50 ml Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka | 15 ml Pumpkin Spiced Syrup | 100 ml Tonic Water | 3 Dashes of Orange Bitters Combine all the ingredients (except the syrup) in a tumbler glass. Drizzle the syrup over the top and stir. Garnish with a snapped cinnamon stick and a wedge of fresh orange. Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka – ABV: 40%, RRP from £30 for 70 cl, available nationwide from dutchbarn.com, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Amazon and other good retailers
Newly Launched – Dutch Barn Ginger Spiced Vodka
This new expression is the perfect addition to Halloween celebrations. Whether you bring it as a gift or enjoy it with friends, Dutch Barn Ginger Spiced Vodka is made with fresh organic ginger juice and designed to make bar-quality cocktails with zero fuss. Dutch Barn Vodka has partnered with The Donkey Sanctuary, supporting donkey welfare, and is donating 25% of profits from every bottle to this great charity, which helps give donkeys better lives, every day. Dutch Barn Ginger Spiced Vodka – ABV: 38%, RRP: £32 for 70 cl, available exclusively at DutchBarn.com
Renais Gin
Winter Citrus Punch 30 ml Renais | 15 ml Blood Orange Juice | 15 ml Clementine Juice | 15 ml Pink Grapefruit Juice | 15 ml Lemon Juice | 10 ml Cinnamon Syrup |15 ml Ginger Syrup | 60 ml Cold Brewed Earl Grey Add all ingredients to a bottle and pop it in the fridge. To serve, pour over ice and garnish with a fresh orange wedge and a toasted cinnamon stick. Renais Gin – ABV: 40%, RRP: £45 for 70cl, available from Renais, Waitrose, Master Of Malt and Amazon
Cotswolds Distillery
The Devils Share 45 ml Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky | 25 ml Lemon Juice | 15 ml Cotswolds Amaro | 15 ml Honey Syrup | 7.5 ml Red Wine
Place all ingredients except the red wine into an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Drizzle red wine over the cocktail and ice to create a ‘bleeding’ effect in the glass.
Cotswolds Distillery Signature Single Malt Whisky – ABV: 46%, RRP from: £46 for 70cl, available from Waitrose, Tesco and Amazon.
Get into spooky season with these autumnal versions of mini little calzone pizzas. Filled with oozing cheese, these showstoppers are perfect for parties!
Prep Time: 40 mins
Bake Time: 15 mins
Servings: 8
Tip
For a vegetarian option, substitute the pepperoni for either eight cooked sliced mushrooms or 150g cubed roasted squash.
Soak the string in a little olive oil before using, to make it easier to remove.
Equipment
Large bowl
Wooden spoon
Rolling pin
Scissors
Pastry brush
Food-safe cooking string
Tea towel
Ingredients
350 g strong white bread flour
One 7g sachet of fast acting yeast
½ tsp sugar
200ml water
200g packet mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into 8 pieces
100g pepperoni slices
350g jar of tomato pasta or pizza sauce
1 egg yolk
1 tsp paprika
Handful of fresh basil leaves to decorate (optional)
Method
1. Pre heat the oven to 200’C.
2. Tip the flour into a large bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast. Now make a well in the middle and add the water, stirring until all the flour is mixed in and you have a soft dough.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Wash out the bowl, place your dough into it and cover with a tea towel. Now leave to rest for five minutes.
5. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and roll these out. Now top each piece of dough with a slice of pepperoni, a spoonful of sauce, a piece of Mozzarella and another slice of pepperoni.
6. Bring the edges of the dough together, enclosing the filling and pinch well at the top to seal.
7. Now tie a piece of string around the ball three times, crossing over at the top and the bottom. Pull the string just tight enough that the dough looks like the segments of a pumpkin.
8. Mix the egg yolk and paprika and brush all over the pumpkin balls. Then place these in the oven and bake for 15 minutes till they are cooked through and golden.
9. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before snipping the string and carefully removing it, and if using, garnish with baby basil leaves
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Makes 12 @ 70g per muffin
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
215g pumpkin puree (this comes in a can and is available in supermarkets)
2 eggs
125ml/g sunflower or vegetable oil
75ml/g water
300g caster sugar
225g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp mixed spice
Pumpkin seeds
Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Whisk or spoon
Lined muffin tin
Measuring spoons
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°c (fan).
In the large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil and water then add in the sugar, flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice and whisk until a smooth batter is formed.
Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cases, top with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds and bake for 25-30 minutes until risen, golden and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool before serving.
