Restaurant Review: Jamaican Gates

Hi everyone!

Okay, so it's been a few months since I've reviewed any restaurants, hasn't it? Well, hopefully the frequency with which I am able to try new places is going to change, and I intend to share my experiences with all of you. For now, I'm going to start with an establishment I visited last weekend, and which served some truly excellent food: Jamaican Gates.

The place: Jamaican Gates is your typical hole-in-the-wall restaurant, which means that there isn't a lot of emphasis on decorating. The walls sport pictures of (presumably) the owner's family, flags from across the Caribbean Islands, and some Bob Marley icons. Since I happened to be there on a Saturday, I was treated to some live music. The music, while enhancing the Jamaican atmosphere, did make conversation difficult, since the restaurant itself is not very large. But, all and all, a pleasantly relaxed and homey place.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: You can also see several images of Guy Fieri and his Food Network TV show, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. That's right, Guy came to the restaurant, ate the food, and loved it so much he even signed the wall with the legend "Guy ate here." So, yeah, I guess you can say Jamaican Gates has the official Seal of Approval for quality and tastiness.

What I ate: For appetizers, we had fried plantains (pronounced plan-tins in the islands) and beef patties. The plantains were soft and sweet, while the savory patties reminded me a lot of meat-filled empanadas. I also had a bottle of Kola Champagne, which tasted like a fruity cream soda, and a glass of their freshly-squeezed lemonade. The lemonade was, interestingly enough, sweetened with brown sugar instead of white, which added a complex earthy flavor in a way I never would have conceived.

For my entree, I ordered the Kingston Trio. The Trio came with jerk chicken, oxtails, and curry goat (yep, goat!), along with a side of rice and peas. I found the jerk chicken to be very tender and juicy, with the perfect amount of spicy jerk seasonings. The oxtails were also quite tender, with the meat sliding right off the bones. Think almost of a good brisket, but then add a spicy (but not really hot) savory sauce and some butter beans. The goat, with which I was the most intrigued, was gamey, stringy, and fatty, but oddly enough not in a bad way. In fact, it was probably the best part of the meal. Like all the meat, it was extremely tender and full of flavor. Overall, I was quite satisfied.

My thoughts: With a simple (but not simplistic) atmosphere, a friendly waitstaff, and some truly delicious food, I rate Jamaican Gates at a 4 out of 5, or maybe even a 4.5. I would definitely eat there again, and I think next time I'm going to try the Brown Stew Fish, which also looked to be very tasty. If you ever get the chance to eat there, I would highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity. Caribbean food may be a bit different than what most folks are used to, but in my opinion unfamiliarity should not be a hindrance. At its core, it's just good home cooking with a tropical flair, and I call it good food.

Anyway, thanks as always for reading. And as always, opinions on how I'm doing are very much appreciated. But that's all for now! Go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Broccoli Cheese Soup

Hello everyone! And Happy 2014! Woo!

As we all know, the weather has been exceptionally cold recently. In fact, just a month ago, we here in Texas experienced a weekend that has been dubbed "the icepocalypse." And from what I hear, things continue to be hoary across the whole of the US.

It's almost like it's winter or something. I guess the Starks were right, huh?

Well, when the weather turns chilly, I turn to the kinds of foods that keep you warm on the inside, such as good tea and hot chocolate. But man can not live on tea alone (no matter how hard he tries...) so that means we need some kind of warming comfort food. Lo and behold: soup! There's just something intrinsically comforting about a piping hot bowl of savory soup on a frigid day. You can just feel the wholesome warmth spread through you with each spoonful.

This method actually comes from my sister, who developed it when she was in high school. It's super delicious and super easy, so I thought I would present it to all of you, dear readers, as a F.E.A.S.T!

Without further ado, let us begin!

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
1 stick of butter  (stock)
1 medium yellow onion, diced  ($1.0)
3/4 cup flour  (stock)
5 cups chicken broth  ($3.0) (obtained from one 32oz box and one 14.5oz can)
1 16oz bag frozen broccoli  ($1.5)
16oz Velvetta cheese, chopped small  (I bought a $6 32oz block and used half, so... call it $3.0?)

