THE BLACK & WHITE HALLOWEEN WREATH

The black and white wreath turned out to be oh so simple and I have to admit I love the finished product.  It was not what I had in mind when thinking about putting it together but once I started making the wreath "less is more" became the order of the day.

 

I started off with a 15" natural twig wreath.  This is a thick wreath, much more than normal, lots of heft.

I was going to make a witch but spied this little witch/ghost for $2.98 and decided I could easily modify him/her for my black and white purposes.

 I just cut a couple of scrap pieces of black and white gingham and glued them over the purple legs and took off the purple ribbon on the hat and added a black and white ribbon.

Added a couple of $ store bugs and some cobwebs along with a big black and white bow.

I adhered all things to the wreath with hot glue and then just printed out a little "Trick or Treat If You Dare" sign, tore the edges and glued it to the wreath.

Finished product, see less is more.  I also need to note that because this wreath was so thick it is hard to tell how things will look if you add everything while the wreath is laying flat - I took the wreath to the porch and hung it and adhered everything then - this was so easy and he fits right in with the rest of the black and white Halloween.

Resource

White Twig Wreath, Save-on-crafts

Witch/Ghost, Grocery Outlet

Spider and fly, Dollar Tree

Spider webs, Tai Pan Trading

Black and white polka dot ribbon, Costco

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THE BENCH - BLACK AND WHITE HALLOWEEN

I have lots of wonderful Halloween decorations gathered over the years - more whimsical than scary and certainly in all the colors one would expect for Halloween.  My dear sister gave me a lovely black, white and a little red accent caldron for Halloween so I decided this year would be black and white!

 I also need to note that I did my black and white Halloween on a budget - don't know if I will do this again so did not want to go crazy budget wise. First thing I did was to take these $ store pumpkins and give them a coat of black chalk paint and let them dry overnight.

I placed them on a non-stick sheet to dry and then using sticky backed stencils added Halloween words, etc. using regular chalk - my porch is covered so I don't have to worry about these getting wet. On some of them I added spidey on top with a little hot glue.

 Next I found some spooky linen kitchen towels and made envelope covers for the pillows.

Found "Mr. Bones" at my local Grocery Outlet (he was $7.98 and on Halloween night I can turn on his eyes and they change color!).

Added lots of cobwebs and Mr. Bones is ready to greet the "Trick or Treaters."

My Halloween hanging for the black arrow needed to be changed for black and white so I made a simple sign cover on an 8 1/2 x 11 full sheet label, cut them out and applied to the sign.

My flowers were ready to be replaced so spray painted them with some black paint and added some cobwebs.

These topiaries are permanent fixtures at my front door so just added some black and white ribbon and some more cob webs and I'm done.  Just need those little candy monsters to show up and let Mr. Bones give them a fright!

Resource:

Black and white polka dot ribbon, Costco
Black and white linen towels, Williams Sonoma
Mr. Bones, Grocery Outlet
Cobwebs, Tai Pan Trading
Black chalk paint, chalk, stencils, Michael's
Pumpkins, spiders, Dollar Tree

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SALTED CARAMEL APPLE PIE

It seems to me that you cannot pick up a magazine these days and NOT find a recipe for something "salted caramel." These recipes have become quite ubiquitous - they're everywhere.

Decided to give this Williams Sonoma recipe a try as I needed to bake a "thank you" gift and apple pie in the fall is just perfect, don't you think so?

Gathered the simple ingredients for the caramel sauce. If you have not made caramel do not be afraid as it is really easy.  The only special tools I used is a copper sided pan which is a really good conductor of even heat and the preferred pan (best would be solid copper if I had one) to make any candy.

Follow the recipe and this is what you will end up with, beautiful, yummy caramel sauce.  I have given out my caramel sauce for ice cream recipe and it is different than this as the sauce is much thicker, this is not a thick sauce but perfect for what it is used for - to drizzle on the pie.  The only caution about making caramel is to keep a careful an eye on it when it is in the sugar stage before adding the cream, use a wooden spoon and when the sugar mixture turns amber get it off the heat - if electric stove move it off, if gas turn off the gas.

Gather up the ingredients for the pie.

