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By Joanne Eglash
Don't get spooked by lack of preparation this Halloween: by planning your festivities early, you can guarantee that your October 31 will be filled with treats, not tricks!
Halloween traditions range from apple-bobbing games to costume contests to pumpkin-carving challenges to haunted houses to old-fashioned trick-or-treating time. If your to-do list acquires a length more scary than a witch's brew, take a page from an event planner's cauldron of advice: ask friends or family to help!
Event Planner Brews Up Tips on Preparation "Get others involved -- family or friends," says Phyllis Cambria, an award-winning event planner in Coconut Creek, Florida, who has authored several party planning books. If you want to make decorations and/or decorate your home, you can even turn this phase into "the party before the party.""
Other tips from Phyllis include:
• To choose which areas of your home to decorate, focus on where your guests will congregate and roam. Your bedroom closet is out – but don't forget a witch dangling over the toilet! If there are spaces that you want to keep private, "have a little fun with it and put up signs that say "Entrance Forbidden," "If You Enter, You Will Die," and so forth. Most guests get the hint!" says Phyllis.
• Plan something bewitching to get your guests in the mood as they enter the house, such as "a spider or a skeleton that drops when they come in the door, or ghostly sounds or an electronic "talking" door decoration."
•Choose seasonal invitations to get guests in the spirit. And say "yes" on costumes: a Halloween party "should be a costume party.""
• Want to serve traditional party foods, such as spinach dip and chips? "Even more traditional party foods take on a Halloween note if you serve them on theme-related platters and bowls. Hollowed-out pumpkins are a great serving bowl for soups, stews and things like spinach dip. Hollowed-out gourds are great for serving dip and keep guests in the mood.
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| Halloween Orange Sherbet Tart |
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| Prep Time: 20 minutes |
| Cook Time: 10 minutes |
Ingredients
| •1 refrigerated pie crust |
• 1 cup orange sherbet, slightly softened |
| • 3 oz. orange gelatin |
• 1 cup fat-free frozen dessert topping, thawed |
| • 3/4 cup boiling water |
• 2 Tbsps. miniature chocolate chips |
| •1/2 tsp. oil |
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Instructions
| Preheat oven to temperature 450°F. Prepare pie crust as directed on package for one-crust baked shell using 10 inch tart pan with removable bottom or 9 inch pie pan. Meanwhile, place gelatin in medium bowl. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Spoon in sherbet and stir until melted. Place in freezer 5 minutes or until soft set. Stir sherbet mixture. Add whipped topping and mix well. Spoon mixture into cooled baked shell. In small resealable plastic food storage bag, combine chocolate chips and oil. Seal bag and place in bowl of very hot water. Flex bag several times to melt chips. Cut small opening in bottom corner of bag. Pipe chocolate over top of tart to form spider web design. Refrigerate until serving time. The heavier storage or freezer-weight bags work best for drizzling chocolate. Start with a tiny opening. You can always enlarge it.* |
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Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese |
| Prep Time: 20 minutes |
| Cook Time: 45 minutes |
Ingredients
| • 1/2 cup all purpose flour |
• 1/4 cup quick oats |
| • 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed |
• 2 Tbsps. chopped walnuts |
| • 1 tsp. cinnamon |
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted |
| • 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin |
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsps. skim milk |
| • 1-1/2 tsps. vanilla extract |
• 1 small egg, slightly beaten |
| • 3 Tbsps. sugar |
• 1/4 tsp. allspice |
| • 1/8 tsp. salt (necessary) |
• 1/4 lb. light cream cheese, softened |
| • 2 Tbsps. orange marmalade |
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Instructions
| Preheat oven to temperature 350°F. Combine first 4 ingredients and half the cinnamon in a food processor or mixing bowl. Add melted butter and process until mixture becomes crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of a 9 inch baking dish. Bake 20 minutes or until crust starts to brown. Remove from oven. Reduce temperature to temperature 325°F. Combine pumpkin, milk, half the vanilla, egg, sugar, allspice, salt and remaining cinnamon in a food processor or mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour over crust and bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center. Cool on a rack. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, remaining vanilla and orange marmalade until fluffy. Spread evenly over cooled pumpkin bars. *** |
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Job Opportunities in the Culinary Field
Many people love going out to eat. Business meetings are conducted over an appetizing lunch special. Friends and family get together to enjoy each other’s company alongside a tasty meal or dessert. Blossoming romances frequently begin in a candlelit restaurant over a meal. With so many wonderful reasons for people to dine out, don’t you think preparing for a career in the culinary industry could be a solid investment?
Before you begin a culinary career, however, it is important to get the right education. Culinary schools may offer programs such as Culinary Arts, Patisserie and Baking, and Restaurant Management. You can choose a program that fits your personality and interests to help you prepare for exciting new career opportunities. Career possibilities may include:
- Food Preparation Worker
- Specialty Chef
- Restaurant Manager
- Pastry Chef
- Specialty Baker
Are you ready to start down the path toward a culinary career? Get your culinary education today!
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Halloween Finger Cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time:10 minutes
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly
packed
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole blanched almonds,
split in half
Instructions
Preheat oven to temperature 325°F. Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough becomes too stiff to beat. Knead by hand until all the flour is incorporated. Roll pieces of dough into shapes about the size of fingers and transfer to baking sheets that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Using a pin or sharp knife, carve knuckles into dough. Cut out a place for fingernails (almond half). Insert almond into each dough finger. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly before cutting. ** |
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A quality education is important and necessary for many career fields. If you are concerned about the cost of education, there are financing options available. Today, many students receive the education they need with the help of financial aid and scholarships. Most schools offer financial aid available for those who qualify. Don’t let anything stand in between you and the education you may need to be successful.
Programs vary by location.
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The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minneapolis, MN |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston, Cambridge, MA |
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Pennsylvania Culinary Institute,
Pittsburgh, PA |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta,
Tucker, GA |
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Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts Dallas |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Miami,
Miramar, FL |
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Orlando Culinary Academy |
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Texas Culinary Academy
Austin, TX |
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California School of Culinary Arts, Pasadena, CA |
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California School of Culinary Arts, Hollywood, CA |
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California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, CA |
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Kitchen Academy Sacramento |
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Kitchen Academy Seattle |
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas |
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Scottsdale Culinary Institute Scottsdale, AZ |
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Western Culinary Institute, Portland, OR |
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