Happy Halloween!

Matt and I continued a tradition we started last year again this year.  (I suppose it counts as a tradition on the 2^nd anniversary.)  We got a fire pit and invited people over to sit around the fire and hand out candy in the front yard.  Unfortunately, we did not have many trick-or-treaters; Matt was especially disappointed-he got excited every time the doorbell rang.  The final number was around twelve- I think next year we’ll buy a smaller bag of candy.

In addition to fire we also had apple cider, brats and German potato salad, all of which was declared delicious by attendees (all three of them).  I found a recipe for spiked apple cider in Glamour, of all places, and I was surprised at how delicious it was.

Halloween Apple Cider of Amazing and Surprising Deliciousness (this is not Glamour’s name, but it should have been):

½ gallon apple cider

4-5 sticks of cinnamon (I found cinnamon sticks at the store, but I did not want to pay $6 for them, so I used ground cinnamon)

4-5 cloves (again, I used ground)

¼ t nutmeg

1 vanilla bean split lengthwise or 1 T vanilla extract (surprise, surprise I used the extract)

3-4 T honey

Measure everything very carefully just like I did (ha!) and bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add 3/4^th bottle Gewürztraminer or other white wine that’s not too dry.  I found a Gewürztraminer pretty easily for about $6.  Don’t bring it to a boil again or the alcohol will evaporate and ruin the whole point of spiked cider.  Add 1 cup or so of fresh cranberries or diced apples and simmer for a few minutes.  It says the extra simmering is to “enhance color”, I suspect that’s when one is using cranberries, which I didn’t, so this step could probably be skipped.  It doesn’t taste or feel alcohol-y.

I had to make a second batch of it for the 5 of us (although we did not make much of a dent in the second batch).  I probably should have taken a picture.

I hope everyone else had a good Halloween!  I also hope that you make this cider, because you won’t be sorry.