It’s also a perky way to start off a meal. Simply fill shot glasses or small juice glasses with soup and add a garnish or two.

Here, the first garnish on the tomato soup is a dab of crème fraîche (substitute nonfat Greek yogurt or sour cream). It’s followed by a julienne of vegetables—carrot, turnip and zucchini—fresh or lightly steamed, which make a beautiful pattern. Microgreens add the final touch.

• Garnishes for soup.
• Soup Glossary: types of soup.
• 10 tips to make better soup.
• Recipes, product reviews and more in our Soup Section.

A glam soup shot. Photo courtesy
SweetFlavorFL.com, which sells plastic shot
glasses and small party dishes.

Today is our first really chilly day: Time to think of hot chocolate! Pick up a few pointers from Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres, on how to make a perfect cup.

Torres uses his own brand of hot chocolate mix made from ground chocolate, not cocoa powder (ground chocolate mix is also known as drinking chocolate). But you can use any mix and still benefit from Jacques’ double boiled technique.

Our favorite hot chocolate: Aztec-style, flavored with allspice, cinnamon and ground chiles.

The Jack o’ Lantern evolved from a
turnip. Photo by Rawkus | SXC.

Halloween Trivia To Share
Bring these fun trivia facts to work, to school, to a Halloween party:

What’s for dinner on Halloween?

Something scary and creepy, we hope!

How about some Spooky Shepherd’s Pie and some BBQ Worm Sandwiches?

There’s still time to whip up some devilishly delicious Halloween fare.

These recipes are good party fare for kids or adults. But if you have no other plans, sit home and dig into a party-in-a-dish.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Ghoulishly good and easy to make. Photo
courtesy Pillsbury.

A bowl of mascarpone dip. Photo courtesy
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

The fresh cheese is used in savory recipes too, of course. We like it as a quick and easy cocktail spread.

Blend mascarpone with your favorite flavors—Dijon mustard, mashed anchovies, capers and fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme), curry, salsa—there are vast opportunities. You can even divide the tub of plain mascarpone and make two different flavors.

Serve the spread in ramekins with fancy crackers or with thin-sliced toasted baguette. Delicioso!

By the way, a surprising number of people mispronounce and misspell the name of the cheese. It’s MAH-scar-POE-nay, not MAR-scah-POE-nay; mascarpone not marscapone.

• What exactly is mascarpone?
• More fabulous fresh cheeses.