This is a gadget that I have had for years, don't use it often but always LOVE it when I make apple pies as it very quickly peels the apples perfectly and then all you have to do is use a corer device and then slice the sections in half and your apples are ready.

Another different thing about this recipe is that you cook the apples before you bake the pie.

Make or purchase your pie crust - rolling the bottom crust around the rolling pin I find to be the easiest way to get the crust from the mat to the pan without stretching the crust.

Trim the edges of the bottom crust - I cut with kitchen shears but a sharp knife works just as well.

Recipe does not call for lattice crust but I like to do this type of crust, I think it is very easy and like the way it looks.  It's just like those paper place mats you made in first grade - I mark the pie dough at .5" to .75" (I prefer .75") with a fork and then cut the strips.  Lay the vertical strips across the pie and then fold back every-other one and lay a strip across, put the pulled back strips back into place and now pull back the ones that you did not pull back the first time, lay a strip across - over, under, until you are to the other side of the pie - just like the place mats - so easy. Now trim the lattice and crimp the edge of the pie.

I put it into the fridge for about 5 minutes to chill the crust because it gets a little soft while you are making the lattice top.  Now is when you brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar and bake.

Out of the oven, ready for the carrier.  I put the caramel in a little jar and added a chalkboard tag.  Ready for delivery.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 rolled-out rounds deep-dish piecrust
•  

For the salted caramel:

 

• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz./375 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) water
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups (12 fl. oz./375 ml) heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
•  

For the filling:

 

• 4 lb. (2 kg) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8   slices each
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar
• Flaked sea salt, to taste

 
Directions:

Fit 1 dough round into a 9-inch deep-dish pie dish and gently press into the dish. Trim the edges flush with the rim. Re-roll the dough scraps and cut out shapes using decorative pie cutters. Refrigerate the pie shell, cutouts and remaining dough round for 30 minutes.

To make the salted caramel, in a heavy 4-quart (4-l) saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water and lemon juice. Cook until the mixture bubbles vigorously and turns a golden amber color, about 9 minutes. Stir the sugar with a wooden spoon during the first 2 to 3 minutes of cooking; do not stir after this point, instead swirling the pan to ensure even cooking. Watch the caramel very carefully, and as it will go from amber colored to burned in a few seconds.

Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the cream very carefully; the mixture will bubble and splatter, so protect your hands and arms with heavy oven mitts and use a long-handled wooden spoon. Stir until the sauce is smooth and blended. Stir in the salt and let cool until just warm.

To prepare the apples, in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, stir together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the cornstarch and salt.

Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C).

Let the pie shell, cutouts and dough round stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the apple mixture and 3/4 cup (6 fl. oz./180 ml) of the caramel; reserve the remaining caramel for serving. Pour the apple filling into the pie shell and place the top crust over the pie. Trim the edges flush with the rim and press the top and bottom crusts together. Brush the underside of the cutouts with egg wash and gently arrange them on the pie. Brush the entire top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Place the pie dish on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the apples are very tender, about 1 hour; check the pie after 30 minutes and cover the top and edges with foil if they become too dark. Let the pie cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before serving.

In a small saucepan, reheat the reserved caramel sauce over low heat just until warm. Cut the pie into slices, sprinkle with flaked salt to taste, and serve with the caramel sauce. Serves 8.

Cook's Notes:

I am giving you the recipe exactly as it is given by Williams Sonoma and they have the pie with a regular top with pastry cut-outs.  Also, as I like to say "truth in advertising" - your pie will be taller than my pie as I realized when I did not think there was enough apples that the little disc on my scale that sets the weight had been moved so that even though the scale said I had four pounds, I did not.  The pie came out great and my friends loved it but I have  to admit the truth so you would know that you will get a pie with a lot more apples.  This is SO rich that I doubt that I will make it often but as they say all things in moderation and when you want to make something with a "wow" factor, I think this pie gets a wow! 

Resource:

Recipe, Williams Sonoma
Chalkboard Tag, Martha Stewart Avery Labels, Staples
White Chalk Pen, David Tutera chalk pen
Fleur de sel salt, Tuesday Morning, kitchen & specialty stores
Apple peeler, Starfrit 93013 Pro-Apple Peeler with bonus core slicer

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