I'd like to do something fun and different for the trick-or-treating neighborhood kids. So, inspired by a recent SE article on tiki bars, Tiki Halloween it is! Planning to decorate our front porch with tiki torches, scary pumpkins with tiki god faces and I'd like to give out tropical candy.
I need tropical candy ideas and other creative ideas for porch tiki decorations. Help me out!
Do you like to eat frozen foods that are not traditionally eaten frozen?
I adore noshing on frozen vegetables and I've learned that this strikes more than one person as really odd. Frozen peas, edamame and especially corn. I also love to dip frozen green beans in a creamy horseradish dip.
How about you? Anybody eat unusually frozen foods?!?
Does anybody do anything interesting with their leftover pie dough scraps? Sweet and savory suggestions are welcome.
I had no idea that 2008 is the International Year of the Potato.
I love potatoes.
If you were a potato, what kind would you be? And how do you want to be prepared?
I'm jonesing for some watermelon today and wish to try something new.
I just found this at Simply Recipes: Watermelon Salad with Feta or Cotija.
It could work. Has anybody tried a savory watermelon salad? If not, do you think you'd enjoy such a thing?
I'm tired of setting off the smoke alarm when I season the thing. The kitchen fan never works well enough. I have to open nearby windows and doors.
Do you think seasoning an iron skillet outside on a grill would be a reasonable?
It's that time of year. Soft-shell crab season. Do you like them? Are you afraid of them? What's your favorite way to prepare them? Recipes welcome.
Recently, two foreign friends of mine stated that, customarily, one's worst enemy would be treated with the highest level of hospitality in their countries of origin. For example, if their worst enemy visited their home and they failed to serve them tea and make them comfortable, they'd be shunned and considered as uncivilized. I find this fascinating.
What would you serve your worst enemy? Would you treat them well or not?
I'd treat them well. And I'd serve them something home-made (e.g. zucchini bread with butter, cookies or whatever) and perhaps some freshly brewed coffee or tea. Why perpetuate bad karma, right?
I'd like to make butter. I've heard of the "shake the mason jar" method. Has anyone made butter this way? Is there a better way?
You ever work on a farm? Is there a particular local farm you visit to get your produce, eggs, cheese or other items? Have you ever tried to pick-your-own produce?
Tell any kind of farm story you wish.
Pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread? The pies can be scaled down to individual tart size, are seasonal and don't clash with chocolate.
This may be more of the same. Sorry. I've got a "Halloweenhead" and, yes, it's because I heard that Ryan Adams song recently.
Have fun at the lodge. :D
@lemons: I'm 50% Greek and I've never heard of Avgolemono without the froth. It's the reason the soup can be thick without starch. Check this out: Blake Royer mentions whipping the whites for Avgolemono on SE here.
This is GREAT.
-Peru sues Ireland over potatoes.
-The United States of America sues Italy over tomatoes.
-Egypt sues Germany over beer.
@izatryt: Good to hear that you're over it. And you don't need to love Halloween. I just didn't see the need to be such a killjoy.
@yankeesgal: Loving the volcano idea. Will try to take photos of the porch to share!
@bisbee: I'm ordering those candy leis. Chocolate-covered mac nuts is a great idea, too.
:D
Halloween rules. I love these recommendations. Thank you!
@izatryt: Is your bitchiness here the result of your husband bringing home that hunk of Velveeta?
Don't take that s#!+ out on me.
Apart from consulting you all, I am indeed doing my Google due diligence. I've decided to carve pineapples, in addition to pumpkins. I'm going to do some candy research now . . . . but I still need more porch decoration ideas in the meantime.
I have three recommendations.
1. Beat the whites until they're good and frothy, almost at soft peak stage. I noted you said "lightly beating the egg whites." This won't produce the volume you need and if the whites are still gooey they will indeed separate.
2. Lemons is correct, you should add the beaten yolks to the beaten whites before you temper. Though, don't beat the two very much or the protein in the yolks can make the volume in the whites collapse a bit. Just beat them until they are combined.
3. Don't temper with boiling or even simmering broth. It should be hot, however.
Good luck. Avgolemono is one of my favorite soups on Earth!
The fact that Tiki-Ti has stayed open for 45 years must be a testament tiki's staying power in general (at least among the L.A. set). And kitschy or not, when tiki is done in an appealing way, it makes for a very fun time.
@bobbob: "All over" does not include Pittsburgh, unfortunately.
Mr. Sus (the OH) is from L.A. and he promised to take me to Tiki-Ti over the Christmas holiday. I'm nervous, though, 'cause just one of their drinks can put a large man on his ass. Wish me luck!
Oh! Love the popcorn idea. I'd do a chile-lime-popcorn thingamajig... a savory salty offset to the sweet chocolate, and chile goes well with chocolate anyway... MMMmmmmmmm....
I vote for the pumpkin bread, something moist with pecans, sounds perfect with chocolate, and will bring antioxidants to the party!
Go for the cranberry orange mini loaves. Sounds delicious. Both of those flavors seem to compliment chocolate! Yum!
jerzee-you're going to be in my neighborhood! (ok, so I'm 20 mi west of Hershey, but anyway) I second the cran/orange, pumpkin, etc. Go for the NONchocolate route. It's easy to OD on chocolate when you're visiting Hershey. have a great time. FYI- if you get a chance to go out of the Lodge for breakfast-don't miss the Hershey Pantry (about 5 min down the road)-it consistently gets Best Breakfast kudos locally. TDF!
Holy crap, dbcurrie. That sounds freaking amazing. I'm so doing that!
ohh pb cookies from buffy sounds yummy. I love the mini loaves or cupcake size as you are gonna need to have something manageable while traveling. I went to Hershey last yr and you can completely overload on chocolate, you might even want more savory and less sweet. Have fun
Peanut butter bread! I've made this a couple times, and it's one of those "I need to write down the recipe" sort of things, but basically, I add peanut butter to my standard white bread dough. Maybe a half-cup per loaf. Could be more. I just eyeball it. But I've seen recipes online, so you could probably find something acceptable. It's not a sweet bread, so people who've overindulged in sweet chocolate might like it. And having a yeast bread along with the quickbreads might be a good option.
Peanut butter cookies? I'm not a fan, but lots of people like peanut butter with chocolate. Plus you could poke kisses in the middle of the cookies before they cool. They would be easy to transport, too.
i' ve also been making little savory bread puddings that i bake in muffin pans, usually mushroom & sage with bleu cheese or tomato, basil and romano.... but these might need refrigeration since there's lots of eggs and milk in these.... but maybe nice for another time.
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Location: the east coast
About: i am a wide, shallow river.
Favorite foods:
Last bite on earth: dad's avgolemono soup.