Food looks more exciting when it’s well packaged. That means the right garnishes, but also the right plates and glasses. Use your nice cups and glasses to serve food—including the ones you have packed away in the “good china” closet. Use beautiful tea cups to serve yogurt, fruit salad, soup, ice cream, seviche or sides. Think of how many different foods you can serve in a martini glass—from shrimp cocktail to rice pudding. Any food—and especially plain and diet foods—look more elegant and will seem to taste that much better when served in something other than the same old bowl.

Get free shipping through October 31 plus
a new Bloody Mary recipe. Photo courtesy
of RicksPicksNYC.com.

Our favorite pickle perfectionist, Rick’s Picks, is offering FREE SHIPPING in the contiguous U.S. (that’s the same as the Lower 48) through the end of the month, on orders of 4 jars or more. (It’s very easy to devour one jar at a sitting—they’re so divine and very low-calorie and healthy). You can pick four pickled peppers, or any of Rick’s fabulous Picks, for your own gourmandizing or for gifts, and can have them shipped now or later—just get the order in by October 31 to qualify.

Enter coupon code: octoberfree (all lower case) when you order at RicksPicksNYC.com to get the free shipping. We love all the products, but go batty for the Phat Beets (the top seller), the Green Tomato Condiment (formerly called GT 1000s, curried green tomato pickles), Windy City Wasabeans in a soy-wasabi brine, Smokra (pickled okra seasoned with smoked paprika) and … heck, we may as well list everything.

Enjoy the screaming good Bloody Mary recipe below for Halloween, which features Rick’s Picks’ Mean Beans, a spicy dilly bean (cayenne joins the traditional dill and garlic seasoning). Low in calories—just 20 per 7-bean serving—the brine is used in the Bloody Mary, and you can toss fresh string beans from the store into the remaining brine to make new pickles. As with all of Rick’s Picks, there’s no hidden sugar.

Rick’s Picks Mean & Bloody

Ingredients:
- 1 ounce vodka
- 3 ounces tomato juice (see our review of the best)
- 2 dashes Worcestershire
- 1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- 2 dashes Tabasco or to taste
- A dash of freshly-ground pepper
- 1 quarter lemon, squeezed
- Generous splash of Mean Beans brine (try other dilly bean or pickle brine if you don’t have Mean Beans—but it won’t be as good!)
- Mean Beans to garnish

Preparation:
1. Combine ingredients. Shake or stir.
2. Pour over ice. Garnish and serve.
3. Have extra Mean Beans on hand for demanding guests.

Scatter miniature pumpkins and gourds to dress up the dining table from October through Thanksgiving weekend. They also can be used to hold place cards: Either cut a slit on the top with a sharp knife to insert the card, or use strong double-stick tape to affix it.

There’s a major holiday every month or two. No matter what the season, holiday-themed dishes perk up everyday meals as well as special dinners. If you don’t have the space or budget to buy several sets of holiday dishes (turkeys, bunnies etc.), mix-and-match colored glass or ceramic plates. Sets of eight dinner plates in four different colors—red, orange, green and blue—will take you through the entire year: red for Valentine’s Day, Independence Day and Christmas also mixes with orange and green for a fall foliage theme. The orange doubles for Halloween and Thanksgiving, the green for St. Patrick’s Day, spring, summer, and Christmas. Blue is beautiful for Chanukah and all Jewish holidays, for Easter, the blue skies of summer and Independence Day. Each family member can pick his or her favorite color for birthday dinners and other celebrations, too.

Serve Constant Comment or other spiced tea
for Halloween. Photo courtesy SXC.

After a busy afternoon of shopping at Bloomingdale’s flagship store in New York City, we sought quiet refuge for afternoon tea at the Fitzpatrick Hotel, a scant two blocks away. The hotel is celebrating “Fitzoween” all month with a Halloween-themed tea: cinnamon spice tea, pumpkin scones and midnight chocolate double layer cake.

Make a date and invite your friends to celebrate Fitzoween—or Smithoween, or Schwartzoween, or whatever your name is. Get some Constant Comment, the original American spiced tea recipe invented by Ruth Bigelow (available in supermarkets and from BigelowTea.com). Decorate your midnight chocolate cake with candy corn or other favorite Halloween candy; or serve midnight chocolate cupcakes and provide different Halloween candies so guests can decorate their own. No one is too old to enjoy Halloween candy and chocolate cake!