Halloween Movie Massacre 5
It’s that time of year again, time for our annual Halloween Movie Marathon. In fact, this was our 5th year (be sure to check out some of the past years), and we clocked in at a full 24 hours straight of horror movies.
While I usually go nuts with food, I tried to keep things simple, preparing desserts the night before, and designing the rest to be easy to make by popping in the oven. For sweets I made my favorite pumpkin spice cake and some bone shaped sugar cookies (and a sad version of the classic ghosts). Our friend Scott made a vegan King Cake which was super exciting for me.
On the savory side, I made buffalo cauliflower and giant pot of macaroni and cashew cheese. Shawn set up a hot dog station with all the trimmings. We also had French bread pizzas at some point and lots of chips and queso and popcorn and even caramel popcorn. Alas, I have no photos as photography is difficult during dark screenings.
In the morning, I made a bunch of breakfast sandwiches modeled after the Badass Breakfast Sandwich from Locali: maple dipped English muffins, vegan sausage, cheddar Daiya and spicy mayo. They were a hit, and will certainly be a staple in our home for weekends to come.
For decor we opted for lots of creepy lighting and a few key horror elements. I filled terrariums with vegetable specimens and jars of candy were labeled as disturbing fare. We had a handful of skulls and a bunch of pumpkins. One of the most exciting pieces was a drink dispenser held up by boney hands, a Halloween gift given especially for this event. We of course filled it with cold brewed coffee to keep the movie watchers awake. I also painted a few Halloween themed masks just for fun.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but watching endless horror films without sleep does very strange things to your mind. It’s no surprise we found ourselves walking down dark hallways with axes, doing zombie crawls across the floor or drilling holes in someone’s skull. No surprise at all.
Ready for what we watched? Here’s the list:
1. Carrie
2. Near Dark
3. The Descent
4. Triangle
5. Ginger Snaps
6. Poltergeist
7. The Woman in Black
8. Phenomena
9. The Loved Ones
10. Final Destination
11. The Omen
12. We Are the Night
mad men party
Well, the Mad Men premiere party was a success. I managed to make all the dishes on the menu we planned (despite my kitchen sink breaking the day before, sad times). On top of that, Shawn set up a photo booth and made some awesome Mad Men masks.
I loved the episode and it was nice to have all the characters back. More so, it was fun to watch with friends and I was super happy that everyone dressed up. I see more tv theme parties in our future. A Twin Peaks marathon has already been discussed.
Mad Men Premiere Party
It’s time to get serious about the season premiere of Mad Men this weekend. Are you excited? I am! I don’t watch a ton of television, but Mad Men is just so darn good. More than that though, I’m really excited that we’re going to have a 60’s themed cocktail party and watch with our friends. Any excuse to dress up and have fancy drinks is good for me.
I’ve been brainstorming appetizers for weeks now and have settled on a few so far. When I asked my mom what appetizers were popular in the early 60’s, she responded with “Boring stuff.” Boring just doesn’t work for me. So here are some ideas that are simple and easy to make, but still fun.
Pigs in a Blanket – Tofu dogs wrapped in puff pastry, with a side of BBQ sauce. That’s about as easy as it gets.
Jello – There is actually such a thing as vegan jello. You can buy the boxed brand or make your own with agar-agar. The tricky part will be finding cute jello molds. Maybe top these with with some coconut whipped cream.
Deviled “Eggs” – I’ve always wanted to try this recipe. To make things easier though, I may just put the “yolks” on toast.
Obviously though, it’s essential that we have a well stocked bar to make cocktails. I’m thinking some Moscow Mules & Old Fashions. I suppose it’s appropriate to also have martinis but then I need to get some darn martini glasses that I may never use again. Don’t know how to make these classics? Recipes below!
I really want a punch bowl too. This isn’t exactly traditional cocktail party style, but it’s spring and it would be fun to have some citrus fruit drink.
Ok, let’s get on to those drink recipes.
Old Fashioned
- 2 oz whiskey or bourbon
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 orange twist
In a cocktail shaker or large glass, muddle the sugar with the bitters and a splash of water or seltzer until the sugar is dissolved. Fill with ice and stir in alcohol until chilled. Strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with a twist.