The final price on all of this? Oh, something like $8.50 for a whole pot of soup guaranteed to fill you up and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. C'mon, you have to admit that's a pretty sweet deal.

THE METHOD!!!
Pour the chicken broth into a large pot set over medium heat. Add the frozen broccoli and bring it to a bare simmer.

Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Bring the heat up to medium and add your onion. Sweat the onion for about 10min., or until it turns translucent and starts to pick up a little color. Add the flour 1/4cup at a time, stirring to incorporate fully. (The goal here is to make a basic roux, which will act as a thickening agent to make the soup nice and luscious.)

Add said concoction to the pot of chicken stock and broccoli, and stir until all the flour clumps are gone and the liquid turns a pale off-white color. Do NOT let the soup boil, or the whole thing will turn grainy and gross.

Add the cheese a handful of chunks at a time, stirring to incorporate. When the cheese has all melted, add in the next bunch. Once the cheese is all melted, season with fresh black pepper and serve with some crusty bread. If you aren't serving right away, put a pat of butter on the surface to melt (it prevents a skin from forming).

That's it.

There now, didn't I say this was super easy? Let's check our anagram:

Fast: From beginning to end, chopping onions to consuming, this whole process took about 45 minutes. And I made frosting at the same time. And did a load of laundry. No, seriously.

Easy: Ummm, yeah, totally.

Affordable: See above, regarding "totally."

Super Tasty: Ok, I know what some of you are thinking: Velvetta? Really? But trust me, this stuff is made for a method like this. You can do it with real cheddar (I have) but somehow it doesn't seem to work as well. So Velvetta it is. Oh, don't look at me like that, just try it... I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The other nice thing about this recipe is that it's versatile. Want it strictly vegetarian? Use veggie stock instead. Want it spicy? Sure, add some hot sauce or peppers to the mix. Don't like broccoli? Well, OK, I can't help you there; it is broccoli cheese soup after all. Oh, just try it already, I promise it's good!

Oh, one last thing: if you have any leftovers (ha!), let the soup cool to room temp, then pour into quart-size Ziploc freezer bags. Lay it out flat in you freezer and let it harden. To reheat, bring a pot of water to just below a simmer. Once the water's heated, place the soup bag (still sealed please!) in the pot. The water will thaw and reheat the soup in about 15 minutes or so. And it'll be just as good as before!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about this tasty, tasty soup. And I hope some of you will try it out and let me know what you think of it. As always, comments are appreciated.

Thanks again everyone! Go forth and eat well!

Happy Holidays! Leftover Turkey Enchiladas

Hi again!

I know, really close to my last posting, ain't it? But, I wanted to get this up so people might still have a chance to try it out while they still have leftovers. And yes, you read that title correctly: enchiladas made with leftover turkey.

While planning out meals for the week, I decided to make enchiladas. There's a method on allrecipes.com that I'm fond of, so I decided I'd make those. I even considered blogging about it as a F.E.A.S.T., because it is rather simple to make and it tastes quite good. But! Then the idea came up to make the enchiladas using some of the leftover turkey in the fridge and, since the method was designed with leftover chicken in mind anyway, I decided that I just had to try it out.

Without further ado, here we go!

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
1 tbs butter
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic power
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 10.75oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups cubed leftover Thanksgiving turkey
1 cup (or a little more!) shredded cheddar/colby jack cheese, divided
1/4 cup milk
6 fajita size flour tortillas


THE METHOD!!!
To begin, reheat your turkey; this can be done via the microwave or in your skillet. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350, and spritz a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

In your skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the green onions with a little salt until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add your garlic powder, then stir in the chiles, soup, and sour cream and combine well. Pull about 3/4 of the mixture out into a soup bowl and set aside. To the 1/4 mixture that's left, toss in your turkey and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Combine well.

Fill each of the six tortillas with 1/6 of the mixture, roll up, and place seem side down in the baking dish. Pour the milk into the soup bowl with the reserved mixture and stir to combine. Poor this new mixture over the tortillas. Be sure to get even coverage. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup (or a little more!) of cheese, again, going for even coverage.

Bake in your heated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly browned and nicely bubbly.

