Best KISS of my life!!!

Happy Halloween (belated, of course) to all! I hope yours was as rockin' as mine was...hee hee... let me just give you the run-down of how things went. I started the day by frantically looking for tight black pants for Dick and I - which I found in the girls' section at our nearest Target (yep, both in the girls section hahaha). I then sped home to make a dessert - it was the delicious, and blurry, Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte out of my new fave cookbook I got for my birthday two weeks ago! Don't worry, there's a whole story that goes along with the cookbook, but that will go in my belated birthday post coming up next time, here in the kitch. Dick picked me up after work to go help the other rockstars on our church's Activities Committee decorate the gym for our ward Halloween party starting just a few hours later. After the decorations were all up, and you could seriously no longer tell you were standing in a gym, we headed home to do each others' make up (pretty sure I've never said that before!) with our friends, the Coleman's, who were the other half of KISS with us that night. 8 o'clock rolled around and we made our way to the partay where we danced the night away. Yes, I said WE!!! Dick has always either thrown a fit about dancing or simply refused, but there was just something about those skin-tight leggings and all that makeup that gave him the courage and energy to get down with his bad self for hours on end. And, seriously, I know I said this was a church party, but it was by far the best Halloween party I've ever been to! And believe me, I've been to some good ones. We are in a ward of young married couples, many of whom are students at WSU, and all of whom are AWESOME! Holler, University 1st ward - love you all! Anyway, it was pretty much the best Halloween of my life! And that wasn't even really Halloween - it was the night before!

To top things off, we went to a little dinner party with some of our other favorite peeps, the Parker's. I was asked to bring a "Halloween-y salad." I hadn't the slightest idea of what that meant, so I spent forever searching for one online and found absolutely nothing but the stupidest ideas I've ever heard and seen. I opted for a black bean salad that included scrumptious flavors, as well as colors you see at Halloween, and I topped it with a spider. It was a hit!

Hope your Halloween was as GRAND as mine was!

My very own Gene Simmons

He loved every minute of it, & so did I!!!

Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte

From Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

Sorry, I can't give the recipe to this one! I'm waiting to get into

a cooking club (Tuesdays With Dorie), and that would be against

one of the few club rules. Just know that it was FABULOUS!

Black Bean Salad

From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

dressing

1 small clove garlic

a pinch of salt, plus 2 tsp

juice of 1 1/2 limes, about 3 Tbsp

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 c. olive oil


salad

1 c. corn kernels

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1/2 of small red onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed

freshly ground pepper

1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small avocado, diced

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Make the dressing: smash the garlic clove, sprinkle w/ a pinch of salt, and w/ the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. whisk the garlic paste, lime juice, salt & chili powder together in a bowl. gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting w/ a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream.

For the salad: cook the corn, bell pepper, and onions in the olive oil until beginning to brown over med-high heat in a skillet. toss in the black beans and cook until warm. add the dressing and toss to coat evenly. adjust seasoning w/ salt & pepper. remove from the heat & gently fold in the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro. serve.