Recipe: The Spider Web Sweet

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Halloween is this Monday and is sure to be filled with tricks and treats. If you’re like me, you have a giant sweet tooth which can be satisfied with this Halloween recipe:

The Spiderweb Sweet

-Oreo graham cracker pie crust
-white baking chocolate (I normally use Baker’s, but Hershey’s is good too)
-gummy worms
-1-1/2 cups of milk
-chocolate Jell-o instant pudding mix

1.Beat Jell-o mix and milk with a whisk for 2 min. (Make sure there are no clumps and that the texture is smooth – just like spider silk)

2. Put half of the mixture into your pie crust.

3. Top the half with gummy worms – they’re the spider’s victims and they serve as a nice surprise to those eating this treat.

4. Pile the rest of the mixture onto of the candy coated top. After doing so, use a spatula to smooth out the mixture. This will give your pie an overall neat appearance.

5. Place in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

6. Now it’s time to make your web. Remove the cheesecake and melt your chocolate (I usually use a microwave because it’s quicker and easier) for about 60 seconds. Take it out every 10-15 seconds to stir before returning it to the microwave.

7. Once your chocolate is melted use a piping bag (or makeshift piping bag using a Ziploc bag and cutting the bottom corner off) to make the web design. For the web design, start with a little circle in the center and draw larger ones around it. Fill your center circle with the white chocolate, but do not fill the others.

8. When you finished crafting your circles, take a toothpick or something with a point on it and dip it in your center circle. Proceed to draw lines from the center circle to the crust –this will create your spider web.

9. Once your web is created, either serve the sweet on the spot or put it back into the fridge until it’s treat time.

You can also craft a reverse Spider Web Sweet by using a basic cream cheese recipe and melting dark chocolate or milk chocolate for your web.

Not into spiders? Well, you can always make a graveyard instead. To do so, you would follow The Spider Web Sweet, but instead of putting a web ontop you would put a rather delicious cemetery.

Cutting cookies in half (namely Oreos, Nutter Butters, and Milanos), you would stick them into the pie so they would stand like tombstones. You can even decorate them with fun little phrases like ‘I Emma Spook’, ‘RIP’, ‘Boo,’ and other Halloween sayings and puns. You can also use chocolate Pocky or pretzels (chocolate coated or regular) to make little fences for your ghastly graveyard.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and critique.

So tell me, what do you like to make for Halloween?

2/14: Just Another Day

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

With Valentine’s Day a few days away, some of you may or may not have someone special in your life. The media advertises this particular day as a day for lovers and targets gifts towards them. Husbands and boyfriends should buy their partners jewelry and in return, partners should purchase sexy lingerie to present themselves in. But I’ve learned with the passing years that this advertisement is nothing more than bologna.

First off, Valentine’s Day is a day commemorating the massacre of St.Valentine. St. Valentine was revered as the Saint of Love because he rebelled against Emperor Claudius’ edict prohibiting marriage among young people.  Claudius was against their marriage because he believed unmarried men made better soldiers and could easily focus on combat more as opposed to a wife or family. However, St. Valentine decided to wed young people behind Claudius’ back. Eventually he was captured and imprisoned, and later given a three part execution which entailed beating, stoning, and beheading. Sounds like fun, no? Just like Thanksgiving!

Secondly, you don’t need anyone but yourself on this holiday. If you do have someone, then celebrate your love with them. If you don’t have anyone, then don’t sweat it. The greatest love is not the love you receive from a partner, but rather, from yourself. You must love yourself before you can love any other. You can love yourself in any way you please, especially on Valentine’s Day.

Thirdly, don’t let the stereotypes depress you. Yes, you will probably see couples on Valentine’s Day. Yes, you will see endless ads for flowers, chocolates, and anything romantic. Yes, you will see slews of sentimental shows on television, but do not let any of these things bring you down. These stereotypes are a part of everyday life and will always be found on television and society. By taking these stereotypes to heart, depression and loneliness will overcome you easily (trust me on that). So instead of being saddened by just another day, go out. Have fun, hang out with a friend, go on a shopping spree. Do what makes you feel good and don’t let another overhyped holiday bring you down.

Thank you for reading today’s entry and if you enjoyed it, feel free to comment and reblog. As always, feedback is welcomed.

So tell me, what are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

Tis the Season to be Baking

Welcome everyone to a delicious entry at The Magical Mystery Blog.

Around this time of the year I do my holiday baking. While I usually make sugar cookies, this year I’ve decided to do something a little different. As mentioned before, I’ll be creating strawberry angel cookies for the Doctor Who special, The Time of the Doctor set to air on BBC on Christmas Day. But for the holidays, I like to bake some other tasty treats. However, as the days to Christmas begin to wind down I find that I don’t have enough time to bake. So I figured I would share my recipes I was going to attempt this year, with you my fellow readers.

Midnight Christmas Cookies

• Follow this simple sugar cookie recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/

• When the cookies are finished baking, allow them to cool. While the cookies are cooling down, take baker’s chocolate (any brand will do like Hershey’s, Ghiradelli, or even Nestle), and put it in a microwave safe bowl. Keep the microwave at medium power and stir at thirty second intervals. It takes  about ninety seconds for one ounce of chocolate to melt. It takes approximately three and a half minutes for six ounces of chocolate to melt.

• Once the chocolate is fully melted, dunk half the sugar cookie in chocolate.

• For the final touch, sprinkle ground up candy cane on the chocolate half of the cookie. In the summer time you can use this recipe again but instead of covering the chocolate half in candy cane, you can use orange or lemon zest.

