Pumpkin Carving Party 2016

We had our annual pumpkin carving party on Saturday evening. It's always in Vern and Shelly's party barn and some of the food is traditional too.  This year the mamas were tired so we made some of appetizers and then made pizza.  We brought our Pizza Que. I'll write about the evening, but first a recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts 

 1 lb. of bacon (thin)

2 cans of whole water chestnuts, drained

1 cup of ketchup

2 heaping T. of brown sugar

BBQ sauce, I usually just add a couple of glugs 

Fresh ground pepper, I like a lot

Cut the bacon strips in half, lay them on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool on paper towels.

Wrap the cooled bacon around the chestnut and secure with a tooth pick.

I put them in a baking dish that I have sprayed with Pam.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.  At this point the sauce goes on the bacon wrapped chestnuts.  Because I don't like to get the tooth picks all sticky and messy with the sauce I use my turkey baster to add the sauce.

They can be assembled to this point and then refrigerated until the party. 

I bake them at 400 degrees, check after 20 minutes.  I like to cook until the sauce gets caramelized and the bacon is well done.

I don't have a photo of them ready to eat because I'm not that fast.  Once you put them out to share they go quickly.  Especially if Sam is at your party.

I baked a pumpkin roll.  Honestly, it was probably one of my prettier ones so I am sharing a photo.  Sometimes they stick to the pan or crack and need repairs but this time she was pretty.

I whipped up a Death by Chocolate pumpkin patch too.

HGTV was sharing a Hallo-Wine pumpkin last week.  I didn't feel like carving so I used a plastic pumpkin instead of a real one.  A mix of black letters from my scrap booking stash and I was good to go.  Now I can use it for years instead of throwing on the compost pile.  I added a flat ice pack and a bag of Chardonnay. 

 Here's a little secret about our Pumpkin Carving Party... some years we never actually get around to carving pumpkins.  I know, right?

It happens.  This year was one of those years.  Everyone was busy making pizza and chatting.

It's all good.  We're okay with it.

Another Pumpkin Carving Party is in the books.

Have a fun Halloween today, be safe!