stop at the store on my way home from work to pick up an extra bag or two so as not to run out for the kids we actually bought the candy for! It's the same thing every year....and the reason I can admit it, well, something tells me our household isn't exactly unique.....am I right? ;-)
What's you're favorite Halloween candy?

My Dirt...

That title may be a little misleading....I don't have a lot of 'dirt' in my life. The phrase 'The Dirt' is not only the title to one of the best books I've ever read, but also could be the subtitle to some of my other favorites.
First of all - 'The Dirt' is the story behind the rock group Motley Crue. I'm not a Crue fan per se, but after having gotten glued to their 'Behind The Music' episode on VH1 years ago, I just had to read about the unbelieveable escapades of this band - they were wilder than any other band out there (in every way) and something about the totally gross & nutty things they did fascinated me.
I found out a long time ago that I enjoy knowing the gory details - the 'dirt', if you will - about people, events, etc. I believe what triggered my desire for the nitty-gritty was a book my brother lent me in my very early teens called 'The Want Ad Killer'. It was the true story of a serial killer and the more I read, the more I needed to know details.... If someone was 'mutilated' I needed to know what that meant - specifically. How were they mutilated? What exactly happened to them? I didn't enjoy knowing that innocent people were tortured - rather, my fascination came in wondering how in the hell could a person (the 'bad guy') do those things to people?! I also found I got satisfaction reading about people who were able to plod their way through and survive terribly adverse circumstances. I would be amazed at how strong a person could be - maybe, subconsciously, I wondered if I could ever be as strong as they'd been?
Anyhoo....all of this comes down to the fact that I am drawn to works of non-fiction that have an element of suffering in them. That's not to say I don't ever like a good 'knee-slapper' - laughing is always good - but again....I prefer non-fiction laughing. I find I can really only 'do' fiction if there's an air of truth throughout. All that said, I thought it would be fun to not only share my top fave books with you, but this will forever be my own little 'tribute' to these books that I so adored.
Iceman - Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer: This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is SO good! Following the life of Richard Kuklinski and his murderous temper, Kuklinski was a killing machine. He killed for the Mafia as well as himself - you did NOT want to piss this guy off.
A Fine Balance: Oprah's book choices do not influence me, but in this case, my mother's did (it just happened to be an 'Oprah book' too). This is a work of fiction that is so related to the write's life, it feels true - and it's wonderful. It takes place in India - I do love reading about other cultures - and author Rohinton Mistry put me right in the middle of it all.
The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star: This book spans a year in the life (through journal entries) of Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue (more Crue mayhem!), when he was so strung out on heroin it's surprising he lived through it...he actually died at one point - but ended up living to tell the tale! This book was raw and stinky and awesome! I could hardly put it down! If you like major grit...this is the book for you.
A Child Called It: OMG, you'll want to throttle the mother in this story! This is an absolutely heartbreaking account of a young boy whose mother turns on him in horrifying fashion. Yes, she calls him "It", but that's only the beginning - you will not believe the gut-wrenching life this little boy lived at the hands of his mother.
As I come across more great reads, I'll pass along my reccomendations (for those of you who also like grit). I'm currently reading "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" - the true story of Aron Ralston - an avid outdoorsman whose right wrist became trapped under a boulder while he was traversing through narrow canyons in Utah. He told his tale on TV after it happened so telling you he ends up having to amputate his own arm to survive is not spoiling the book.
Happy Reading!!!

Pumpkin Pie Dip...or is that Scoop?!