Mummy Sausage & Pumpkin Pies
Makes 9 portions
Ingredients
350g plain flour
2. 175g salted butter, cubed
3. 4 tbsp cold water
4. 350g sausage meat
5. 150g pumpkin purée
6. 1 tsp dried sage
7. ½ tsp salt
8. 1 egg
9. 18 edible eyes
Equipment
1. Mixing bowl
2. Lined baking tray
3. Rolling pin
4. Spoon
5. Fork
6. Knife
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan).
2. In the large mixing bowl, combine the flour and butter by rubbing it together between your fingertips, until a crumb consistency is achieved. Add the water and bring together with your hands to form a pastry dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and pop in the freezer to rest while you make the filling.
3. Wash up the mixing bowl then use it to combine the sausage meat, pumpkin purée, sage and salt. Set to one side.
4. Take the dough out of the freezer and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it out into a large rectangle (2-3mm thickness) then portion into 12 smaller rectangles.
5. Place 9 of the pastry rectangles onto the tray and spoon the sausage filling into the centre of each one leaving an index finger width border around every edge.
6. Beat the egg, then use your finger to egg wash the edges of each pie.
7. Cut the remaining 3 rectangles into 1 cm strips and lay them over the filling of each pie, using the egg washed edges to stick them. Trim if necessary.
8. Use your finger to egg wash the strips then bake the pies for 20-25 minutes until golden. Allow to cool slightly before placing two edible eyes on each one and serving. They can also be enjoyed cold.
Homemade spaghetti and spooky “eyeballs”
This scary, saucy spaghetti and “eyeballs” recipe will be a fun and frightening addition to your Halloween! Incorporating homemade pasta, meatballs and a delicious tomato sauce, these tick all the boxes and are sure to delight children and adults alike. While we recommend making your own, if you’re short on time, feel free to buy ready-made pasta for a simplified (but still full of fun!) version.
Serves 4
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Ingredients
For the pasta:
315g plain flour
3 eggs, beaten
For the meatballs:
750g lean beef mince
150g breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 slices mozzarella cheese
Black olives, sliced
For the pasta sauce:
1kg passata
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp garlic granules
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs (or dried basil if that’s all you can find)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Reserved pasta water
Equipment
Rolling pin
Knife
Mixing bowl
Baking tray
Large saucepan or casserole dish
Piping nozzle or bottle cap
Method
To make the pasta dough:
Form the flour into a heaped pile on a clean surface, then create a well in the centre.
Pour the beaten eggs into the centre of the well then fold in the flour, bringing it in from the edges. This will be a little messy at first but keep going until all of the egg has been worked in and a dough is formed.
Use a little extra flour to knead the dough until smooth, then wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to rest for around 20 minutes.
To make the meatballs:
While the pasta dough is resting in the fridge, prepare the meatballs.
Preheat the oven to 190°c (fan).
In the mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the beef mince, breadcrumbs, egg and seasoning.
Form the meatballs (approx. 40g each, see pictures for size estimate) and place onto a baking tray.
Cook the meatballs in the oven for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
Set aside on the counter (ensure these aren’t left out for more than two hours).
To make the eyes:
Use a piping nozzle, bottle cap or cut freehand to create 24 discs of cheese, placing them on a plate.
Top each disc with a black olive slice to create an eyeball and leave in the fridge until assembly.
Rolling the pasta:
Once the meatballs are cooked, it will be time to roll and cut the pasta.
Place a large saucepan or casserole dish filled with salted water on the stove and bring to a rolling boil.
Take the pasta dough from the fridge and cut into 4 equal pieces.
Lightly flour a clean work surface, then roll one of the pieces out—the aim is to get it as big and as thin as possible without the dough breaking or sticking. Extra dustings of flour throughout will likely be needed to achieve this.
Fold the rolled dough in half and then onto itself again before using a sharp knife to cut it into thin strips.
Pick up the strips and give them a good shake to unravel them, dusting with a little extra flour to prevent them sticking.
Set aside and repeat for the other 3 portions of dough.
Carefully drop the pasta into the pan of boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes.
Before draining, reserve some of the pasta water in a cup/jug for the sauce.
Drain the pasta and set to one side.
To make the sauce:
Return the saucepan/casserole dish to the stove over a medium heat.
Pour in the passata, tomato paste, garlic granules, dried herbs and seasoning.
Bring to a simmer and cook out the tomato paste for a few minutes.
Add in a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce.
Assembly:
Add the meatballs to the sauce to allow them to heat through then add the cooked pasta.
Once everything is heated through, arrange the meatballs on top of the pasta and place a disc of cheese and an olive slice on top of each one to create the eyeballs.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve hot.
Recipe from FAB Flour’s Easy Peasy Baking campaign, launched by UK Flour Millers, making baking simple. You can find more Easy Peasy Baking recipes, information on the campaign, and info on how flour nourishes the nation over on the FAB Flour website: https://fabflour.co.uk/ or on social: @fab_flour on Instagram or @fabflour on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
We love a good nail and Mylee make it super easy. These are the perfect way to get into the spooky season.