Ok, I'm gonna level with you: this worked surprisingly well. The turkey actually tasted really good when combined with the cheese and chiles, so I think this is something everyone should try. I'll just let the results speak for themselves.

As always, thanks for reading. Go forth and eat well!

Elixer Soup

Hey all!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. I know I did. I spent the time with family and good friends, and I always consider that a great time. Naturally, since this weekend is host to one of the biggest meals of the year, it also means I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen.

Now, I know what you might be expecting: some recipe or another about turkey or stuffing or homemade cranberry sauce. Well, I decided to forgo that idea. Everyone has their own take on Thanksgiving, so trying to impress my own opinions on the subject seemed like it might prove difficult. Instead, I'm going to share a recipe I decided to try for lunch over the weekend: Elixer Soup!

For those who haven't noticed, if you look on the right side of this page, you can see a link to another blog entitled "The Geeky Chef." I love this blog. The creator like to take the food that appears in video games, nerdy tv shows/movies, and geeky literature and turn it into real-life food. And I have to say The Geeky Chef does a damn fine job too. If you like all things nerdy, you should go check it out!

But I digress. I decided to try making The Geeky Chef's version of Elixer Soup from The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. In the game, after healing Link's grandmother with a faerie, she makes him his favorite soup as a way to tell him what a good grandson he is. And it is the best healing item ever created in a Zelda game. It restores all of Link's health and gives him a power boost. And you get two servings in one bottle! Trust me, it's awesome.

This version of the soup uses a ton of healthy vitamin C rich veggies in a base of savory chicken broth, and it sure to give you a boost! My take on the soup changes things up just a bit, but you can follow along with the original here. Let's take a look, shall we?

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
6 tbs butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped (or about 3 good tsp)
1 lb yellow squash, chopped
1 acorn squash
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
Hot sauce (Tobasco, Frank's, etc.)
Salt & pepper to season
Shredded Parmesan cheese

THE METHOD!!!
Cut the acorn squash in half and remove all the seeds. Place the squash cut side down in a microwave-safe dish with about a half-inch to an inch of water. Place the gourd in said hotbox and heat for five minutes. The goal here is to soften the squash enough to remove all the good stuff from the skin. Scoop out the meat with a spoon, or else cut into strips and peel with a paring knife. Chop the squash as you did the other veggies.

Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Drop in your onion and garlic with a little salt & pepper, and saute until softened, or about ten minutes. Once this is done, add the remaining veggies and stir it all up to distribute everything evenly. Add your chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once you hit a boil, drop the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all the veggies have softened.

Here comes the tricky part. You need to puree everything down to a soup consistency. This can be accomplished one of two ways. If you have an immersion or stick blender, you're golden; use it. If yours, like mine, is broken, fear not! Pull out your trusty blender! The soup is hot, so work in batches. I did mine in three. Ladle about 1/3 of the soup into your blender.

Don't seal it tight though; the heat and steam will cause difficulties. Most blender lids have a piece in the middle that can be removed for adding ingredients during the blending process. Remove that and cover with a towel. This way, you don't have an airtight seal, but you're still protected from flying soup. Blend each batch down to a soupy consistency, then transfer to another dish to hold. Repeat this process with the remaining soup, and return it all to the pot.

Now, stir in your lemon juice, add hot sauce if you like (just enough for a little kick!), and more salt & pepper if you feel it's needed. Serve with a little Parmesan sprinkled on top and a good loaf of sourdough bread on the side!

This soup is delicious. It has a nice smooth consistency, but with enough body and texture to still have that hearty feel. The veggies and the savory chicken broth give it that warm comfort-food taste, and the butter and onions and garlic make everything just smell heavenly, but the acidity in the lemon juice brings a brightness and a lightness that you wouldn't otherwise expect in a pure vegetable soup. It's absolutely wonderful. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend trying this out the next time you feel like making a nice bowl of soup.

I had a lot of fun with this recipe, and I hope y'all do as well. As always, thanks for reading. Comments and thoughts are always appreciated. Go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Fish Pouches

Hey everyone!

So this week's culinary shenanigan is my attempt at another F.E.A.S.T.. Unfortunately, this one was not quite as successful as my last, but hey, experimentation is a part of this whole wacky process, right?

