One of the first food-related, creepy Halloween things that I learned to make was a big ice hand to float in a bowl of punch. You make this by filling up a latex (rubber or similar) glove with water, tying it off like a water balloon and freezing it, then peeling the glove away when you’re ready to use the ice hand. It looks neat floating in a bowl of punch, especially if you have some dry ice in there, too. The only drawback is that the ice hand is big and clunky, and not ideal if you’re going to be serving anything other than punch at a party. So, this year, I picked up some Bone Chillers, a silicone Skull and Bones ice cube tray.

I really like the shapes and the tray is just as easy to use as a hard plastic tray, since you simply peel back the tray to release the ice cubes. Even better is that this tray can double as a mold for other things, like candies, fudge, truffles, marshmallows or anything else that you might want to make into a little skull and bones shape. The only downside is that the tray makes just eight ice cubes at a time. I started two days ago, emptying and filling the tray again - not continuously, just when I had the chance - and now my icebox is full of cute and slightly menacing Halloween ice cubes!

I found these on sale at a local store and have seen them all over the place, even at bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders, so keep an eye out to pick some up (probably at a good price) before Halloween.

I rarely mention restaurants - unless I’m dining out of the country - but this week I had a lunch that was so foodie-oriented, I can’t resist writing about it. It was a coffee-pairing lunch hosted by Starbucks at Lucques, a restaurant in Los Angeles. The lunch was held at the end of Coffee College, a day long seminar that Starbucks hosted (and was generous enough to invite me to) that discussed everything from how coffee is grown and harvested, to how the beans are roasted and cupped (tasted, essentially) to try bring out their fullest flavor. Lunch was dedicated to seeing how different flavors in food brought out, or paired with, different flavors of coffee from different regions of the world.

The first course was a yellow tomato soup with pesto, parmesan and opal basil. The coffee pairing was with Kenya and Costa Rica La Candela  coffees. The Kenya  was known to have citrus notes, but turned out to be overpowered by the coffee. The Costa Rica, on the other hand, had a very bright flavor that was similar to the acidity of the tomatoes and turned out to complement the soup, drawing out peppery notes and just making it taste more flavorful. You wouldn’t necessarily expect a cup of coffee to have such an impact on a dish - especially a soup - so it was surprising, in addition to being tasty.
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I often get asked questions about what buttermilk is and how to substitute for it because people don’t keep it “on hand.” The best answer to this is to say that buttermilk is a wonderful dairy product that makes for some delicious baked goods, and it should always be kept on hand if you like to bake more than just the occasional batch of chocolate chip cookies. Buttermilk is thick and has a tangy, buttery flavor - sort of like a cross between melted butter and sour cream. Despite its thickness, it is low in fat. Some people like to drink it plain, but it is usually best utilized in cakes, pancakes, breads and other dishes where it lends a lot of butter flavor without the extra fat of more butter or full-fat sour cream.

Buttermilk is so named because it was originally the liquid left over after the butter-churning process was complete. These days, buttermilk is cultured, made by adding lactic acid bacteria to [pasturized] nonfat or lowfat milk to thicken it and give it a tangy flavor. The easiest substitute is to add 1 tbsp of vinegar to 1 cup of regular milk to curdle it and give it a sharper flavor. This also provides a similar level of acidity to buttermilk, so it will work in recipes in the same way (it doesn’t have the buttery flavor of buttermilk, however).

Buttermilk is usually sold in smaller containers than regular milk and it is usually quite inexpensive (usually around a dollar, in my next of the woods). It has a longer shelf life than regular milk, so you have more time to use it up. With cakes, pancakes, breads, salad dressings to choose from, there are plenty of options to choose from.

• Buttermilk Lemon Bars
• Buttermilk Pancakes with Nectarines
• Buttermilk Pie
• Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
• Strawberry Buttermilk Shortcakes

The principle behind iced tea is simple: make hot tea and serve it cold. Unfortunately, getting a good batch of iced tea is not always as easy as it sounds. It’s easy to over-steep the tea, making it bitter, and it is equally easy to over dilute it with ice, leaving you with a less-than-refreshing drink. I find that the best way to make iced tea is to brew extra strong tea by using a few extra tea bags (depending on the size of the batch), stir in a generous amount of sugar or honey while the tea is hot, then chill it overnight without adding any ice. Ice should be added to the glasses just before serving.

My current favorite way to serve iced tea is to use frozen fruit in place of ice cubes. The frozen fruit keeps the drink cold while they are defrosting, and they don’t add excess water - unlike ice cubes - that dilutes the tea. In fact, they add a little bit of fruity sweetness to the tea, so each glass will be even more flavorful than it would be with ice alone. Frozen fruit will be good in any type of tea, but it’s even better if you brew a fruity tea to begin with. The tea pictured above is Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Strawberry Kiwi Green Tea (review here), which I iced with frozen strawberries, raspberries and cherries, then garnished with a sprig of mint.

Cookies and milk go together like, well, cookies and milk. Even though they “go together,” I tend to keep the elements separate - drink in a glass, cookies on a plate - as long as you don’t count any crumbs floating in the mug after an extended dunk! This set of Coffee Cup Cookie Cutters has given me some new perspective on how the two elements can pair up. The cookie cutters are designed to give each cookie a small cutout so that they fit over the rim of the a mug or glass. It’s basically using a cookie as edible garnish for your drink!

The cutters are sturdy and each has a rounded handle, making them easy to use for even the smallest hands. They’re sold in a set of four with one each of four different cutout designs: flower, heart, star and tree. The tree is a pine tree shape and would be great for the holidays. While I’m not going to start doing all my drinks, these would be a great addition to a dinner party or even a family get-together, just to make sitting around chatting over coffee a little bit more fun.

I always use a coaster near my computer just to try and keep any moisture from drinks- “sweat” on cold glasses on hot days or drips down the sides of other beverages - away from my computer. Most are pretty boring, as the majority of coasters are still sold in sets with the intention of being used in a more formal room where the wood of the table needs to be protected, not just computer equipment. The Splat Stan Coaster is not boring at all and is a real jump away from the old mold. The coaster, sold individually, is made of silicone rubber and looks like a little orange guy has been partially flattened by your cup (silicone extends under the cup to protect the desk while Stan mostly sticks out to one side). It’s really cute and is a really neat toy to have in the office - even if you work at home.