This Halloween slay your spooky season look with Mylee’s limited-edition Gel Nail Wraps – the ultimate shortcut to flawless, head-turning nails in minutes. Available at mylee.co.uk | Price: £13.99
Vegan, cruelty-free, and HEMA-free, these pre-designed wraps offer trend-led nail art and up to 14 days of high-gloss wear – no UV lamp required.
Choose from two bewitching designs:
Patchwork Pumpkin: Bold oranges, bats, and a jack-o-lantern charm.
Black Widow: Moody purples, cobwebs, and a touch of glitter.
For our final instalment of our Cocktail Month feature it would be simply foolish of us not to include some Spook-Tacular Halloween Cocktails and this week our drinks are brought to us by…
i heart Wines…
…because you don’t just need‘spirits’to create a spooky cocktail… get it??
What we heart about i heart Wines is that their approach is simply honest in that they want to bring to you a great tasting wine at a reasonable price. That sounds pretty good to me. What’s more, with such distinct and recognisable branding, you may have seen their products in a fair few supermarkets even extending to vendors around the Globe, impressive. Their range is pretty diverse too and includes select wines from Spain, Italy, Hungary and Argentina. So diverse in fact that i heart Wines also heart gin too with both a traditional gin and a pink gin. Quite simply i heart Wines brings to you all the things that people love from their heart to yours.
So… if you’re planning on a little Monster Mash, Ghost-busting or Zombie Zoom call we have just the tipples to trick or treat.
i Heart Pinot Noir Halloween Sangria
Ingredients
· 750ml i heart Pinot Noir
· 1 orange (cut into wedges)
· 1 lemon (cut into wedges)
· 30g sugar
· 500ml ginger ale
· A handful of gummy worms to garnish
· Mint to garnish
Method
· Firstly, pour the red wine into the pitcher
· Squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemons into the wine then toss the wedges into the punch
· Add the sugar and stir thoroughly until dissolved
· Optional: if you’re that bit extra chill over night for flavours to fully develop
· Just before serving, add the ginger ale and a handful of gummy worms and mint leaves to garnish
i Heart Merlot Halloween Punch
Ingredients
· 750ml i heart Merlot
· 750ml Rum
· 150ml lime juice (fresh)
· 150ml triple sec
· 170g simple syrup
· 2 limes (sliced into thin wheels)
· 2 red oranges (sliced into thin wheels)
· Handful of raspberries and blackberries
Method
· Firstly, gather all the ingredients together
· In a large punch bowl or pitcher, combine the i heart Merlot, rum, lime juice, triple sec, simple syrup, lime, oranges, raspberries and blackberries
· Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for two hours before serving (overnight is better)
· Serve over ice in punch glasses and enjoy!
For an extra spooky punch, why not decorate the punch bowl with fake spiders or cobwebs? Maybe even some floating eyeballs.
The i heart Wine collection is available from various stockists including but not limited to Amazon, Tesco, Ocado, Nisa and Spar.
If you’ve found yourself run rugged this year with pumpkin carving, costume picking and sweet buying antics, take some time out to create a little spooky pick-me-up.
Casamigos Tequila have created two spooky offerings for you to try this Halloween and we think you’re in for a treat.
Casa Crawler
Casa Crawler:
Ingredients
56 ml. Casamigos Blanco
28 ml. Fresh Lemon Juice
28ml. Real Blueberry Purée
8-10 Mint leaves
Method:
Combine all ingredients into tin shaker. Add ice. Shake vigorously for 8-10 seconds. Fine strain into collins glass. Add ice. Garnish with pop rocks, mint sprig, and 2-3 sour gummy worms.
Casa Crazy Eye
Casa Crazy Eye:
Ingredients
40 ml. Casamigos Blanco
56 ml. Lychee Liqueur
7 ml. Fresh Lemon Juice
4 Basil Leaves
Thick rim of salt, sugar, oreo cookie crumbs* (equal parts)
Method:
Combine all ingredients into tin shaker. Muddle herbs. Add ice. Shake vigorously for 12-15 seconds. Fine strain into a small martini glass. Garnish Luxardo cherry inside lychee ball (as eye ball) through skewer.
*To add sugar, salt, oreo rim – Wet rim of glass with lime wedge and agave nectar and roll rim through mixture.
Casamigos is available from most retailers in the UK including Selfridges, Harrods and 31 Dover online for a RRP starting £48.95 – £77.99
With Halloween just around the corner we thought we would share our three top picks.
