Author Archive
Mexican Chocolate "Pan de Muertos" Pudding
by admin on Oct.11, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
I’ve been looking for Mexican-inspired treats to make for a Dia de los Muertos party. Since Pan de Muertos (bread of the dead) is staple in Mexico this time of year, I thought a bread pudding might work. I tweaked this recipe into a dark, chocolatey, spicy treat that goes great with whipped cream or dulce de leche ice cream. I plan to make a batch and then spoon it into skull cups.
Mexican Chocolate Pan de Muertos Pudding
1 cup milk
1 cup half-and-half
3 ounces Guittard semisweet chocolate bar
1 tbsp Guittard Cocoa Rogue powder
1/2 tsp. King Arthur Viennese cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ancho chili powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (16oz) loaf Thomas cinnamon-raisin bread
2 large eggs, room-temp
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract
Whipped cream, for serving
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter an 11-by-7-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine milks, chocolate, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and butter; place over medium-low heat, whisking until chocolate has melted, about 3-5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
3. Slice bread into cubes and distribute evenly in prepared baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved. Add a small ladle of the warm warm milk mixture whisking until tempered. Slowly pour in the remaining warm milk while continuing to whisk. Pour evenly over bread. Press down on the bread to ensure everything is coated.
4. Bake until pudding has puffed and is firm, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.
Tips: Try to find ancho chili powder but DO NOT substitute regular chili powder. Ancho chili is a smoked poblano pepper that has very little heat, a smoky deep flavor, and is even slightly sweet and aromatic. When paired with chocolate it is absolutely fantastic. Everyday chili powder used for the chili stews is a completely different spice blend altogether!
Mexican Chocolate "Pan de Muertos" Pudding
by admin on Oct.11, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
I’ve been looking for Mexican-inspired treats to make for a Dia de los Muertos party. Since Pan de Muertos (bread of the dead) is staple in Mexico this time of year, I thought a bread pudding might work. I tweaked this recipe into a dark, chocolatey, spicy treat that goes great with whipped cream or dulce de leche ice cream. I plan to make a batch and then spoon it into skull cups.
Mexican Chocolate Pan de Muertos Pudding
1 cup milk
1 cup half-and-half
3 ounces Guittard semisweet chocolate bar
1 tbsp Guittard Cocoa Rogue powder
1/2 tsp. King Arthur Viennese cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ancho chili powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (16oz) loaf Thomas cinnamon-raisin bread
2 large eggs, room-temp
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract
Whipped cream, for serving
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter an 11-by-7-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine milks, chocolate, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and butter; place over medium-low heat, whisking until chocolate has melted, about 3-5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
3. Slice bread into cubes and distribute evenly in prepared baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved. Add a small ladle of the warm warm milk mixture whisking until tempered. Slowly pour in the remaining warm milk while continuing to whisk. Pour evenly over bread. Press down on the bread to ensure everything is coated.
4. Bake until pudding has puffed and is firm, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.
Tips: Try to find ancho chili powder but DO NOT substitute regular chili powder. Ancho chili is a smoked poblano pepper that has very little heat, a smoky deep flavor, and is even slightly sweet and aromatic. When paired with chocolate it is absolutely fantastic. Everyday chili powder used for the chili stews is a completely different spice blend altogether!
Podcast of the Month: Scarred for Life
by admin on Oct.04, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
I’m so excited for the SCARRED FOR LIFE podcast and its fascinating concept – revisit older films that traumatized you and see how they hold up. It launched this week and available on podcast services everywhere.
Hosts Mary Beth and Terry sound relatable and down to Earth – the kind of friends you’d want to hang out with for a movie night. Mary Beth is an exceptionally seasoned writer with more bylines than gawd and a fantastic site Much Ado About Cinema, and Terry has built a large following as Gayly Dreadful on Twitter and his eponymous website. I’ll always show up to support queer and women’s voices in horror!