This week, I wanted to try something I haven't done in a while: pouch cooking. What's that, you ask? Excellent question. Essentially, it's exactly what it sounds like: cooking in a pouch. You basically wrap all your food up in a pouch of folded parchment paper or aluminum foil, throw the package in the oven (or into a bed of hot coals, though I've never tried this), and steam/bake the whole thing.

So, how do you do it, you ask? Another excellent question. Boy, you're really on top of things today, aren't you? First you pick a protein. I feel that since other meats like beef or pork really benefit from browning, and there's none of that here, fish is an excellent choice. I had some tilapia left over from my Fish and Chips meal a few weeks ago, so I went with that. Second, you pick a starch, such as rice or pasta. I went with gold potatoes, because I thought they'd be tasty. Third, you pick a few veggies to accompany your meat. I went with tomatoes, bell peppers, and mushrooms. You also select a couple of aromatics, in my case, an onion and some garlic. Finally, you choose your seasonings (salt and lemon in my case) and a flavored liquid (white wine here).

I'll have more to say afterwards, but I figure let's get down to the actual cooking first.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
4 tilapia fillets  (from a $4 frozen bag)
6 gold potatoes  (about $2)
4 roma tomatoes  (about $1)
1 red bell pepper  (about $2)
1 yellow bell pepper  (about $2)
8 baby 'bella mushrooms  (from a $4 package)
1 medium yellow onion  (about $1)
4 cloves of garlic  (about $0.50)
salt
2 lemons  ($0.25 each)
A few good splashes white wine  (from a $3 bottle, but you can use fancier)

Final price: about $20, give or take.

THE METHOD!!!
Make sure your fish is well thawed in the fridge first. Once it's thawed, season it with a little salt. Set your oven for 425 degrees.

Now start chopping. Dice your potatoes. You'll want them small so that they can cook thoroughly. Seed and chop your tomatoes. Seed and chop your peppers. Clean and slice your mushrooms. Peel and slice your onion. Peel and smash your garlic cloves.

Make sure you have four large sheets of parchment paper ready to go. You want them big enough that they'll be able to fold over the food with enough left over to be folded shut.

Begin your assembly. You'll divide everything four ways, naturally. Place your potatoes down first. Lay a piece of fish on top. Squeeze half a lemon over the fish. Pile on your tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Last, give the whole thing a good splash (maybe 1/4 cup?) of wine. Fold the parchment over, and crease your edges together to seal the whole thing shut. (Watch out that you don't let your liquids leak away!)

Place on a cookie sheet (for ease of movement) and bake for at least 30 minutes (it took me closer to 50, actually) or until everything is done as you desire.

Ok, like I said, I wasn't terribly pleased with my results this time. Oh, everything was cooked through, so the process worked, don't get me wrong. But I had a few points of contention.

For one thing, I used too much food in each pouch. This increased the cooking time by nearly double and made the pouches difficult to seal. I actually had to double layer one of them because the first layer was too small. For another, I need to improve on my seasonings, as the whole thing tasted a bit bland. Plus, the flavors of my veggies and aromatics didn't mesh as well as I would have liked, but that could also be because the seasonings were off.

Let's review the acronym:

Fast: Sadly, no. The whole process took about 2 hours from start to eat, which is double my target time. Next time, I want to use fewer veggies (four instead of six potatoes, only one pepper, etc.) to decrease both my prep time and my cook time.

Easy: The process itself if actually pretty straightforward: chop everything up and throw together in a pouch. Cook. Done. So here, I'd say we have success.

Affordable: Here I pushed things a bit. My goal here is not to go above $20 for four people to eat, as $5/person seems pretty cheap to me. But again, next time I plan to use less food, which will also reduce the cost.

Super Tasty: Unfortunately, the best word to describe the taste here is "meh." It wasn't bad by any stretch, but it was hardly Super Tasty. It needed more seasoning, and it needed more contrasting flavors. Definitely something to work on.

So in the end, the meal itself was less than successful.

But fear not! I have not given up hope!

