[2] Baileys is one of a number of pumpkin liqueurs available in the fall (photo courtesy Baileys).

But we overlooked all the other uses for the seasonal spirit. Here, some ideas from Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur. There are many more here for your perusal.

You can substitute apple or spice liqueur for the same seasonal touch.
 
 
BREAKFAST: PUMPKIN FRENCH TOAST RECIPE

You can add a topping of diced apples for a festive brunch dish. