Welcome to the 13 Days of Halloween

This week’s theme is Alice in Wonderland. And although some of you may be saying: “this has nothing to do with Halloween, bruh”–I beg to differ for 3 reasons. 1) this is a fantasy movie, and what is Halloween if not fantasy in its purest form. 2) Tim Burton directs the best of the versions of Wonderland (IMO). 3) Johnny Depp–’nuff said. I must admit, as a child my enthusiasm for the original Disney version of Alice in Wonderland was lukewarm at best. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t get past how the original Queen of Hearts looked like Fred Flintstone in a dress . . . sans 5 o’clock shadow. But then I grew up, and Tim & Johnny (yes, I’m on a first name basis with them) came along and turned what was once blah into something extraordinary. So, sit back and enjoy the first installment of Wonderland through my eyes.

In this post I’m going to show you how to have a Wonderland-themed day of Halloween fun by providing examples of the following:

• Today’s Urban Legend
• Song of the Day
• Tonight’s Movie
• Dinner, Beverage, and Dessert

Today’s Urban Legend

Elisa Day 

In medieval Europe, there apparently lived a young woman named Elisa Day, whose beauty was like that of the wild roses that grew down the river, all bloody and red. One day, a young man came into town and instantly fell in love with Elisa. They dated for three days. On the first day, he visited her at her house. On the second, he brought her a single red rose and asked her to meet him where the wild roses grow. On the third day, he took her down to the river—where he killed her. The horrible man supposedly waited till her back was turned, then took a rock in his fist, whispering, “All beauty must die”—and with one swift blow, he killed her instantly. He placed a rose between her teeth and slid her body into the river. Some people claim to have seen her ghost wandering the riverside, blood running down the side of her head, a single rose in her hand.

This legend was taken directly from here.

Song of the Day

So this is a Shinedown jam from the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack, but it’s not the original video from the movie. I chose this video version from MissGamingRabbit because it’s a dark and twisty, fun alternative. FYI, this version is from the video game Alice: Madness Returns (a sequel to American McGee’s Alice and prequel to Alice: Otherlands). Whatevs the origin, I think it rocks. 

Tonight’s Movie

Yeah, yeah, I know it hasn’t been released to DVD yet–but–its release date is October 18th. And that, my fine-feathered fiends, is the day before the 13 Days of Halloween officially kicks off. Boom!

Insert evil laugh here 

Dinner, Beverage, and Dessert

Tonight’s Menu

• Blood of the Jabberwock
• Checkerboard sandwiches
• Drink me: apple pie punch
• Painted rose cupcakes

So, tonight’s menu is super easy and there’s no specific recipes to follow–my fave kind of menus. 

Blood of the Jabberwock

This is simply tomato soup (use your fave) with a bit of an interpretive twist. I add a drop or 2 of purple food coloring paste to the pot because–well–the Jabberwock’s blood is purple.

Serve the soup in teacups.

Checkerboard Sandwiches

So, I make little ham and cheese sandwiches on white and wheat bread–grape tomatoes on the wheat and black olives on the white. The card suits that have been cut out and attached to the toothpicks aren’t necessary, but you must admit, its a nice touch.

Serve the sandwiches on a checkerboard as shown in the picture.

Drink Me: Apple Pie Punch

Now, you may be wondering what the connection between apple pie and the movie is–there isn’t one. The apple pie punch is a nod to my creative friend and her Halloween version of Alice, complete with little “drink me” bottles of apple pie moonshine.

Ingredients

• 1 apple, chopped or sliced
• 1-quart apple cider
• 2 cups pear nectar
• 24 ounces ginger ale

Directions

1. Combine apple cider, pear nectar, and ginger ale. Stir well. Place apple slices inside pitcher.
2. Pour over ice and serve! If you’re wanting to serve it warm, heat all of the liquid ingredients in a pot over a stove on low heat. Simmer for a few minutes until warm, place apple slices in the pot, and serve in mugs.

You can find the original and the alcoholic version here.

Painted Rose Cupcakes

Cupcakes–yum!! Seriously, you just can’t go wrong with cupcakes. This menu item is another one that is completely left to creative preference.

1. Make a batch of cupcakes in whatever flavor you like. I make red velvet cupcakes.
2. Whip up a batch of buttercream frosting while the cupcakes cool. Here’s a good one.
3. Now (if you’re like me) comes the more complicated part–the making of the rose. Here’s a great tutorial to help you along.
4. So to get the “painted” effect as shown in the example picture, add red food coloring paste to a small portion of your leftover vanilla buttercream frosting. I like to use the paste because I get a truer red and don’t have to use a ton to achieve it. Now once you get your red mixed, add a tiny bit of black food coloring paste. This will deepen your red and make it look less vibrant.
5. Take a clean paintbrush and “paint” your roses. Or let the kiddos paint them–but beware–the red frosting will stain like a fecker!

Bonus

 

Until next time . . .

Happy Haunting