Fall Cooking Show! Beef Stew, Pumpkin Dip, Apple Cider Cocktails, Apple-Pumpkin Dog Treats

We filmed another episode of the cooking show last week!

Our theme was Fall, so I prepared a few recipes heavy on apples & pumpkin.

And I made Beef Stew, which always reminds me of fall because that's when I add it back into my cooking rotation!

Printable Recipe

A nice, warm bowl of stew is perfect for those chilly fall days.

Apple Cider Cocktails with Caramel Vodka

Printable Recipe

Serve them chilled or warm.

Dan the Awesome Camera Man chose the warm cider and declared (in his lovely Irish brogue), "It warms the cockles of my heart!"  

Pumpkin Dip

Printable Recipe

Serve it with graham crackers, gingersnaps, cinnamon pita chips or apple slices for dipping.

And last but not least, Apple-Pumpkin Dog Treats, because dogs also like fall-themed food!

Printable Recipe

Happy Halloween!

Caprese Puff Pastry Tart

I've been experimenting with puff pastry quite a bit recently.

And I'm always experimenting with anything Caprese, which always seems to be a hit in my house.     

Typical afternoon conversation:

Caitie~have you thought about dinner?

Me~I'm thinking fresh mozza-

Caitie~YES!!

I don't even have to finish my sentence, she knows where I'm heading before I even say it.

Apple Cider Cocktails with Caramel Vodka (Warm or Cold!)

In keeping with the glut of caramel recipes which I've posted recently, here's one more!

Did you know that you can buy caramel vodka?  I should have known; I mean, take a walk down the vodka aisle (really! there are so many flavors of vodka that they have their own aisle at one of the local liquor stores!), and there are so many crazy flavors it's overwhelming.  Caramel is a relatively normal flavor, don't you think?  At least it seems normal to me when compared to PB & J, Smoked Salmon or Bacon-(yes, bacon!)-flavored vodkas.

Of course I had to buy the caramel vodka.  

I'm glad it's autumn, because it's the perfect season for me to discover the existence of caramel vodka.  I'm not sure what I would have mixed it with during other seasons, but now, in October, the cider in my fridge was just screaming,  "Pick me!  Pick me!"  

For taste-testing purposes, we prepared these cocktails both hot and cold.  Which means that Mr. Terrific, Caitie and I had to drink each type, for comparison's sake.  It was tough, but someone had to do it!

The verdict? Two preferred warm, one of us preferred cold.  I won't say who picked what, I'll just tell you that it's hard for me to discard my belief that everything tastes better with a stripey straw in it.

Frozen Peach Daiquiris

I'm totally in denial about summer's end.  Last week's 85-degree heatwave may have been summer's last gasp, but it gave me the perfect excuse to whip up a batch of daiquiris.

You can substitute any fruit you like.  Strawberries or mangoes also work well.  Use frozen fruit, because it's a frozen drink! But if you prefer to use fresh fruit, freeze the fruit ahead of time and you'll be good to go.