The first episode tackles the icky Arachnophobia and Terry’s lifelong struggle with eight legged freaks, and Mary Beth takes on Poltergeist‘s gravity defying horror. The hosts really reveal a personal tidbits about how these films affected them and why. It is this personal approach that really sets the podcast apart as being something very special for the horror community. I imagine that eventually they’ll feature films that really pierced my psyche and I am eager to delve into those memories. Is it therapy? Perhaps, but it never stops being entertaining.
The podcast is also a good, digestible length. So many of them run 2+ hours making it very challenging to fully commit week after week. I am subscribed, and looking forward to revisiting those fears from yesteryears through the critically cool analysis of adulthood.
Apple Cider Sangria
by admin on Oct.03, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Sangria is a Spanish cocktail made with red wine, fruit and some type of cordial. It’s usually associated with summer, but Sangria translates as “bloody” making it perfect for Halloween! This is a variation on that classic drink that can be made well ahead of time in large batches – ideal cocktail for Halloween get-togethers!
Apple Cider Sangria
1 orange
1 lemon
2 cups fresh-pressed Barsotti apple cider
1/2 cup Jack Daniels Apple Whisky
1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc white wine
1/3 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (12.7 oz) bottle Bundaberg ginger beer
1. Wash fruit well and core apples. Dice apples into small pieces and place in a large pitcher. Cut orange and lemon into thin slices removing seeds. Add to pitcher.
2. Add apple cider, apple whisky, wine, sugar into pitcher. Stir well crushing fruit with spoon. Add cinnamon sticks, stir again, cover and set in refrigerator overnight.
3. Add in ginger beer right before serving, stir well and serve immediately!
Tips: Use the best fresh apple cider you can find, usually in the refrigerated juice sections, and look for the unfiltered kind that looks cloudy and brownish. Remember apple cider is different from apple juice, and definitely not apple cider vinegar. Same with ginger beer. It’s not the same as ginger ale! The type of white wine is also important as you don’t want an oaky Chardonnay for example (an unoaked Chardonnay would be okay). Albarinos or Pinot Grigio would also be perfect. But sangria is usually very forgiving.
I would recommend a punch bowl (cauldron?) and ladle for serving since fresh apple juice tends to separate when it sits and you need to stir before serving. And, of course, you want to get some of the spirited fruit as well.
Apple Cider Sangria
by admin on Oct.03, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Sangria is a Spanish cocktail made with red wine, fruit and some type of cordial. It’s usually associated with summer, but Sangria translates as “bloody” making it perfect for Halloween! This is a variation on that classic drink that can be made well ahead of time in large batches – ideal cocktail for Halloween get-togethers!
Apple Cider Sangria
1 orange
1 lemon
2 cups fresh-pressed Barsotti apple cider
1/2 cup Jack Daniels Apple Whisky
1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc white wine
1/3 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (12.7 oz) bottle Bundaberg ginger beer
1. Wash fruit well and core apples. Dice apples into small pieces and place in a large pitcher. Cut orange and lemon into thin slices removing seeds. Add to pitcher.
2. Add apple cider, apple whisky, wine, sugar into pitcher. Stir well crushing fruit with spoon. Add cinnamon sticks, stir again, cover and set in refrigerator overnight.
3. Add in ginger beer right before serving, stir well and serve immediately!
Tips: Use the best fresh apple cider you can find, usually in the refrigerated juice sections, and look for the unfiltered kind that looks cloudy and brownish. Remember apple cider is different from apple juice, and definitely not apple cider vinegar. Same with ginger beer. It’s not the same as ginger ale! The type of white wine is also important as you don’t want an oaky Chardonnay for example (an unoaked Chardonnay would be okay). Albarinos or Pinot Grigio would also be perfect. But sangria is usually very forgiving.
I would recommend a punch bowl (cauldron?) and ladle for serving since fresh apple juice tends to separate when it sits and you need to stir before serving. And, of course, you want to get some of the spirited fruit as well.