I plan to try this again after some careful consideration. In fact, while writing this, I came up with a fairly wacky idea that I plan to try at the earliest opportunity. But as I said, I will revisit this method, in the hopes that I can improve on the whole thing and turn it into a proper F.E.A.S.T.! So keep your eyes open for my next few posts!

Thanks again for reading everyone! Go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Sloppy Joes from Scratch

Hello again everyone! I hope you're ready for another F.E.A.S.T., 'cause I've got a good one lined up.

Everybody loves Sloppy Joes, right? I mean, it's good, wholesome comfort food from our childhood. The problem is: who ever makes them from scratch? I mean, why do that when you can just as easily buy a can of Manwich, right?

Well, I say to hell with that!

Sloppy Joes are easy to make, even from scratch, and I guarantee this version will taste better than anything coming out of a can. Sure, it takes a little more effort, but trust me, it's totally worth it. Even better, it's not even pricey, and the whole thing takes about 45 minutes from start to eat. Don't believe me? Well, read on then.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
1 to 1 1/4 lbs ground beef  ($3.50)
1 medium onion, diced  ($0.75)
1 red bell pepper, diced  ($1.75)
2 tsp diced garlic, or 2-4 cloves  (staple)
1 8oz can tomato sauce  ($0.25)
1/2 cup ketchup  (staple)
1/2 cup chili sauce  (from a $1.50 bottle, see below!)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce  (staple)
3 tbsp brown sugar  (staple)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar  (staple)
1 tsp cumin  (staple)
hot sauce, to taste (optional)
ground red pepper, to taste (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste (not optional)

Final price? $7.75

Ok, I admit, some of you may not keep some of the things I listed as "staples" on hand at all times like I do. So you can round up to $10-15 if you want. The Worcestershire sauce is probably the most expensive at about $3-4/bottle. Trust me though, it's worth it. And since all of these things will keep forever, you'll get plenty of meals out of each.

THE METHOD!!!
This couldn't be simpler. To begin, brown your beef in a skillet set over medium to med-high heat. When you can't see any more pink, drain off the fat.

Next, add your onion, garlic, and bell pepper, plus a good pinch of salt, and cook until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes or so.

When that's done, add all your tomato sauce, ketchup, and chili sauce, and stir to combine. A quick aside: no, the chili sauce is not spicy. It's not Sriracha or anything like that. Essentially, it's a flavored ketchup, but it adds a nice spice-flavor to the mix. If you can't find it, just replace it with more ketchup.

Last, add the Worcestershire, sugar, vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper. If you're adding red pepper or hot sauce (woo, Frank's!), now would be the time to add that too.

Stir it all up, give it a few minutes for the flavors to meld, and voila! you're done. Serve on buns, or over rice or potatoes.

Like I said: super easy. And it all gets made in one skillet, so clean-up is a breeze too. So let's go over our acronym, shall we?

Fast: 45 minutes, from the time I stated pulling out veggies to the time I started piling food on the bun. Check.

Easy: Brown the meat. Add veggies. Add flavors. Done. Check.

Affordable: I'll give you that some of the staples may not be normal fare in everyone's kitchen, but they should be. Still, we're talking under $10 for about eight sandwiches worth of food. So I say check.

Super Tasty: Meaty. Savory. A touch of sweet. A touch of spice. The aromatic smell of fresh onion and pepper and garlic, combined with floral scent of tomatoes and earthy aroma of cumin. Trust me, your whole kitchen will smell delicious. Check.

The best part is: you can adjust the meal to suit your tastes. Don't like spices? Forget 'em! Want it a bit sweeter? Up the sugar by a tablespoon or two. Want to be adventurous? Go forth to your spice cabinet and have at it! I've seen methods calling for everything from chili powder to cloves to mustard. Besides, everyone should have their own favorite way to make Sloppy Joes. They're just that good.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. Go forth and eat well!

Happy Holidays! Broken Glass Cupcakes

Happy Halloween everyone!

I love Halloween. Next to Christmas, it's probably my favorite holiday. I love the fun, the costumes, the creepiness, and, of course, the food. So the more ways I can find to combine a few of those things together, the better, I say. And is there a better way, here, than to make fun, creepy food? I say stoutly, that no, there is not!

BEHOLD!!

MWA HA HA HAH HAA!!

