The Cookbook Club's dinner 

for October was going to be 

down in The Hollow - our 

lower property in the back.  

We have four acres at our 

new house and The Hollow, 

as it has been called for a 

couple of generations, is part 

of that. 

Well, a couple of days before, 

we had a big rain and it 

flooded The Hollow.  I had 

hung a black chandelier and 

had started to decorate the 

arbor, so now the event 

was moved inside.

It was easy to move as the 

Orangerie was already 

decorated for Halloween.

The theme of the house 

again this year is 

The Haunted Mansion, 

so Mickey and Minnie 

play a big role.

The plates were from 

Home Goods a couple 

of years ago and the 

soup mugs were from 

Wal Mart this year. 

I used my classic black

flatware and my copper 

chargers for the settings. 

They all went together so well.

My pewter glasses had 

black napkins tucked in. 

A runner was used on the table 

and we had plenty of candles.

I made this black velvet 

cake with purple filling - 

it is hard to get a purple 

just right!  I wanted a dusky 

purple, so I played with it 

a bit.  Then I dripped 

chocolate ganache and 

finished it with blackberries 

and Chocolate Raspberry 

Skulls.  I just used my skull 

mold and filled half with 

dipping chocolate brought down 

to 90 degrees, popped a fresh 

raspberry in and topped it 

with more chocolate.  

We had lots of good and 

spooky food.

Everyone brings a dish 

and each time we are 

sure this is our favorite 

meal.

I used my Red Velvet Cake 

recipe and just substituted 

a fairly small amount of 

black gel food color.  It 

didn't take a lot.

We all dressed in black, 

so I dressed as 

Wednesday. 

It was another great 

Cookbook Club.

Beaulah enjoyed everything 

as she watched from the 

kitchen, especially the 

decorating of the cake.

I will post this with

Love Your Creativity

and 

Tablescape Thursday

Huge Halloween Candle Holders

Beulah and I have been wanting to create these candleholders for a very long time!They seemed like the perfect craft for our home.

We finally did it and   they now reside in my Orangerie for Halloween.  

These were such a quick and fun Halloween craft. Each tall one took ten Pool noodles. The two Small ones my niece made using five noodles each.  

We just used a bread knife to cut them and then used a hot glue gun set on low. We started with the back row laying them flat on the counter and then after finishing the back row layingand making sure the bottoms were even we glued on the next row and the next. Always make sure the bottoms are even so it will stand. 

I kept my first noodle the full size.  Since they have a curve to them, I put a garden stake up in the first two to hold them straight.

When you have your stack 

all done, run a circle of 

glue around the top of 

each and then drip the 

glue down the sides. 

It took us a little over 

an hour to put the large 

stack or the two small 

stacks together and to 

run the drips. 

Then take them outside and using spray paint, paint them black.  Each tall stack took about a can of paint.  So easy and so fun.  

I just sat the black battery candles on the top of each noodle.  The glue circle keeps them in place.  

Beaulah is so happy you 

flew on over!

I will be posting this at 

Love Your Creativity

Metamorphosis Monday

Smoked Garlic Salt with Garden Herbs and Smoked Tomatoes

I learned to make herbed salt 

when I was at our pizza oven 

cooking class all the way back 

in 2005.  I was surprised that 

they used sage so much in Italian 

cooking, but then when I looked 

at an Italian herb blend, sage 

was listed as the number one 

ingredient. 

I had lots of fresh herbs from 

the garden this year, so I decided 

to make herbed salt with my 

garden herbs.  I made a batch 

and then I decided I wanted to 

add garlic to it.  Then the next 

batch I decided to try smoking it.  

I ended up making ten pounds 

of this for our garden share 

that we had for Relief Society - 

our women's church group. 

Smoked Garlic Salt with Garden Herbs Recipe

1 lb Iodized Sea Salt

(I preferred fine grain salt 

so I could sprinkle it.)

1/3 C. chopped herbs total of

Basil

Sage

Rosemary

Thyme

2 tsp. granulated garlic

(You can omit the garlic 

if you don't want 

garlic salt.)

Mix the above and spread 

it on a sheet pan.  If you don't 

have a smoker, or you prefer 

not to smoke the salt, just leave 

it out on the pan on the counter

and the salt will dry the herbs.  

