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casa mysterioso: the halloween cocktail party

You're invited...



Sometimes I wonder if it's odd that our house has a brand. Have I become a part of the media machine?

But then again, the merchandising is pretty damned good.



Is your dog's likeness carved into a pumpkin?



Spooky!

Of course, the entire theme of the evening was dependent on a cooperative spokesdog. She took it well.



The horror...



The horror...

Of course, it's not a Halloween party without spookifying the place up a bit.





All decor courtesy of A.

And then there's the whole question of food...

I didn't require guests to come in costume, but asked for cocktail spooky attire. I aimed for a spooky-but-classy theme. However, after peeling three pints of cherry tomatoes, I thought perhaps next time I'd stick with witches' eyeballs and graveyard cake.



Vodka-spiked cherry tomatoes with pepper-salt. Because Vodka makes everything just a bit better!



Mmm...crabby patties!



Mini brie en croute with apricot preserves; or heart attack in a cup.



Pepperoncini stuffed with smoked salmon dill cream, or, how to make the slackmistress go completely batshit crazy piping fish through a ziploc bag.



Radish canapes. People were a little weirded out by the fact that it was somewhat pink, but overcame their fears and they went quickly. One day they will realize what gnat23 and I know: pink = good.



Caramel apple fondue. Apples are good for you, right?

But the hit of the party? The homemade moonshine...

Every party has to have a signature drink. Because, well, it just does. But Halloween put me in a quandary: a tropical fruit-infused vodka (like last time) didn't scream Halloween.

Enter the pumpkin-infused vodka:

1 1/2 cups (350 ml) Stolichnaya cinnamon vodka
3/4 cup (175 ml) Stolichnaya vanilla vodka
3/4 cup (175 ml) Stolichnaya vodka
2 whole vanilla beans
2 cups raw pumpkin meat, cut into 1/4-inch slices

The only glitch? Stoli doesn't make cinnamon vodka anymore. So I improvised with Skyy Spice, and added extra vanilla beans and whole cinnamon sticks. And our drink menu was complete.



All artwork gracefully appropriated from Edward Gorey. R.I.P.

And the party was complete:



The pumpkin pie martini: three parts pumpkin vodka, one part amaretto, garnish with a vodka-soaked cranberry.

Pass out in neighbor's yard.


As always, darlings, thanks for stopping by!



If I can convince my pit bull to wear bat wings for an entire evening, who knows what evil I have in store for next time?