Ah, Halloween. What better way to bond with kids than overloading on sugar, dressing up in scary costumes, and dining on a pumpkin’s grey matter? Each year, we lobotomize countless Jack O’Lanterns, then roast the yummy seeds in the brain gunk, and feast on them. This pumpkin seed recipe, along with other sizzling holiday snacks, can be found in the article Sizzling Snacks for Holiday Entertaining by Dave DeWitt over at Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central.
Chipotle-Pumpkin Seed Butter
In case you haven’t noticed, the Pope of Peppers re-launched (re-anointed?) the SuperSite as Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central. Everything has been reorganized and it serves as the mothership for our other sites like the Scovie Awards, Dave’s personal blog, our Fiery Foods Show, and, of course, this here lil’ ol’ blog too. Earlier today I was surfing the mothership when I found this great chipotle pumpkin seed recipe just in time for Halloween. It’s an excerpt from Elizabeth Karmel’s Soaked, Slathered, & Seasoned: A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill.
Spicy Halloween Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Pumpkin barbecue sauce. Hit your tailgater buddies or the costumed drunks at your next Halloween party with that idea and see what they think.
Smoked Pumpkin and Dark Rum Shakes
Pumpkin-infused dark rum is pretty out there, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Overall, I liked the way it came out but make sure you don’t overdo it on the pumpkin. Too much of it and you’ll lose most of the rum or have to squeeze it out! This time, I made milkshakes with it at a friend’s party. The hardest part? Meeting demand. I made alcoholic milkshakes for ten people before I ran out. Here are the recipes for both the smoky pumpkin-infused rum and the shakes that followed.
Recipe: Smoked Pumpkin Chili
I also raised sugar pumpkins from seed, coaxing a dozen good ones from some top soil in the Los Angeles heat. There’s plenty more harvesting to be done, but if the early Halloween candy at my supermarket is any indication, fall is looming just up ahead. That’s why my first experiment with all this bounty is smoked pumpkin chili.
Candied Yams in Kahlua and Chocolate
Candied yams being a regular cast member of holiday dinner, I like to play around with them each year. Not like some creepy herbophile, just so we’re clear. I like to change them up when I cook ’em. We did Thanksgiving in a Southwestern theme so I had to find a way to make them fit. The solution: Kahlua, baker’s chocolate, and ground red pepper to set off all of that sweetness. And, coincidentally, keep the little kids from eating them all before the grown up kids had a chance to grab a bite.
Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Enchilada Hot Dish
Thanksgiving leftovers are a unique blend of challenge, art form, tradition and gluttony. I usually go for the classic melange of meat, taters, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce twixt two slices of bread, but this year, I’m branching out with turkey enchilada hot dish.
