As
the weather begins to cool down and boots begin to replace flip flops, it seems
everyone is craving all things
Fall. Especially me. Who doesn’t love
the feel crisp fall air and the sight of warm, orange-colored pumpkins and
festive yellow and purple mums on every front porch?
Growing
up, my family would make homemade spiced apple cider and hold an annual pumpkin
carving contest. You wouldn’t believe
the competativeness that a pumpkin carving contest can bring between family
members! These are the fond memories
that make the fall such an exciting time of year for my entire family.
Now,
after a fly by of a summer….the autumn is here again. For our family that means
the kick off of what will be many birthday celebrations over the next few
months. The first birthday up is my
sister who will be celebrating her 30th this
year. This birthday girl has made
it no secret that her favorite way to get in the fall season is to sip on a Spiced
pumpkin latte (she is obsessed with anything spiced pumpkin) and search for her
perfect halloween pumpkin from the local pumpkin patch. So for her celebration we are keeping it
casual and low key, but surrounding her with everything that she loves about
the fall season.
For
the menu, we are serving up spicy buffalo wings with fresh parmesan cheese and
minced roasted garlic, blue cheese and bacon coleslaw, hand cut seasoned oven
fries and grandma’s cast iron skillet cornbread. For dessert we are bringing in her love of
pumpkin and preparing a home made spiced pumkin swirl cheesecake with a ginger
snap crust and a sweet caramel sauce drizzle.
As for the beverages we are making delicious spiced pumpkin martinis
made with Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka and a homemade Creamy Spiced Pumpkin
drink mix (recipe below).
For
one of her gifts we are giving her a luxury Spiced Pumpkin spa gift set. The set includes a scented 16 fl oz liquid
hand soap and Shea Butter lotion that she can keep by the kitchen or bathroom
sink. It also includes a large french
milled soap block and a small travel size bar for the shower or bath. The set comes in a beautiful classic gift
box so we didn’t have to worry with the wrapping. She is sure to love these products!
We didn’t want to leave the guests out of all the fall fun …so we decided to decorate the tables with adorable fluffy owls, black crows and small pumpkins that we later used in a pumpkin carving contest. For favors we set up bowls with miniature spiced pumpkin favor soaps. This was an inexpensive way to decorate and provide a memorable gift for everyone who attended. The guests were so excited when they were told they could take the soaps home!
This
party was the perfect way to get into the fall spirit and celebrate with
everyone we love. The birthday girl said
she felt so special because we paid
attention to all the little details and brought in all of the spiced pumpkin
things that she loves. This was surely an
easy way to create more beautiful memories of a season that we already love so
much.
Spiced Pumpkin Martini
Makes Approx 4, 4 oz. Martinis
2 cups of Spiced Pumpkin Mix
(recipe below)
4 shots (6 oz.) of Pinnacle
Whipped Cream Vodka or Pinnacle Cake Vodka
Ground Nutmeg for Garnish
Cinnammon Stick for Garnish
In a shaker pour 2 cups of homemade pumkin spice mix,
6 oz of Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka.
Add ice cubes. Shake well for 1-2
minutes. Filter ice and pour in 4
martini glasses. Garnish with a sprinkle
of nutmeg and a cinnammon stick.
Pumkin Spice Mix (Non alcoholic)
Makes 8-10 Martinis
This when mixed with espresso can be
used for Pumpkin Lattes also
½ small can (about 6-8
tablespoons) of real canned pumpkin
4 cups of whole milk
4 tbsp. of light brown sugar
(packed)
½ tsp. ground cinnammon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
6 tbsp half and half
1 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
Throuroughly mix all ingerdients together with hand
blender or in blender. Store in
refridgerator for up to a week until ready to use.