::ahem::

Sorry, but I can't resist a little maniacal cackling in the kitchen now and then. Anyway, I saw a version of these on Facebook last year, after Halloween had already come and gone. But I was so enamored with the idea that I vowed on the spot that I would make them for next Halloween. I swore that nothing would stop me from creating these creepy little gems and sharing them with my friends and family.

Naturally, a year later, I almost forgot about them.

Luckily, I remembered in time, and I was able to put them together for a Halloween party. I am quite pleased to say that they were a big hit. As such I would like to share them with you. Though not the original method I saw last year, I thought that this version was the best one to try. As usual, you are welcome to follow along with me as I plow through.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
The Cupcakes
1 box Red Velvet cake mix
Eggs (as per the cake mix, plus 1 egg)
Milk (substituted for the water in the mix)
Melted butter (twice as much as the oil called for in the mix)

The Frosting
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2cup stick butter, softened
1tsp vanilla
dash of salt
4cups powdered sugar
1cup white chocolate chips

The Candy Glass
1cup sugar
1/2cup light corn syrup
1-2tsp clear flavoring (I used clear artificial vanilla)

The Edible Blood
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
red food coloring
black food coloring
clear flavoring, to taste (I used raspberry)

THE METHOD!!!
To begin, make the candy glass. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Stir the sugar and corn syrup together in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave the sugar on high for 3 minutes. Carefully! remove the plastic wrap (beware of steam!) and stir in your flavoring. Recover with fresh plastic, then microwave for another 2-3 minutes. You have to watch it; if you let it go to long, the sugar will start to turn an amber color, and that means you've gone too far. For me, it took 2minutes 15seconds, and I think I could've gotten away with a bit less.

Working carefully!, remove the plastic wrap and pour out onto your cookie sheet. Spread slightly with a spoon or spatula, then set aside to harden. This will take several hours, hence doing it first. Once it's hardened, you can take a knife tip to it to break it into sharp (no, really, they are sharp!) little shards. Just place the knife tip down on the candy and gently but firmly tap down to break it up.

Next, make the edible blood. Mix everything together.

No, really, that's it. Just play with the colors until it looks like blood. I wanted a nice dark red, but I went through an entire tube of black gel and barely got it past pale red-colored-milk red. So use your best judgement.

To make the cupcakes, follow the instructions on the box. The method calls for a few easy substitutions, which I enumerated above, all of which I recommend. Add an extra eggs. Sub out an equal amount of milk for the water. Use double the amount of melted butter as oil. (Mine called for 1/3cup oil, so I measured out 2/3 cup butter and melted it gently in the microwave). Other than that, I recommend you find some cool black and white paper cups. On mine, the red velvet cake actually turned the white paper red, which I thought looked pretty damn cool.

Last, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt together on medium speed until smooth. Incorporate the powdered sugar a cup at a time, and beat until combined. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave (go in 20-30 second increments, stirring in between. It only took me two rounds to get it smooth), and mix that in as well. If desired, but it in a piping bag (or a ziplock with the corner cut out so a piping tip can peak through) and get ready to decorate!

To create your creepily wonderful cakes, frost each cool cake as desired. I used a star tip in a ziplock bag, as I said, and went in tight spiral, getting a double layer of frosting on each cake. Next, insert a few shards of candy glass at odd or violent angles. Finally, go to town with the blood! You can put it in another bag, sure, or you can do what I did. Dip a fork in the blood, lift, and then flick the resulting drizzle across cake, frosting, and glass alike. Remember, these are supposed to be tasty and creepy, so think blood spatter and gore here. After all, you want to get into the holiday spirit, right?

These were a lot of fun to make and eat. The cake turned out nice and moist, and just dense enough to really have some good body to them. The glass turned out great, even if I did make it a smidgen too dark. The blood was also tasty, if not quite the shade of red I wanted. But the frosting... now that was the best. Lightly rich, not at all saccharine, with hints of cream cheese tang and white chocolate sweetness. It was perfect for these cakes. Like I said, they went over really well at the party, and I will definitely be making them next year!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this little piece of my insanity. As always, thoughts and comments are appreciated, and thanks for reading!