Holiday Spreads

How to put together a Halloween Candy Board

A spooky and fun take on just what you can put on a "cheese" board
September 29, 2020
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > "Hostess with the Mostest"

COMMENT
TWEET
PIN
SHARE
halloween candy board

There are a lot of food and entertaining trends I CAN’T get behind, boards for everything is not one of them.

Collecting your classic cheese and charcuterie boards in all different shapes and sizes has become as popular as collecting matchbooks or blue and white chinoiserie pieces. Not only do these boards look gorgeous placed around your kitchen, but they’re extremely practical. Practical yes for your classic cheese plate obviously, but if you’re not thinking outside of the cheese board it’s time to start. And what better way than loading one with all the Halloween treats your stomach can handle for a Halloween Candy Board.

Crafting a Halloween Candy Board is truly easier than it looks. Personally, I like to start from the center and work my way out. Mix up colors and types of treats like chocolate pumpkins, cupcakes (I just added eyeballs to store bought cupcakes), homemade mallows, and cookies. For those local, Pum’s Sweets made these gorgeous mini sugar cookies!

Always include a bowl, or rather three if you’re doing more than one as odds always work better in this case. My pumpkin bowl is filled with a classic Autumn Mixture of mine, recipe coming on Friday! And if you feel like making your own bark I highly suggest this easy bark of mine. I make it every year!

Aesthetically make sure you’re angling treats all different directions so it doesn’t look like your Halloween Candy Board is tilting or moving in one specific direction. And try to make everything flow together so you have very few spaces or gaps showing. Lastly, have fun and don’t take it too seriously.

One more thought. I love a good grazing board as much as the next person, but based on everything that’s going on grazing is a no-no. To help make your Halloween Candy Board more socially distanced friendly grab plenty of inexpensive tongs and make sure everyone has their own that way they can pile the treats on their plate and simply place the tongs in a “dirty” bucket once they’re done for the evening. And grab some Halloween themed goodie bags so guests can take a few goodies home with them.

Happy Halloween friends, and if you need any Halloween decor ideas make sure to check out my favorite Halloween-themed post HERE! Truly, MKR


                
                
Turn off your ad blocker to view content

Photography Rustic WHite Interiors

comments (2)

Homemade Caramel Corn with Pecans & Candy Corn

A perfectly addicting, seasonal sweet snack
September 12, 2020
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Desserts

COMMENT
TWEET
PIN
SHARE

Homemade caramel corn with pecans and candy corn, the perfect recipe for fall, @waitingonmartha

I get very nostalgic when it comes to homemade caramel corn.  Memories of my dad whipping up a big batch as soon as the leaves started to change.  Melting it all low-and-slow, and then shake-shake-shaking the mixture in a big paper bag before spilling out the warm, sweet, crunchy goodness on the table for Mom and me to devour until we literally made ourselves sick. 

Being one of my favorite fall treats, I wanted to try my hand at making homemade caramel corn myself this year.  It seemed simple enough…traditional stovetop popcorn (which in my humble opinion is the only way to make popcorn) + pecans + candy corn + homemade caramel sauce.  And it really is simple as long as you have a few tricks up your sleeve.  Tricks I’ve finally perfected after a few trial and error test batches.

First, you’ll logically want to put the candy corn directly into the popcorn, pecan, and caramel sauce mixture before baking it all together in the oven.  Don’t.  Since candy corn is essentially all sugar what ends up happening is the candy corn pieces completely melt leaving you with patches of yellow and orange dotted throughout your mixture. Instead, you’ll want to sprinkle on the candy corn pieces right when you bring the mixture out of the oven when it’s still warm.  That way, they stick in the mixture but don’t melt.  

Second, line your oven with aluminum foil to catch any rogue drips of caramel sauce.  If you’re heavy-handed with the caramel sauce like me, then your sauce will likely bubble over during baking.  Trust me when I say, sticky caramel sauce on the bottom of your oven is a major pain to clean up. 

Lastly, when making the caramel sauce, constant stirring and timing really is everything, so make sure you read the recipe at least twice before beginning and DO NOT walk away from the sauce.  It can all go terribly wrong in less than 30 seconds, just trust me on this!  Happy fall y’all!  Truly, MKR

P.S. When the homemade caramel corn comes out of the oven, it’s my favorite time to indulge since it’s so warm, gooey, and not too hard, but try to show a little self-restraint and set some aside to package up for neighbors, teachers, and coworkers!  xo

SHOP THE STORY / CLICK LEFT & RIGHT ARROWS TO EXPLORE

 


                
                
Turn off your ad blocker to view content

Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

comments (1)

Crock Pot Corned Beef & Cabbage

A One-Pot Meal that Hits the Spot This St. Patrick's Day
March 9, 2020
Story By: Mandy Kellogg Rye
Filed Under > Food

COMMENT
TWEET
PIN
SHARE

Slow Cooker Corned Beef & Cabbage recipe on Waiting on MarthaCorned Beef & Cabbage for St. Patrick's Day - Waiting on Martha 

Nothing says St. Patrick’s Day like this traditional one-pot meal.  It’s perfect in a cozy-comforting-savory-tender way.  And I actually just learned that this beloved dish is actually rarely eaten in Ireland!  But it sure makes one heck of a St. Patty’s Day dinner. 

I didn’t do anything fancy with mine, but I have found that I’m particular on a few specifics when cooking it at home.  I always throw it all into my slow cooker, and I always, always cook it low-and-slow for up to eight hours.  You can, of course, cook it on high for four hours, but you’ll have a chewier bite than if you take the slow route, believe me.  I like mine to practically fall off the fork!  And the beauty with corned beef is that it comes pre-seasoned, so you don’t have to fuss with any kind of marinating or additional spices while you’re preparing it to cook.  Find the full recipe below, and tell me – will you be slow cookin’ some corned beef and cabbage next week?!  Truly, MKR

P.S. A nice little suggestion for your leftovers the next day: get some white bread, and make some cold corned beef sandwiches for lunch! My mouth is drooling just thinking about it.  You can plate it traditionally (as shown above) or shred it like your typical brisket sandwich. xo 

SHOP THE STORY  / CLICK LEFT & RIGHT ARROWS TO EXPLORE

Turn off your ad blocker to view content

 

 

Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

comments (1)
Keep Browsing
Copyright © Welcome by Waiting on Martha  /
Back to Top