Pumpkin dip

A delicious recipe I got from my mom, who got it from my aunt, who got it from a good friend. Serve with sliced apples or ginger snaps.

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  
• 2 cups powdered sugar
  
• 1 15 oz can pumpkin
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ginger
  
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
  

Blend cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add pumpkin and beat until smooth. Beat in spices and orange extract. Chill several hours before serving. 

Pumpkin Seeds Two Ways

My daughter has always hated most nuts and seeds, but for some reason she loves toasted pumpkins seeds and can't wait to roast them after the annual carve-fest. Here's how I did them tonight.

• Seeds from two pumpkins (3-4 cups)
• 6 cups water
• 6 tablespoons salt

Remove seeds from pumpkin and rinse Boil in salted water for 1m minutes, remove from heat. Divide boiled seeds in half.

For Garlic:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or other seasonings)

Toss half of seeds with oil, salt and garlic powder, spread in one layer on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until brown. Cool before serving.

For Sugar and Spice:

• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1 tablespoon oil

Bake the other half of the seeds on a second cookie sheet with no flavoring. While they are cooking, mix 2 tablespoons sugar and spices in a mixing bowl. When seeds are brown, remove from oven. Heat oil in skillet to medium-hot, add seeds and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons plain sugar. Stir with wooden spoon a minute or so, until sugar caramelizes. Dump seeds into sugar-spice mixture and stir to coat. Spread on baking sheet and cool.

Hot Crabmeat Dip

Another appetizer that impresses people with its elegance, but is simple to make. Imitation crab works fine, though real is, of course, better.

• 8 oz canned or fresh crabmeat

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon horseradish, or more to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together, put in small casserole dish. If desired, top with paprika or silvered almonds. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until hot and slightly brown. Serve hot with crakers: I recommend Triscuits.

Pickle Medallions

An incredibly easy but unusual appetizer that impresses the heck out of people for very little effort. I have served these at everything from church picnics to wedding receptions and people always love them. The secret is to use a crisp, refrigerated brand of pickles (like Claussen) and to chill the wrapped pickles overnight before cutting.

• 1 jar whole pickles
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 packages thin sliced sandwich beef

Dry pickles with paper towel. With knife, spread a thin layer of cream cheese down one side of pickle. Cover with a single slice of beef. Continue until whole pickle is covered in cream cheese and wrapped in beef like a pig in a blanket. If the beef slice doesn't go all the way around, use a second one. It's fine if beef slices overlap as long as it's "glued" on with the cream cheese. Continue coating and wrapping pickles until all are done. Put on plate, cover with plastic and chill several hours or overnight.
To serve, cut the ends off the pickles and discard (or eat!). Slice the remaining pickles in crosswise sections, about 1/4 inch thick. They should look like bullseyes, with pickle in the center, a circle of cream cheese, then an outer rim of beef. Place on serving plate and serve with toothpicks. Don't worry about leftovers; there won't be any!