If you want to smoke the salt, 

prepare your smoker and then 

smoke on low for 2 hours.  

Let it cool. 

Enjoy it on everything. 

The tomato harvest is on!  I 

have a new much bigger garden 

at our new place and it has been 

so fun to have so many flowers 

and herbs and vegetables.

We decided to smoke some 

tri tip for Sunday dinner and 

I thought I would try smoking 

some tomatoes too.  

I just sprinkled olive oil and 

my homemade garden herb 

salt and smoked them for 

about 40 minutes.  They were 

so amazing. 

I have to admit they were best 

hot off the smoker.  But I feel like 

that about most foods.  

Beaulah loves tomatoes too!

Look at that huge heart shaped 

tomato.  It is called 

LOVE GOURMANSUN! 

These are astounding and 

a real producer!

I found it at Cook's this year, 

one of our local nurseries.  

It is so fun because I live 

next to my daughter and 

two houses away is my 

DIL and we all are gardening 

and sharing.

Here is my Love tomato 

and my salt on a 

caprese board.  

I love these tomatoes.  

They are heart shaped 

and then there is a 

streak of red going down 

the middle. 

Happy gardening!

Dipped Chocolate Raspberry

It's raspberry season and a friend 

of mine brought me home a bag 

of chocolate dipped raspberries.  

What a burst of incredible flavor - 

the tartness of the fresh berry 

with the sweetness of the milk 

chocolate!  

I have been dipping chocolates 

for over 40 years and I had 

never had ones like this.  When 

I had made chocolate 

raspberries in the past I had 

spooned chocolate into a cup 

and put the raspberries on 

top of the chocolate, then 

drizzled a little more on top.  

I had been too worried that 

I would crush the raspberries 

if I dipped them.

If it worked for them, 

I decided it could work for me.

I used Guittard wafers.  These 

are great couverture chocolate 

discs, not fake chocolate. 

I do a lot of dipping so I 

buy a lot of chocolate.  

I melt my chocolate in the 

microwave at 30 second 

intervals, stirring between. 

after 45 seconds the chocolate 

was melted.  To get it down to 

about 90 degrees, you can stir 

to cool, or add more wafers 

and stir those in.  I like to 

use a thermometer gun to 

check my temperature.

I have little mini spoons 

that were perfect for turning 

the raspberry over in the 

chocolate and then scooping 

it up.  Tap the spoon on the 

edge of your bowl and then 

let the chocolate covered 

raspberry fall off the spoon 

onto a parchment paper 

covered pan.  

A double flat of raspberries 

will yield about 65!  

Now pop these into the fridge 

to harden the chocolate.  

These have become the family's

favorite treat.  The grandkids take 

3-4 at a time and are looking for 

more when we run out!

These are truly the easiest dipped 

chocolates I have ever made and 

wow what a punch of flavor!  

Thanks for visiting and make 

these yummy treats.

Beaulah Welcomes Halloween Month

Welcome Halloween!!

Beaulah is so excited to 

come out and celebrate 

with us!  To tell the truth, 

she has been out flying 

around and decorating for 

a month now!  Can you 

tell we love Halloween? 

She is perched right where she 

can see all of our comings and 

goings - 

on our Pizza oven. 

Yes, we put another pizza 

oven in our new house.  

It has a custom built cabinet 

where we can place our 

pizza peels and other 

supplies.  It is another 

wood-burning pizza oven. 

I don't store my wood 

inside the house.  It is 

too messy and might 

bring in little creatures, 

but firestarters, matches, 

pizza peels and other large 

containers fit in here.

The pizza oven is again made 

by Mugnaini and our contractor 

installed it.  One of my husband's 

employees made this custom 

pizza oven door for us.  

It is one of the family's 

favorite dinners - always. 

Here is a crustless pizza 

my niece made the other day. 

The best part is everyone 

gets to make their own! 

I wonder what Beaulah 

would make.  Of course, 

she has to step aside when 

we are cooking!  

But then she flies right back 

to her favorite spot.

Beaulah has been flying in for 

Halloween posts since 

October 4, 2010! 

 

You may remember her from back then with her twin sister Zoulah, from Red Couch Recipes.

She and I love to be nice witches for Halloween!
Thanks for stopping by to enjoy our fun.