• Allow the chocolate to cool and serve whenever your stomach is hungry for something sweet.

Strawberry Fields Forever Cake

• This recipe works best with a white cake because the color will show better. You can pick up any box of white cake mix at the store and it will have the recipe on it.

• However, instead of using water use strawberry puree.  To make a strawberry puree simply purchase fresh or frozen strawberries and remove the stems. Afterwards, place them in a blender or a food processor and grind them until they are pureed. As a puree, it will act as a liquid which is why you do not need water for this recipe.

• When you’ve mixed all the ingredients together, proceed to bake the cake for thirty to forty minutes. To see if the cake is fully baked, use a toothpick to poke through the surface. If there’s cake on the pick, it’s not done. If there’s no cake on the pick, it’s ready to be taken out.

• When you remove your cake from the oven you will see that it is indeed, not white. Instead, it’s a strawberry red, giving it that iconic Christmas color we've all come to know.

• If you want to put icing on your cake, give it about five to ten minutes to cool down. Icing the cake is always the fun part and since it’s Christmas, you can decorate it with all sorts of holiday cheer. You can put a marshmallow snowman on the top or pipe snowflakes and stars. Have fun with your baking!

What are your favorite holiday recipes? Feel free to post them in the comments below and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed. 

I Never Had a S'more.

Happy belated Fourth of July everyone!

I can imagine most of you this weekend are grilling it up, boozing it up, and taking part in other summer fun activities.  At barbecues, you have the usual food of hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, corn, pork chops, and other delicious delights.  As for dessert, most of you may stick to the popsicles or ice cream. However, some may venture to create and indulge in a dessert I had only ever tasted this summer: a s’more.

Twenty two years old and I just had my first s’more this summer. Most of you who have had a s’more when you were a child, might find this awkward, and even strange. I believe the same thing.

You see, I was brought up in an Italian family where pasta was our main dietary staple (next to fish but after watching The Little Mermaid at a young age, I decided to never eat any seafood for the rest of my life). In this Italia household, we never had such delicacies as s’mores. We had desserts like biscotti, tiramisu, rum cake, and tons of other treats to clog your arteries.

WARNING: Even looking at it will cause your arteries to swell.

This is not to say I hated my Italian sweets (except biscotti which to me is dry bread). Honestly, I loved them but they could not compare to the deliciousness the television showed me. Every time a Hershey’s summer commercial came on, time slowed, and revealed a glorious new world. This unknown planet included teenagers laughing and prancing around a bonfire on the beach and eating those warm, gooey sugar rushes. Alongside wanting to be a writer, a model, an astronaut, and a ballerina, I wanted to fit in with that s’mores lovin crowd.

Of course, I tried to get my parents to make me a s’more. To this day, I’ll never understand why they didn't. I don’t know if it was anti-s’mores aliens persuading them not to or the fact that s’mores are not an Italian dessert.  So, naturally, I attempted to see what a s’more tasted like by buying s’mores flavored foods. Pop tarts, candies, bars, nothing compared to what the television depicted, and I feared my s’mores-sweet tooth would never be satisfied.

Years had passed and every time I told someone I never had a smores, I was always met with the same reactions: Are you crazy!? What’s wrong with you?! Why!? Who are you!? Why are you in my house!?

I had gotten used to the responses and even my boyfriends asked the same questions. Eventually my quest for s’mores had been buried beneath the responsibilities of work, the expectations of college, and life in general.  It wasn't until the start of this past June that my s’mores sweet tooth reared its sugar coated crown and rejuvenated my want for the treat.

Thankfully, my boyfriend had planned a barbecue dinner, and while shopping for the ingredients, I suggested the idea of s’mores. He happily agreed we should make some because I never had one before and it had been a while since he had one. 

After a simple barbecue dinner of hot dogs and pork chops, the preparation of s’mores commenced. Goosebumps rose up my arms despite the warmth of the charcoal as we roasted our marshmallows. The lifelong childhood desires were slowly being fulfilled with every passing second. The puffy cloud on the silver skewer began to brown, wisps of smoke arising from the circular tip. It was time.

Sliding the toasted fluff between a stick of chocolate and two graham crackers, the anticipation neared its peak. Pressing down on the crackers, the marshmallow spilled out onto the sides. The heat traveled through the toasted fluff and pushed against the crackers, tearing through the chocolate stick. Without hesitation, I took the treat between my hands, and bit into it like a starved man left to die in the Sahara Desert.

Never had I bitten into something so simply delicious.

Behold the ultimate dessert! Gaze upon it as you drool with wonder and hunger!

An explosion of euphoria tumbled onto my mouth, releasing a smoky sweetness that soothed my sweet tooth. The heat from the charcoal swirled about the treat and coated my cheeks in a pleasant warmth.  The cracker crumbled beneath the trampling of my teeth as the chocolate slipped in. The harmony of marshmallow, graham cracker, and chocolate created a symphony of deliciousness in my mouth. Each bite released another note of flavor that I adored and enticed me to continue eating.

With every bite, I sadly watched my childhood desire fade but at the same time, I greatly enjoyed it. My s’more sweet tooth was calmed with the final bite, as a summer time smile crept across my face. At last my s’more quest had come to an end and even though there was no beach or bonfire, I couldn't have been happier.

To those who have had a s'more as a child, treasure that moment and continue to devour s'mores whenever they are present. For there may be those who have never had a s'more like me and are still choking back artificial s'more flavored treats. If you know someone who is s'more deprived, teach them how to make this little treat or make one for them. Their smile will be the best reward you can ever obtain.