Cooker’s Pot

You’ll Need:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 16 ounce) package confectioners’ sugar
2 (6 squares each) packages WHITE chocolate baking squares, melted
1 cup toasted walnut or pecan pieces
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 drops yellow food coloring
4 drops red food coloring
Orange and brown candy sprinkles

Procedure:

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer in large bowl until smooth and creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition, until well blended. Stir in melted white chocolate, vanilla extract, nuts and food coloring, until well mixed and orange in color. Spread in foil pan or foil-lined 8-inch square pan and top with sprinkles. Refrigerate until firm and cut into serving size squares.

You’ll Need:

Gourds of any size or shape, of course this includes
pumpkins (especially those cute miniature ones)
Clear paint sealer (aerosol form is the easiest to handle)
Fabric pieces - the brighter the better
Felt yarn ribbons
Little eyes (Found at any craft store or make your own with fabric pieces)
Acrylic paints
Spray paint sealer
Hot glue gun

Procedure:

Once you have picked your gourd, use a slightly damp sponge to clean it off. Spray the gourd with the sealer. This will make the gourd have a shine and prevent chipping of the paint. It dries fairly quickly. Remember to spray in a well-ventilated area. Hair can be made with yarn or fabric strips. The yarn can be braided or cut into strands and glued to the top of the gourd. Fabric and ribbons can be attached to the hair. Paint faces onto gourd or pumpkin. Spray paint sealer over the dried paint to prevent chipping. Cut out pieces of felt or fabric in the shapes of mouth, eyes, ears and nose for decoration.

You’ll Need:

- one and a half pounds (675g) popped corn
- one tablespoon butter
- one quarter pint (150ml) water
- 10 oz. (275g) granulated sugar
- 10 oz. (275g) brown sugar
- 6oz. (175g) light corn syrup
- one teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Pour the water into a saucepan then add the granulated sugar, syrup and brown sugar
2. Heat the mixture, stirring continuously, until the sugar is dissolved
3. Blend in the butter and continue cooking without stirring until the mixture has reached a temperature of 240F (use a deep fat or sweet thermometer)
4. Put the popped corn and into a fairly large mixing bowl and shake in the salt
5. Pour the syrup mixture over the corn and mix well
6. Cover your hands with a coating of butter or oil to prevent the syrup mixture sticking to your skin then shape the coated corn into small balls and wrap in wax paper

You’ll Need:

I not only make this with my leftover Jack O’Lantern from Hallowe’en, but I also try to get any whole pumpkins that were used for decoration at various places as well.

To prepare the pumpkin meat:

Cut open pumpkin and clean out seeds and all stringy meat. If using a left over jack o’lantern, cut away any rotten or burned meat. Don’t forget the flesh on the lid!

Place oven rack on bottom level. Preheat oven to 300?F. Place whole pumpkin with lid in place on a baking sheet in the oven and bake for at least an hour, or until pumpkin begins to collapse. Remove and allow to cool to a workable temperature.

Scrape all flesh away from the skin and mash fine; use a ricer if you have one.

Put several cups of mashed meat into a cheesecloth, twist cloth around meat and squeeze out excess moisture. Place into a zippered storage bag, pressing out all of the air before sealing overnight in the refrigerator. Measure out pumpkin meat for recipes next day. I usually get enough meat for five to ten pies, depending on how large my jack o’lantern was. If you have more meat than needed for the number of pies you wish to make, store the measured amount for one pie in a quart size zippered freezer bag, pressing the meat to about an inch thickness throughout the bag as you squeeze out the air before sealing and toss in the freezer. You will have fresh frozen meat for pumpkin pie through the holiday season!

Per 10″ graham cracker pie crust

1 1/2 cups pumpkin meat
3 medium (no larger) eggs
1 cup canned evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
1 cup light golden brown sugar
3/8 tsp. salt (I use kosher salt, but any is fine)
3/8 tsp. ground ginger
3/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I use a coffee grinder to grind a fresh stick of cinnamon)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375?F Evenly brush sides, then bottom of a prepared graham cracker pie crust (I use a store bought one, have to cheat somewhere!) with one beaten egg yolk with a soft pastry brush. Bake crust for 5 minutes in preheated oven. (Put the leftover egg white plus any leftover egg yolk into the pumpkin pie filling, but do not count as part of the three eggs.) Remove and allow to cool while preparing pie filling. Firmly pack 1 1/2 cups pumpkin meat, pressing out and discarding any excess liquid while measuring. Whip together three eggs plus leftover egg white and yolk from shell preparation. Add evaporated milk and pumpkin and mix together. Combine sugar and spices together, then add to pumpkin mixture. Puree as finely as possible either with a mixer or in batches in a blender. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust and bake on center rack in preheated oven for 65 minutes. Test for doneness after an hour with a toothpick. You want the toothpick to be nearly clean when removed, but the top not completely set as it will crack upon cooling. Remove to a rack and allow to cool completely. Serve with homemade whipped cream if desired.

