Category Archives: Parties

Party // Ghouls Night Out …

October 8, 2015

It’s October, and Halloween is just around the corner!
I don’t know about you, but I just love fall holidays and activities!  Halloween is such a fun time for my family, especially the kids.  Sometimes we let the kids have all the fun, but adult Halloween parties are also a good time!
A fellow group of bloggers and I had a little “Ghouls Night Out,” that was so much fun!  Who says costume parties are only for kids?!  It’s nice to be able to let loose a bit, and get out of your comfort zone! 
We all arrived in style, making it much more fun and festive to have a costume requirement! It was fun to set the theme with colors and see how creative everyone was with what they came up with!
Be sure to check back for a little more on the costumes from the party.  I’m going to share how to throw together a DIY Mary Poppins costume! I will be posting that soon, as well as some of the other ladies! 
We each helped out with different portions of the party, making it really easy for it all to come together rather than putting all the load of the work on the hostess.
Sara of Confetti Sunshine designed this sophisticated yet adorably spooky “Ghouls Night Out” Halloween Party invitation!  It will be available on her blog if you are looking for a free printable invitation for a future party!
I helped come up with some festive food items for the spread.  I made some Halloween Pumpkin Cream Puffs, and some Pumpkin soup with Parmesan “Cobwebs.” (click the links for full recipes, and step by step instructions)
Sandy of Sandy a la Mode put together this spooky Halloween hot chocolate bar with all the fixins. She also is sharing her 10 tips to throwing a Halloween Party on her blog!
With a little help from everyone, the spread looked fabulous, and came together nicely!  A perfect “Ghouls” Night Halloween table!
Chelsey of Housewife 2 Hostess had the perfect house to host us!  She is a Halloween lover, and had all sorts of spooky decorations!  There was even a scary painting in the powder room that talked that took me for surprise!  She posted more about her spooky decor over on her blog!
I loved feeling silly again, and having a spooky “Ghouls Night.”  It’s fun to shake things up a bit now and again from the norm! 
Be sure to check out the other ladies I collaborated with on this fun Halloween Party!
See more of their costumes, crafts, Halloween Decor, DIY’s, and recipes that they prepared for the party on their blogs!  We will all be posting over the next little while!
Housewife 2 Hostess
Sandy A la Mode
Gentri Lee
Confetti Sunshine
All photography by Diana Putnam Photography. If you are in the Salt Lake City area, don’t forget to check out Tai Pan Trading for an abundance of Halloween, Thanskgiving, Christmas decor for your parties. Or you can shop online too!

Recipe // Festive Pumpkin Cream Puffs

October 6, 2015

I needed to come up with a fun recipe for a Halloween party, and I decided to make these festive Halloween Pumpkin Cream Puffs!   The good thing about these little tasty puffs is that they are simple to make, and do not take a lot of time at all!  Perfect to throw together for quick treat for a Fall Party!
The secret to the simpleness is the store bought Puff Pastry Sheets!  You can find them in the grocery store in the frozen isle near the cool whip.  I am always for homemade, but they save so much time, and they can be cut into any shape with a cookie cutter! Sometimes semi-homemade works, and it’s the way to go! I chose a pumpkin cookie cutter (affiliate links used) shape for a Halloween Girls Night Out! Each sheet made about 9 pumpkins! I cut out two sheets for the amount of filling I made. 
I allowed the pastry sheet for thaw from the freezer for about 40 minutes then unwrap and cut out shapes with a Pumpkin Cookie cutter.
After cutting out the shapes onto parchment paper sheets, I took a pairing knife and scored little lines to make it look even more like a pumpkin!
I baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 13-15 minutes or until they puff up and the tops get to be just barely golden.  Cool on a wire rack completely.  Cut in half like a sandwich ready to fill with Pumpkin Whipped cream filling. 
Now for the Pumpkin Whipped Cream filling!
I wanted the Whipped Cream to be stable enough that it didn’t ooze out everywhere.  I decided to add a little Gelatine to help it to stay stabilized.  That’s a nice little trick to help whipped cream stay a little more stiff and not fall if you are going to pipe it!  And, Vanilla Bean Paste!  Always my secret ingredient, and always a must! I add a little pumpkin puree, for that subtle pumpkin taste, as well as pumpkin spice mix!  Tastes like fall!
Pumpkin Whipped Cream
2 cups Heavy Whipped Cream
1 teaspoon Gelatin Crystals
4 teaspoons Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice Mix
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup canned Pumpkin Puree
In a small saucepan, mix together 4 teaspoons water, and 1 teaspoons gelatin.  Mix well, and place on the stove over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves (Stir the entire time), it doesn’t take long just 20-30 seconds. Don’t allow it to get thick!  Set aside to cool.
In a mixer, whip 2 cups of whipping cream on medium speed.  Add Vanilla Bean Paste, Pumpkin Spice Mix, and Powdered sugar.  Drizzle in cooled gelatin mixture.
Whip until the whipped cream forms stiff peaks.
Place the pumpkin puree in a medium to large bowl.  Fold in the whipped cream mixture gently into the pumpkin puree.  Folding in 1/3 of the whipped cream at a time.  Fold until pumpkin puree is well incorporated.
This would also be amazing on pumpkin waffles, crepes, pancakes!  Can you imagine!
Chill the Whipped cream for at least an hour.  Place in a piping bag, and fill the Pumpkin puffs and serve.
Keep remaining puffs in the fridge.  Dust with powdered sugar (optional).
Enjoy!
Be sure to check back tomorrow for more on a fun Halloween Girls Night out costume party collaboration where I served these festive treats!
{all photos by me}

