I love pumpkin and I’ve always been a fan of pumpkin bisque.  I like mine to be savory.  Save the sweet for the pie!  Since I have a more than passing infatuation with rum, I simply looked to combine two of my favorite flavors.  I tried this warm, with bourbon and with dark rum.  Not great in any combination.  But cold bisque and gold rum were the perfect match.  The bitter sweet flavor of the apple brandy foam is perfect with the savory, slightly spicy pumpkin bisque.

I have included the recipe for my pumpkin bisque below, but you can use your own or even your favorite prepared brand.

For 2 Shooters:

• 2 oz. Cold Pumpkin Bisque – see below
• 1/2 oz. Gold rum such as Cruzan or Mount Gay
• 1 dash Simple syrup
• 1 Dash Angostura Bitters
• Apple Brandy Foam – see below

1. Combine pumpkin bisque,rum simple syrup and bitters in a mixing glass without ice and stir to combine.
2. Divide between 2 tall shooters
3. Gently float the Apple Brandy Foam on the shooters
4. Serve immediately

Apple Brandy Foam

• 3 egg whites (4 1/2 oz pasteurized egg whites)
• 3 oz. Applejack Brandy
• 2 oz. Fresh Orange juice – double strained
• 2 Dashes Bar Keep Apple Bitters

1. Add all ingredients to an iSi Whipper
2. Seal the whipper and shake to further break up the egg whites
3. Double charge the Whipper with N2O, shaking after each charge
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours before use.  Will keep refrigerated for a few days.

Pumpkin Bisque

• 1 tsp Cayenne
• 2 Cups Diced Onion
• 2 cloves Chopped Garlic
• 1 1/2 Tbls. Butter
• 1 – 15 oz. Can Pumpkin Puree
• 4 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1/4 tsp. Ground Allspice
• 1/2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Salt to Taste
• 1/4 Cup Dry Sherry
• 1 Cup Heavy Cream

1. Saute the onions in the butter until translucent – about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 30 sec.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the cream and simmer for 30 min
3. Place the mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Return the puree to the pot, add the cream and continue to cook until heated through.
5. Serve immediately or cool for the above shooters.

Cheers!

Oyster shooters are simply awesome.  They are also unusual enough to impress your guests. While there are those who don’t care for them, most people like oysters.  Plus, you’ll find a number of your friends haven’t tried them – raw anyway.  So, plunge in!

While fresh shucked oysters are the best, the necessity of shucking is frequently the barrier that prevents the busy host from serving them.  Enter the fresh, pasteurized variety, (and exit the oyster aficionado).  These are probably better for cooking, but work quite well in shooters.  The containers come in a variety of sizes, as will the oysters.  You may want to cut particularly large oysters in half, and double up the small ones.

To build multiple shots, I suggest that you line up the glasses and make them assembly line fashion.  Start with an oyster in each glass followed by the next ingredient, in the order listed.

• 1 oyster
• 2 tsp. Zing Zang (or other Bloody Mary mix)
• 1/8 tsp. Horseradish
• 1/8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 4 drops hot sauce
• 1/4 oz. Lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. Chilled Cinco Vodka

1. Chill vodka in the refrigerator for several hours or “freeze” in the freezer for an hour. See note below.
2. Line up shot glasses and place an oyster in each
3. Add the remaining ingredients, in the order above, to each glass
4. Serve immediately

Note: Vodka will not actually freeze, so the bottle won’t break if you leave it in the freezer. Frozen vodka has a silky mouth feel.

Cheers!

I like simple.  Simple is good.  Especially on a week night when I’m ready to hang out with my wife, who is also my best friend!  We enjoy our cocktail hour with a few hors d’oveures.  We have a variety of nibbles, (and cocktails), that we set out for ourselves, but the best are the simple selections of cheese, olives, nuts and a bit of dry sausage.

It doesn’t have to be foie gras every night, or even hot hors d’oveures.  Find something simple that you like and keep some on hand.  Of course it goes without saying that they must go with cocktails!

Cheers!

This is a wonderful time of year, and Halloween is one of the best excuses for partying ever invented!  So in that spirit, we offer a couple of ideas for spooky entertainment.

First for the drinks (have to keep our priorities straight).  Halloween specialty drinks tend to be, shall we say, “yuck.”  Some really look cool, but the flavors are not so much.  We prefer to take a standard cocktail, rename it and put it in a costume.  For instance, a chocolate martini in a glass rimed with melting chocolate and a chocolate spider web.  Or a “Dark and Spooky” with a black sugar rim.

From http://www.cosmopolitan.com/food/cocktails/halloween-drinks

For an eerie green drink try equal parts Midori, vodka,  simple syrup  and lemon juice, (aka Midori sour.)

You can also add a little dry ice for that smoking fog effect – just be very careful. Dry ice will burn you and can break glassware.  The safest way is to drop a small amount into a punch bowl.  By “small,” I mean a chip or two.  Also, don’t use dry ice in any drink with eggs, milk or cream.  The dry ice won’t smoke, it will foam.

While a smoking drink is fun, nothing beats a drink on fire!  Choose any Tiki drink or sour.  Name it something ghoulish like “Mr. Hyde.”  Serve it neat in a large round wine glass, filling it less than half way.  For the flame, float an inverted lemon or lime hull with a little piece of toast soaked in 151 proof rum.  Light the rum and serve the drink – with a straw.

Severed Arm

In the past we have prepared various Halloween themed foods: mozzarella “eyeballs”, “severed arms” and pot sticker “brains.”  This year we served roasted “fingers” and meatloaf “coffins.”

Meatball logs with almond slivers for “nails”

For the severed fingers, we used a meatball recipe, rolled them into finger sized logs and inserted sliced almonds for the “nails.”

Severed fingers with their “skin,” ready for the oven.

We then used prosciutto for the “skin.”

After roasting in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes, we put them on bamboo skewers and served them with marinara.

The meatloaf “coffins” are simply individual meatloaves shaved into a coffin shape:

This can only be sugar free if you use WheyLow.  WheyLow is the only sugar substitute I know of that will make a syrup.  It is not calorie or carbohydrate free.  It does have 1/10 the calories and 1/4 the carbs of sugar.  WheyLow is also expensive and hard to find, so, unless you’re planning to eat a lot of it, just use sugar!  Serve this over a block of cream cheese with some crackers.  Your guests will love it!

• 1 lb. sliced stemmed and seeded jalapenos – see note below
• 1 medium sweet onion small diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbls. white vinegar
• 2 tbls. water
• 1 1/2 Cups sugar or WheyLow
• 1/2 Tbls. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper

1. In a nonreactive pot over medium heat cook the jalapenos, onion, garlic, vinegar and water until onions and jalapenos start to soften – about 10 min.
2. Pour off about 1/2 of the water and add the sugar/WheyLow, mustard seeds, ginger, tumeric, salt and pepper.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Reduce the heat to med low and simmer, uncovered stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.  It will continue to thicken as it cools.
4. Allow to cool to room temperature.
5. To serve, spoon over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers or chips.
6. Keeps refrigerated for 2-3 days.

Note: Seeding the jalapenos makes the dish look better and removes most of the heat.  This will be mild – medium heat as written.  To add heat, either use 1 or 2 serranos with the jalapenos or finely chop a habanero and add it at the end of cooking.

This is our version of the iconic street food.