Autumn. A time for pumpkins, sweaters, midterms, and my personal favorite: Halloween cocktail parties. In honor of this month of October, my roommates and I have hosted three soirees with drinks and treats. Cheers to you and yours!
1.) Pumpkin martinis with black and orange nachos
1.) Pumpkin martinis with black and orange nachos
Start October right with some fabulous pumpkin martinis. There are several recipes online, but due to costs and scouting issues, we decided to improvise our martini recipe with our own concoction. Mix it up and figure out what balance is right for you and your guests.
Pumpkin Martinis:
--Vanilla vodka
--Pumpkin (from a can works)
--Cinnamon
--Nutmeg
--Amoretto (not too much)
--Milk
--Ice
Shake it together and pour into martini glass rimmed with a pinch of cinnamon sugar. The drink will appear as a slightly murky dark orange but trust me, they were a huge hit.
Black and Orange Nachos:
--Tostitos Scoops® chips
--Black beans
--Orange cheddar cheese
--Black olives
--Pico de gallo salsa
Here’s the thing about nachos: It’s usually a mess. Nearly all restaurants will pile on beans and cheese and whatever else onto a dysfunctional plate of chips and call it a meal. With this simple recipe, take the extra time to place beans and cheese into each individual chip. (which is why Tostitos Scoops® is such a help). Each chip will already be black and orange due to the beans and cheese, so make sure you only put black olives on top of half of the chips and “bloody” red salsa on the remaining half. Your guests will appreciate the colorful bite-size snack with their delicious drink.
2.) Apple Pie martinis with caramel apples
Once again, I must apologize for not having the specifics measurements of this martini recipe. I wrote it out on a Post-it note and in living with 4 people who knows where anything goes after being left out in the living room for a day. Time to be creative!
Apple Pie Martinis
--Vodka (personally I only use Sky or Smirnoff)
--Goldschlager schapps liqueur (I used cheap cinnamon liquor instead. Don’t use too much)
--Apple juice
--Cranberry juice
--Ice
Shake together and place into martini glasses that have been rimmed with sugar. It’s a spicy martini with a nice pink color to it.
Caramel Apples:
--Small Granny Smith apples
--two bags of caramel candies
--two bags of chocolate chips, one bittersweet, one medium sweet
--Halloween-colored sprinkles
--Small bag of cookies
--Small Bag of Marshmellows
--24 popsicle sticks
Damn, these were good. Seriously good. The first and most important step is getting the right apples. Granny Smith is the way to go, since the bitter apple with balance the indulgently sweet caramel and chocolate toppings. Clean the apples and stick a popsicle stick into the tops of each one. Melt two bags of caramel candies into bowl (with 2 tablespoons of water). Dip each apples into the melted caramel and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. When all of the apples are done, place in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes for the caramel to harden.
While the apples are cooling take out three separate bowls and place sprinkles into one, crushed up cookie into another, and marshmallows in the last one. Being melting the chocolate. If the chocolate seems too dense, add a little butter to break it up. Bring out the apples and dip each one into the chocolate. Select a few apples for the sprinkles, a few apples for the cookie, and a few apples for the marshmallows, and leave a few of them plain [or use different ingredients entirely, like nuts or white chocolate, or M&Ms]. Place all of them back in the refrigerator to harden.
When it’s time for the cocktail party, place each apples on a small place and slice up each one so the guest can nibble on slices rather than try to bite into the whole apples. The guest will be truly impressed by lay-out and the irresistible treat in front of them.
3.) Candy corn martinis with “blood” tomato soup and ghost grilled cheese sandwiches
I have to thank the Food Network channel for this one.
Candy Corn martinis:
--½ cup Candy corn
--1 ½ cups vodka
--2 ounces orange liquor
--Juice of ½ a lemon
--1 large egg
--A few extra candy corn pieces
Combine the candy corn and vodka in a sealed contain for 3 hours for the vodka infuse with the candy taste. Strain after those 3 hours. Add 4 ounces of the candy corn vodka, the orange liqueur, lemon juice and egg white to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake. Pour into two martini glasses and add a few candy corn pieces to the bottom for looks.
This drink should taste like a naughty piece of candy.