Recipe // Pumpkin Soup with Parmesan Crisps

I am teaming up with Harmons Grocery to share with you one of my favorite fall recipes!
Be sure to tag #MyHarmons to share your favorite fall recipes on your social media!  
Pumpkin soup always reminds me of Fall time!  My mom used to make big batches of Pumpkin soup. Sometimes I would eat it with a little scoop of rice or pasta.  It was always a fun tradition!  Some may not look at Pumpkins as something you can eat, but they aren’t just for your front porch!  They are a squash too!  Just be sure to buy the sugar pie pumpkins at Harmons Grocery!
I am very excited about Harmons brand products that are popping up all over their store!  When you see the Harmons name on anything, you know it will be good quality and well sourced!
My favorite way to use the flesh of the pumpkin is to roast it!  My mom used to skin the pumpkin with a knife then cut it into cubes, but this is so much easier!  When it is nice and roasted, the flesh will just scoop right out!  I also throw my garlic and potatoes on to roast with the pumpkin!
I just wash the pumpkin and cut it in half and add about 1/4 cup of water on top of parchment paper then place the flesh side down.  I don’t even take out the seeds or pulp because they easily scoop out of the way after you roast it.  For the full instructions, check out my homemade pumpkin puree post.
Outfit:
Romper- Eva Jo Rompers c/o
For the parmesan crisps, (or scary cobwebs if you need something with a Halloween theme) I just took good quality Parmegano Reggino and shredded it.  I placed a tablespoon on some parchment paper and added a little garlic powder (optional) and baked it at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes or until a little golden on the top.  Remove and allow them to cool, remove with a spatula.  Store in an airtight container.
Pumpkin Soup
Serves 8

7 cups roasted pumpkin [about 2 or 3 of the 3-4 lb  Sugar pumpkins pre-roasted}
8 cloves garlic
2-3 Russet Potatoes
Olive oil
Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper
6-8 Shallots, diced
8 cups chicken broth (64 ounces or two 32 ounces boxes)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, removed from stems and washed
1 tbs fresh Sage, washed

Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on halved pumpkins, potatoes and un-peeled garlic cloves.  Place cut side down pumpkins on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, along with garlic and potatoes. Add 1/4 cup water.

Bake at 375 degrees uncovered for about 1 hour. Or when you can easily slide a knife through the top of the pumpkins.
Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and pulp, then scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin and measure 7 cups. Peel garlic and roasted potatoes.
In a large pot, saute/sweat shallots in 1 tbs olive oil over medium, medium low heat until soft.
Add pumpkin, garlic, thyme, and chicken broth to pot.  Simmer for ten minutes over medium to low heat, and stir. Next, blend in batches in a blender and place blended soup in a new clean pot.  Add salt and pepper to taste, add heavy cream and warm soup through.
Serve with Parmesan crisps (recipe above)!
Enjoy!
Here’s how I was able to serve it at a Halloween Themed party I attended! A very fun and festive soup for a Fall or Halloween party!
Cute little Pumpkin soup with “Cobweb crisps!”
Be sure to check back this week for more on a very fun Halloween Ghouls Night out Collaboration!
{all photos by me}