Winchester Mystery House Goes Fully Unhinged
by admin on Oct.01, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Times have changed. When I moved to San Jose in 2005, I lived down the street from the Winchester Mystery House. I was instantly captivated by its Victorian charm and the rumored haunting. For many of those early docent-led tours nothing about the ghostly matters was ever acknowledged, even when asked directly. Then 14 years later, ghost busting shows are a staple on pay cable TV, and run-down mansions and hospitals with heinous histories everywhere are selling tickets for tours. The Winchester House finally got on board with several variations of candlelit tours, then a fantastic haunted maze created around the perimeter on the house!
Winchester Mystery House Goes Fully Unhinged
by admin on Oct.01, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Times have changed. When I moved to San Jose in 2005, I lived down the street from the Winchester Mystery House. I was instantly captivated by its Victorian charm and the rumored haunting. For many of those early docent-led tours nothing about the ghostly matters was ever acknowledged, even when asked directly. Then 14 years later, ghost busting shows are a staple on pay cable TV, and run-down mansions and hospitals with heinous histories everywhere are selling tickets for tours. The Winchester House finally got on board with several variations of candlelit tours, then a fantastic haunted maze created around the perimeter on the house!
Quick Takes: Tigers Are Not Afraid, High Life, Head Count
by admin on Sep.16, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Tigers Are Not Afraid is devastating. The horror across the border in Mexico is very real and this fantasia captures the spirit of children left to defend themselves against monsters in all forms. Director Issa Lopez has a remarkable vision, imagination, and restraint that narrows the focus to a pinpoint of pain and sorrow, and her incredible young actors fulfill the mission. This a masterpiece. Currently on Shudder.
High Life is a quietly bleak, psychosexual, sci-fi anomaly that tackles themes of isolation, redemption and the inevitable surrender to the horror of deep space. It will be challenging for some audiences with its strangely assertive sexual overtones and undefined ending but it stands alongside some of Stanley Kubrick’s best work. Robert Pattinson’s stellar performance embodies the weary lost soul and the results are a transcendental meditation on hope.
Head Count is deviously clever & creepy, making you second guess what you’ve seen. The set-up might seem trite, but it follows in the new wave of #horror that pushes genre expectations. The ride is relentless & dreadful, the payoff is satisfying, but the coda was unnecessary. Currently on Netflix.
Quick Takes: Tigers Are Not Afraid, High Life, Head Count
by admin on Sep.16, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Tigers Are Not Afraid is devastating. The horror across the border in Mexico is very real and this fantasia captures the spirit of children left to defend themselves against monsters in all forms. Director Issa Lopez has a remarkable vision, imagination, and restraint that narrows the focus to a pinpoint of pain and sorrow, and her incredible young actors fulfill the mission. This a masterpiece. Currently on Shudder.
High Life is a quietly bleak, psychosexual, sci-fi anomaly that tackles themes of isolation, redemption and the inevitable surrender to the horror of deep space. It will be challenging for some audiences with its strangely assertive sexual overtones and undefined ending but it stands alongside some of Stanley Kubrick’s best work. Robert Pattinson’s stellar performance embodies the weary lost soul and the results are a transcendental meditation on hope.
Head Count is deviously clever & creepy, making you second guess what you’ve seen. The set-up might seem trite, but it follows in the new wave of #horror that pushes genre expectations. The ride is relentless & dreadful, the payoff is satisfying, but the coda was unnecessary. Currently on Netflix.
Ghoulish Garden Blooms at Target
by admin on Sep.13, 2019, under Syndicated from the Web
Reposted from Wicked October | Go to Original Post
Target stores are dropping their Halloween goods this week, and by far my favorite items are the Ghoulish Garden monster plants. They are all teeth, tongues, and eyeballs and so darn eerie and delightful. They remind me somewhat of the singing flowers in the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland, or Audrey II from The Little Shop of Horrors. Sadly, they are all out stock around my stores and online so not sure if I’ll get one this season but my stems are crossed and rooting for good luck.