Moscow Mule
- 2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 4 oz ginger ale (chilled)
- 1 lime wedge
In a tall glass, mix vodka and lime juice. Add ice and pour in ginger ale. Garnish with lime.
Then of course there is also the important element of what to wear. I’ll be a search for the perfect party dress. Can I make my hair into a beehive? I don’t know but I’d sure like to try.
Do you want to have a Mad Men party too? I hope so. What will you serve?
pizza love
This past Saturday was Shawn’s birthday. To celebrate, we ate lots and lots of pizza (and made ice cream sundaes, but that’s for later). We had pizza with cashew cheese, with teese, with follow your heart and pizza with daiya. There was buffalo chicken pizza with ranch dressing, pear and truffle oil pizza, pepperoni pizza, avocado pizza and many variations in between. Though there were many kinds, we kept each pizza simple by using only a few topping on each one. I think there were also about 3 pizza ideas that never made it to the table, but we’ll just have to make those next time.
So much pizza. So much delicious pizza.
What’s your favorite kind of pizza?
Halloween Movie Party 2011
This weekend we had our 4th Annual Halloween Horror Movie Marathon. When it started out a few years ago, it was just a sleepover where we’d watch scary movies, but has since turned into something much crazier, as we watch horror movies for over 24 hours straight. Watching horror movies for so long with so little sleep definitely does some strange things to your mind and it starts to feel like you’re living in a horror movie yourself.
So here’s a glimpse into what it’s like… Get ready for a lot of photos.
To set the stage, we turn our living room into a screening room, blacking out all the windows and adding some creepy mood lighting. We even brought our spare bed out to add some comfy viewing spots.
We continued the creepy lighting throughout the apartment. Here are the beginnings of our snack table. Snacks are vital for getting though the night.
We hung a velvet curtain to keep the light from our kitchen down since there isn’t a door. Dining room chairs were moved to the living room for extra seating. We had about 15 people throughout the night, although only a handful made it till morning.
Initially Meeme was excited about the party, hanging out on our new carpet. She and Mochi got scared though and spent the rest of the evening watching movies in their own room. They particularly liked Beetlejuice.
We made our bedroom into a second screening room for our friends who don’t like scary movies as much as we do. Everyone toughed it out though and the cats had the room to themselves.
This hallway is definitely horror movie material.
So we’ve set the stage, shall we get to some of the treats?
I had to make sugar cookies as it has become a yearly tradition. This year I opted for pumpkins to go a long with my pumpkin theme.
Shawn requested that we make some healthy things instead of all sugary treats and we came up with some scary looking drinks. While kale, celery and ginger juice, might be fairly common, it still has the look of a strange brew.
Or how about some blood? I mean, carrot beet juice.
There were popcorn balls made with Dandies.
Apples with caramel sauce for dipping.
There were pita chips with black bean dip and hummus as well as crostinis with spinach dip.
I ran out of time before guests started arriving and hastily frosted the pumpkin cookies. Not too cute but still deliciously sweet.
As a later night snack, I made some quesadillas jack-o-lanterns. I found some green cactus tortillas and knew they would be perfect for a Halloween. During the night we also made tons of tofurky dogs with lots of toppings, pizzas and even coffee cake. Oh and lots of coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
Kim stopped by and brought these amazing lady fingers. How creepy?
Like I said, we watch straight through the night and well into Sunday. This is the remaining 6 of us some time on Sunday afternoon. Jenny L., Shawn, Me, James, Jennifer Y. and Kyle. Without a doubt this has been the best year yet, so much fun! Already I can’t wait till next year.
Want to know what we watched? Here goes:
- Coven
- Phenomena
- Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
- Amityville Horror
- Martyrs
- We Are the Night
- Harpoon
- Troll II
- Sheitan
- Dead Snow
- The Burning
- Rosemary’s Baby
- The Shining
- Silence of the Lambs
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Sleepaway Camp
- The Lost Boys
- The Company of Wolves
- The Hunger
In fact, we’re still watching as I write this…