“Blood” tomato soup and ghost grilled cheese sandwiches:
--Tomato soup
--Rye bread
--orange cheddar cheese
--ghost cut-out used for cookies
--test tubes
The trick with this treat is the presentation. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches take a pot on the stove and a microwave, but tomato soup in some spooky test tubes and black and orange sandwiches cut like ghosts bring a little boo to the table. Cheers.
Hope your Fall holidays are full of happy stomachs and good friends!
Pumpkin Martinis:
--Vanilla vodka
--Pumpkin (from a can works)--Cinnamon
--Nutmeg
--Amoretto (not too much)
--Milk
--Ice
Shake it together and pour into martini glass rimmed with a pinch of cinnamon sugar. The drink will appear as a slightly murky dark orange but trust me, they were a huge hit.
Black and Orange Nachos:
--Tostitos Scoops® chips
--Orange cheddar cheese
--Black olives
--Pico de gallo salsa
Here’s the thing about nachos: It’s usually a mess. Nearly all restaurants will pile on beans and cheese and whatever else onto a dysfunctional plate of chips and call it a meal. With this simple recipe, take the extra time to place beans and cheese into each individual chip. (which is why Tostitos Scoops® is such a help). Each chip will already be black and orange due to the beans and cheese, so make sure you only put black olives on top of half of the chips and “bloody” red salsa on the remaining half. Your guests will appreciate the colorful bite-size snack with their delicious drink.
2.) Apple Pie martinis with caramel apples
Once again, I must apologize for not having the specifics measurements of this martini recipe. I wrote it out on a Post-it note and in living with 4 people who knows where anything goes after being left out in the living room for a day. Time to be creative!
Apple Pie Martinis
--Goldschlager schapps liqueur (I used cheap cinnamon liquor instead. Don’t use too much)
--Apple juice
--Cranberry juice
--Ice
Shake together and place into martini glasses that have been rimmed with sugar. It’s a spicy martini with a nice pink color to it.
Caramel Apples:
--two bags of caramel candies
--two bags of chocolate chips, one bittersweet, one medium sweet
--Halloween-colored sprinkles
--Small bag of cookies
--Small Bag of Marshmellows
--24 popsicle sticks
Damn, these were good. Seriously good. The first and most important step is getting the right apples. Granny Smith is the way to go, since the bitter apple with balance the indulgently sweet caramel and chocolate toppings. Clean the apples and stick a popsicle stick into the tops of each one. Melt two bags of caramel candies into bowl (with 2 tablespoons of water). Dip each apples into the melted caramel and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. When all of the apples are done, place in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes for the caramel to harden.
While the apples are cooling take out three separate bowls and place sprinkles into one, crushed up cookie into another, and marshmallows in the last one. Being melting the chocolate. If the chocolate seems too dense, add a little butter to break it up. Bring out the apples and dip each one into the chocolate. Select a few apples for the sprinkles, a few apples for the cookie, and a few apples for the marshmallows, and leave a few of them plain [or use different ingredients entirely, like nuts or white chocolate, or M&Ms]. Place all of them back in the refrigerator to harden.
When it’s time for the cocktail party, place each apples on a small place and slice up each one so the guest can nibble on slices rather than try to bite into the whole apples. The guest will be truly impressed by lay-out and the irresistible treat in front of them.
3.) Candy corn martinis with “blood” tomato soup and ghost grilled cheese sandwiches
I have to thank the Food Network channel for this one.
Candy Corn martinis:
--½ cup Candy corn--1 ½ cups vodka
--2 ounces orange liquor
--Juice of ½ a lemon
--1 large egg
--A few extra candy corn pieces
Combine the candy corn and vodka in a sealed contain for 3 hours for the vodka infuse with the candy taste. Strain after those 3 hours. Add 4 ounces of the candy corn vodka, the orange liqueur, lemon juice and egg white to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake. Pour into two martini glasses and add a few candy corn pieces to the bottom for looks.
This drink should taste like a naughty piece of candy.
“Blood” tomato soup and ghost grilled cheese sandwiches:
--Tomato soup--Rye bread
--orange cheddar cheese
--ghost cut-out used for cookies
--test tubes
The trick with this treat is the presentation. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches take a pot on the stove and a microwave, but tomato soup in some spooky test tubes and black and orange sandwiches cut like ghosts bring a little boo to the table. Cheers.
Hope your Fall holidays are full of happy stomachs and good friends!
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