50's Throwback

This year's Halloween has been unprecedented in the Zawacki household. That's because a certain Mr. Zawacki convinced himself to dress in costume for the first time since college. I don't know how it managed to happen (Stephanie!!!) but I'm forever grateful that he got excited enough to not only think up ideas for his costume, but don them. Just look at how adorables we are.

Cuteness

It also helps that a certain group of Churches went with our theme as well, and we were a regular group of Cleavers. (There's safety in numbers, right??) I do declare that the 50's suits us.

Featured 50's clan (Mad Men inspired)

One of the funny stories from the evening spent at our second annual trip to The Bang involved some guy trying to buy one of my fake cigarettes for a $1. Only after I sold it to him did he realize that it was fake, as we all watched in horror and amusement as he tried to light it. Thankfully being the nice gal that I am, I refunded his $1. I guess that speaks for how authentic my prop looked! All-in-all, it was a lovely evening spent with lovely friends (including Birgit's not quite so lovely Dead Riding Hood costume!) and it made me so happy to have everyone dressed up and sharing the fun. I won't lie, Christmas always has been and always will be my most favorite holiday, but Halloween, you might be sneaking into my heart as well.

Bang-a-licious

Following our fun at The Bang, I stayed in character today, and spent the entire day sewing, ironing and cooking. More on the sewing later, but I wanted to highlight the tasty meal that the mister and I crafted together. First up, salmon filets on a bed of spicy garlicy greens and a side of garlic mashed potatoes.

Classic style dinner with a modern twist (just like us!)

The salmon came from our neighbor who just happens to be moving next weekend and donated us a freezer stash of fresh catch from his fishing trips. We weren't sure how best to prepare it at first, but then we found two different recipes that talked about a dijon glaze followed by a ground rub of sesame seeds and curry. It sounded interesting enough to try. To cook the fish, you first pan fry on both sides for about 3 minutes, then finish cooking it in the oven. I thought it came out great! The garlicy greens were good as well, but could have used a bit less onion and tomato pieces; essentially more broth and less bite. The garlic mashed potatoes were a hands-down winner.
After dinner, I got an extreme hankering for some chocolate cake, which was not quenched by all the mini chocolate bars lying around the house. When my brain screams molten chocolate cake, it will not subside, and thankfully I happened to have everything on hand for a recipe I'd been meaning to try for some time. It turned out awesome!

Molten baked cakes

The cakes were basically melted chocolate and butter, eggs and sugar beaten together, and just a little bit of flour. Throw in some caramel and some sea salt for the centers, garnish with raspberries, and you've got an ooey, gooey, delicious winner. The good and bad news, is that I also was able to reheat one the next day, and it tasted just fine. Now somebody please hide the chocolate; I'm about to get out of control. :-)

Mmmmmm, dessert