You’ll Need:

Batter
1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
1 small box green gelatin

Black Frosting
Blue food coloring
Chocolate frosting

Decorations
4 black licorice whips
2 large green gumballs
6 small gumballs

Procedure:

Prepare cake using two 9-inch round cake pans. Cool. Prepare the gelatin according to package directions. It works best if it is just a little on the soft side. On a foil-covered cookie-sheet, place one cake layer for the body. Cut a smaller circle out of the center of the layer. Place this smaller round of cake as the spider’s head. Fill the hole left in the body layer with gelatin. Place the other cake layer on top of the body and trim cake slightly to shape , if desired. To prepare frosting, in a mixing bowl, add blue food coloring to the chocolate frosting until black in color. Frost the entire cake black. Cut the black licorice whips in half and insert for the eight legs. Position the gumballs as eyes.

You’ll Need:

1 box orange Supreme Cake Mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Galliano liqueur
3/4 cup vodka

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan. Mix all the ingredients together in a mixer until well blended. Pour into the pan and bake for about 50 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 25 minutes before removing from the pan. Frost with orange cream cheese frosting.

You’ll Need:

- one and a half pounds (675g) pumpkin
- one and a half pounds (675g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsps. of powdered cinnamon
- 2 oranges
- 2 pints (1.2 litres) water

Procedure:

1. Put the coarsely chopped rind and juice of the 2 oranges in a 5 pint (3 litre) saucepan
2. Add the water and boil until the orange rind is soft
3. Add the sugar, pumpkin and powdered cinnamon then simmer until the pumpkin is soft
4. Remove and keep the pumpkin on one side, then continue boiling the rest of the ingredients until it is reduced to half, about 30 minutes
5. Return the pumpkin to the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes
6. Allow to cool then pour into a serving dish and refrigerate
7. Serve well chilled

You’ll Need:

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3/4 cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
18 large marshmallows
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Procedure:

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Stir in milk, 1/4 cup sugar, the salt egg, shortening and 1 3/4 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough of the remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn the greased side up. cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours. (The dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched.) Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll each half about 1/4 inch thick and cut into nine 3 1/2-inch circles. Mix 1 cup sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each marshmallow into the melted butter, then into the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Wrap a circle of dough around each marshmallow, pinching together tightly at the bottom. Dip in the butter, then in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place in greased medium muffin cups. Let rise about 20 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm. 1 1/2 dozen rolls.

You’ll Need:

1/2 c Honey
2/3 c Butter, margarine, or lard
1 Egg
1 ts Vanilla extract -OR- peppermint extract
2 c Whole wheat flour
1/3 c Cocoa powder
Grape-nuts(tm) cereal

Gingerbread
1/4 c Honey
1/4 c Molasses
2/3 c Butter or margarine, or lard
1 Egg
2 1/3 c Whole wheat flour
Ginger, cinnamon, cloves - to taste (maybe 1/2 tsp each)
Grape-nuts(tm) cereal

Procedure:

Mix-ins Coconut; (tapeworms) - Chocolate chips - Butterscotch chips - Peanut butter chips - Spaghetti or ramen noodles - cooked - (roundworms) - Corn - Peanuts - dinner mints (”puffy pastel things”; * -find at Chinese restaurants) NOTE: “puffy pastel things are to look like the cat ate styrofoam packing pellets- To make: microwave the honey till it bubbles (about 1 minute). Add the butter, (I’ve been told using lard makes for a more realistic texture and softer cookie) and the molasses, if any. Add the egg, mix well, then mix in all the other stuff. Add mix-ins of your choice to some or all of the batter. Chill 1 hour in the freezer or several hours in the fridge. Roll dough logs of random length and the diameter of cat poops. Roll logs in grape- nuts and bake at 350?F till done (maybe 10 to 15 minutes but with my flaky oven you never know). Serve in a disposable cat litter box on a bed of grapenuts, with a cat litter scoop. I hear you get lovely effects by decorating the box and scoop with melted chocolate or pudding. I imagine brown sugar might work as a substitute for the new clumping litters, but I havent tried it. This recipe worked especially well at the halloween party where the table was already decorated with plastic flies.

You’ll Need:

16 Halloween Oreos, chopped
1 1/2 cups mini pretzels broken in pieces
1/3 cup raisins
1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips
Candy corn
Milk chocolate to drizzle

Procedure:

Melt chips and pour over mixture of cookies, pretzels, raisins and candy corn in a 13 x 9-inch pan lined with foil that has been sprayed. Drizzle with chocolate.