Halloween 2011 at Suzie the Foodie’s House!

Halloween was insane! Not because we got a lot of trick or treaters (around a dozen) or I cooked up a feast. We spent a ton of time decorating the outside of the house so I got a lot of help from some products to come up with treats for us to snack on so we did not pass out from exhaustion and/or hunger.

Yesterday morning I just had to walk through the neighbourhood. We finally had some sunshine after a terrible stormy Sunday. Look at these crazy pumpkins a local farmer brought into the hood!

Reg came home and got to work on Drop Dead Fred. This year he was a pirate for the first time and was a huge hit! People loved him!

I spent the day turning our front lawn into a graveyard, while also cooking up my roasted butternut squash soup and Rachael Ray’s veggie chilli for dinner. I had already chopped up veggies for our family’s favourite dipping sauce. Still, there was so much to do!

You see I had all this stuff to put up and very little time!

But it is the little details that count and I wanted the house to look super witchy and awesome.

Then I came in the house and collapsed! I could not wait to eat! I had not eaten a thing all day.

President’s Choice sent me a secret and mysterious black box with some of their new high end Black Label products. Check here for availability. Each container is black with neon text and has an artistic black and white photograph which appeals so much to the photographer in me. These Cheese & Black Pepper All Butter Biscuits (appear to be similar to these biscuits) were a perfect little snack to pop into our mouths between trick-or-treaters showing up at our door.

Let me tell you, these may appear innocent but holy cow do they pack a delayed wallop of a punch of pepper. I actually coughed a minute after having my first one! The same thing happened to Reg. He ate one, said they were good, went downstairs and gave candy away. Closed the door and said, “Wooowweee!!!! Those are spicy!”

At first I was worried they would be a little dry, which they kind of were, but they did not crumble and disintegrate as you were eating them. Interesting! They seemed subtle and not super memorable at first but then we got the peppery kick in the head. Shocking! According to the box they are made in small batches according to Highland tradition, I have to disagree with the description that they are “delicately infused with black pepper.” Perhaps at first and then POW! I loved them and give them four out of five wooden spoons. It always gives me a thrill when food surprises me.

When my sister Jamie and her husband Justin were visiting we of course went to Peggy’s Cove and I could not believe my luck! In the gift shop they had one package of Covered Bridge’s Atlantic Lobster Chips left! Every time I had been there before they were out. Lucky me, I got the last one of the season.

I waited until Halloween to open up the bag and the smell of lobster wafted over me! How exciting, how cool! The flavour? Umm… Well, more like barbecue than lobster I am afraid. The lobster flavouring was super subtle.

Now that could be because this New Brunswick company swears that there are no artificial colours or flavours in their chips so they actually used lobster extract powder! OK, that is very impressive. A bit of a novelty item but I enjoyed them. I give them four out of five wooden spoons despite its gentle lobster flavour since they went 100% natural. 

To boost the seafood flavour of the chips I served them with my family’s secret crab dip recipe and it was amazing! Lobster chips topped with big chunks of crab? What could be more decadent for this seafood lover on Halloween? Oh that’s right, put it in a silver serving skull that I got from Home Sense this year, LOL.

It was a chaotic yet quiet Halloween. A little more humble in some ways and decadent in others. We snacked on lots of treats, then had small bowls of soup and chilli. My crockpot continued to redeem itself by making the best cranberry apple cider of my life as we sat and watched Practical Magic for the millionth time with our dear friend Jen. This was her fifth year in a row spending Halloween with us!

Of course I have awoken with a Halloween hangover (without the alcohol) and my kitchen is one hell of a disaster to clean up today! Oh and if you want to see more of our Halloween celebration, come visit my personal blog. Check out the pirate version of Drop Dead Fred!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! Back to mundane life until next year…