My sister and I agree that when a dip is really good, you can't just dip it....you gotta scoop it! Okay - so, I had a few friends over last weekend for an autumn get-together. As is usual for me, I began planning the menu a couple of weeks in advance because I like to make lists for shopping and prepping ease - and becasue I just get excited to entertain! One day, while browsing the food magazines in Borders, I came across this terrific appetizer that was just perfect for fall - Pumpkin Pie Dip - Yum! Once October starts, I could have pumpkin in just about every single thing I eat - I love it! Anyway - like a true tight-wad in this economy, I pulled a scrap of paper and a pen from my purse and scribbled down the thankfully short recipe rather than purchasing the whole magazine. I guess that's sort of like stealing - but hey, the pumpkin pie dip was really the only great recipe in the whole mag - so, better I 'steal' one, tiny, little recipe than the publisher scamming me out of 6 bucks for a whole bunch of other useless recipes, right?! Riiiight.... ;-) Anyway - this dip is super-scrumptous and so easy. 'They' say to serve it with gingersnaps - which I did, but I also baked some cinnamon/sugar pie crust cut-outs that to me, were more delicious with this dip than the snaps. Why not whip up this yummy treat and decide for yourself?!

Pumpkin Pie Dip ~
8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teas. cinnamon
1 teas. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teas. ground ginger
Stir all ingredients together until well combined. Chill if desired or serve immediately with gingersnaps and/or pie crust cut-outs (see below)
Pie Crust Cut-Outs ~
Make your own pie dough and roll it out to 1/8" thickness or purchase ready-made dough rounds. Use mini cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes or simply cut the rolled-out dough into small, equal size squares. Place shapes on a baking sheet and lightly brush the top of each cut-out with milk. Sprinkle each one with a cinnamon/sugar mixture (go heavy or light on the sprinkling, it's up to you). Bake for approx. 8 to 10 minutes at 350-degrees. Check them every minute after minute-8 to make sure they don't get too brown - the edges should be just lightly browned. Slide cut-outs off the hot baking sheet onto a cooling rack. Once cool - store them in an air-tight container - that is, IF you don't eat them all up right away with the dip!

Welcome October!

My daughter and I recently had an arts-n-crafts day and this is the result of our efforts! A 'fall-y' wreath with cute, little ghosts tucked in here and there. It was easy to make and pretty inexpensive (using a coupon for our local fabric store). It totaled about 11 bucks for everything from the wreath, the leaves and the tootsie pops inside each ghost. We made a wreath last year too but used a few different fall/halloween fabrics to cover the ghosts - however, the non-white ghosts blended in so much with the leaves, they were almost invisible...so this year, we stuck with traditional white. The wreath is super welcoming each time we come through the front door - and knowing we made it ourselves makes it even better! If you should make one yourself, be sure to wrap the tootsie rolls inside the ghosts, in plastic wrap before covering them with fabric. We didn't do this last year and over time, in storage, the tootsies 'weeped' and bled through the fabric. So, although it was super fun making a new wreath this year...the goopy, stained ghosts from last year were the real reason behind our new creation :-). Wanna make a fun wreath like this? Here's how!

Supplies:
1 grape vine wreath
1 wreath door hanger

2 to 3 kinds of silk leaves (to include berries, small pumpkins etc.)

5 to 6 Tootsie Pops

Plastic wrap and tape

1 black felt tip marker

5 to 6, 7x7" squares of fabric of your choice

4 pipe cleaners, cut in half (best if they match the color of your fabric)

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Hang the bare wreath from your wreath hanger - turning it this way and that until it hangs most pleasingly to your eye. Leaving the hanger in place, lay the wreath/hanger onto your work surface (this way, you know always know where the top of your wreath is which is good to know when placing the leaves and ghosts etc.). Cut the leaves, berries, pumpkins from their plastic 'vines' and set aside. Wrap tops of tootsies in pastic wrap and secure with tape around the pop stick. Cover each tootsie with a fabric square, gathering the fabric at the base of the pop and securing with 1/2 length of the pipe cleaner. Draw eyes on each ghost with the black felt marker. Place/stick tootsie ghosts into the wreath - space them any way you want - it's your wreath! Next, place the leaves into the wreath the way that pleases your eye - and lastly, place the berries and pumkins here and there for accent. Once everything is where you want it, start at one point and begin hot gluing each piece in place until all pieces have been secured all the way around the wreath. Lift the wreath by the it's hanger and make sure all pieces are in place and nothing is loose. If all is good, your wreath is ready to hang!

Enjoy walking through your own front door the whole fall season!