Hawkin.com have these TY Halloween Beanies. We love the ghost and the spider. These are so adorable and cute. Almost too cute to be scary. They are also soft. £5 for beanie boos and £3 for clips.
The perfect sweets for kids that come to your door are these bean boozled jelly beans. You have to pick wisely as, along with the normal flavours, there are some truly awful ones; rotten egg, stinky socks and lawn clippings all factor. Available from Hawkin.com
Lastly, how about Halloween doing karaoke? That really is a nightmare for some.
Halloween Cometh
Time to Sing as Though your Life Depends on It (perhaps it will….)
Book your Karaoke Booth at Lucky Voice…if you dare
Lucky Voice will be daring you to pay them a visit this Halloween, as they cast aside the sequins and silliness and embrace the dark side for Halloween.
The Lucky Voice bars will be transformed from karaoke havens to chilling dungeons containing your deepest fear
If you’re haunting the streets of London, make sure you check yourselves in to the Soho or Islington bars. If it’s Brighton you’re roaming, line up for a spine-tingling time at our dark circus show where our ringleader will welcome you with open arms.
The usual props of brightly coloured wigs and fun specs will be taking a more sinister turn – think limbs, fake blood, gore and more (after all, every good singing star needs their alter-ego, right?)
Halloween Playlist songs: karaoke up a Halloween storm with songs from Thriller, Ghost busters, Phantom of the Opera, Monster Mash, Ghost Town, Bat Out of Hell, Highway to Hell, Creep, I Put a Spell on You, Rocky Horror Picture show songs – the list goes on!
Toxic Cocktails – if ever there’s a time to indulge in cocktails with names like Gaga Bloody Mary, it’s now:
Dark & Stormy (mystic blend of rum, with fresh limes and sugar syrup topped with crisp and spicy ginger beer)
Gaga Bloody Mary (chilled mix of vodka, crushed back pepper, fresh chilli, tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce)
Zombie: (Spooky potion of white and dark rum shaken with grand marnier, fresh orange juice, pineapple, a zingy splash of lemon and lime juice then topped with a blood gurgling pomegranate syrup)
Trick or Treat (4 shots, 4 choices, 2 tricks and 2 treats, the choice is yours!)
The Venues: Lucky Voice Karaoke Bars (Soho, Islington and Brighton), see www.luckyvoice.com
For the first time this Halloween runners will be faced with a decision when they reach the finish line – Trick or Treat? The brand new Trick or Treat Run London arrives in Richmond Park on Sunday 1 November and offers the rare opportunity to run 2k, 5k or 10k on the closed roads of this stunning royal park. Once runners have finished their chosen distance they will be faced with a unique decision, to either go down the Trick finish for a spooky surprise, or to play it safe and head in the opposite direction for a treat.
Richmond Park is famous for its stunning views and wandering deer, close to London but seemingly a different world from the bustling capital, there are few more picturesque and pleasant places in the country to run. Runners of all abilities are encouraged to take part, and the event is nicely timed to encourage running into the winter season. As well as their trick or treat everybody who crosses the line will receive a special medal to commemorate the day, which can be transformed into a badge and attached to clothing or bags.
“We have been putting on events for over 25 years but as far as we know this is the first dual run finish in the world” said Nick Rusling from organisers Human Race Events. “It’s a privilege to have this very special park available and free from traffic for the first ever Trick or Treat Run. I know many will use this as an opportunity to clock up a great 10k time”.
If you would rather stay safe in numbers at this Halloween run you can sign up as a group and run any of the three routes together. Teams of five or more can enter and receive a 20% discount off the usual entry price. Fancy dress is encouraged so runners can get creative with their outfits.
Alongside fitness, fun and fancy dress will also be fundraising. Breast Cancer Care are the official charity partner of the Trick or Treat Run, with all participants encouraged to raise money which will go towards providing vital support services for anyone affected by breast cancer. There is no minimum fundraising target and it’s easy to set up a Just Giving online donation page when registering for the event.
Places in the inaugural Trick or Treat Run London are now available through www.trickortreatrun.co.uk . Sign up now and commit to keep your running going beyond the summer.
At LOST Theatre this Halloween, from the creators of the multi-award-winning The Springheel Saga comes:
THE NIGHT OF THE HELLHOUND: LIVE!
The Hound of Hell is coming home…
This Halloween, the LOST Theatre plays host to a week-long live radio spooktacular, investigating the real-life curse of the infamous 300 year-old Lambeth Devil-Dog, hosted by Michelle Mead.
Join us… if you dare!
Written by Robert Valentine and Jack Bowman, Directed by Jack Bowman
Book by telephone on 0207 720 6897, quote “HELLHOUND01” and receive a special 50% discount on all ticket purchases – available from now until Monday October 27th 2014!
