Doug recently sent me a link to a gorgeous slide show of America’s best cupcakes on Forbes Traveler. One in particular caught my eye–a S’mores cupcake.

I checked out a number of recipe sources, including a few Martha Stewart recipes that seemed quite complicated. Since I was making these as part of our party last week, I decided to simplify by using the recipe for one-bowl chocolate cupcakes. Once I had the cupcake batter parceled out, I sprinkled each cup with ground graham crackers.

After baking the cupcakes, I topped them with an ethereal marshmallow frosting and toasted the tops with a pastry torch.

This may be my new favorite cupcake!

We hosted a cocktail party for about 20 of my coworkers this weekend. I built the menu around figs, goat cheese and port, and on a whim, I decided to try Julia Child’s recipe for Chicken Liver Pate with Figs. I wish I had remembered to garnish the top of the pate, though I’m not sure it would have saved it from looking so very dated.

I admit I wasn’t a huge fan, and I had to beg Bryan to even try it. So, I was surprised to see that nearly half it was gone by the end of the night.

Dagny enjoyed the rest!

Bryan and I made these creepy cupcakes for Ava’s preschool class. Ava approved of all but the black licorice legs—she said, “Mom, these taste like trash.” Olivia, on the other hand, said, “More.”

We’ve had a busy few days which culminated with a Halloween party at Bryan’s company yesterday afternoon and a party for 25 of my coworkers at our house last night. We were up into the wee hours of the morning Thursday night and last night, but the kids let us sleep in until 8:30 this morning—a Halloween miracle.

Today, we’re heading downtown for trick-or-treating, then hosting friends back at our house for dinner. More photo—including Tinkerbell and a bumble bee—coming soon!

Last week, I planned to make this slow cooker recipe for Coq Au Vin. My friend Chuck made it just as it was intended, with an actual, live rooster. Well, strike the “live” part, but he used a rooster from his own farm—Roger, to be exact—not the pre-disassembled chicken I picked up at the Hy-Vee meat counter.

The bad news is that I forget to start it both Thursday morning AND Friday morning. The good news is that I was left with the ingredients for Coq Au Vin and an entire day to make it the traditional way come Saturday.

I set out intending to use Martha Stewart’s recipe, mostly because it’s gorgeous.

But, I compared it to Julia Child’s recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and in that recipe, I get to start booze on fire. Needless to say I ditched Martha and dug out the Aim ‘n Flame.

First, though, I had to saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms in the pan drippings from a few strips of bacon.

Then, remove the vegetables and add a bit more butter…Hellllooooo, Julia.

And toss in the chicken and bacon.

In goes the cognac, up go the flames.

Once the fire’s out, add a bottle of red wine and simmer for a long, long time.

The result is pink—and incredibly tender—chicken.

The recipe asks that you mix butter and flour into a paste, and add it to the wine mixture.

I think you are just supposed to trust that it will incorporate, but it certainly doesn’t look promising at the outset.

If you put down the camera and focus on whisking, it all works out in the end.

At this point, everything can go back into the sauce. Julia invites you to “film” the top by dropping small pieces of butter, should you decide not to dive right in. The recipe holds “indefinitely” in this state.

It wasn’t necessary at our house…we made short work of the finished dish, which we served with quinoa—at Martha’s suggestion.