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 Arianna graduated from Dowling College with a Bachelors in English Creative Writing and now works for a restaurant group as a Training Manager. She loves to cook, entertain and experience life through food. Arianna can be reached at arianna.ruth.johnson@gmail.com |
| It’s that time of year…The air is crisp, pumpkin-spice is everywhere and the stores are packed with candy; Halloween is right around the corner. I’ve never been a huge fan of Halloween, but if there’s an excuse to have a cocktail party, I’m in… Combine that with my slight obsession with masks & masquerade balls, and I have myself a nice little Halloween bash. I love to make butternut squash soup this time of year. My favorite recipe has roasted apple and onions that you puree with the squash, and I like to top it with bits of crispy bacon. For this particular party I would put the soup in shooters or demitasse cups so that people aren’t walking around with bowls and spoons; this way they can just sip the soup. On the side, I would make mini grilled cheese, because who doesn’t love a warm, gooey grilled cheese on a chilly fall day? I would put out a couple of different kinds so that your guests can have a choice. One could have bacon and apple inside of it to echo what is in the soup. I pair that with either Swiss or sharp cheddar cheese and put it all between sourdough bread. The other I would make is Brie cheese on cranberry-walnut bread. If you can’t find cranberry-walnut, because it can be hard to come by, I would use either pumpernickel or sourdough and spread a little raspberry preserve on the bread. As for the beverages, you can take the easy, yet still satisfying, route and put out an array of beer, such as Oktoberfest, pumpkin, and hard ciders, or you can make a couple of signature cocktails. This time of year fruit such as pomegranates and pears are in season, and they go very well in cocktails. A pomegranate martini I think is a classic. All you need is your favorite vodka, triple sec, pomegranate juice and pomegranate seeds for a garnish. Another delicious seasonal cocktail is a pear gin spritzer with thyme. I know, thyme in cocktail sounds strange, but trust me…You need gin, of your choice, apple juice, triple sec or Grand Marnier, sparkling seltzer, sliced pear, as well as springs of thyme for garnish. The thyme is there to tickle your senses as you sip the cocktail, so you taste the drink, but smell the thyme. This all is all well and good, but where does the masquerade come in? Well, you can just go to your local party supply store and buy a variety of inexpensive masks and hand them out to your friends! |
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20 lucky winners will win $500 each in prizes totaling $10,000. 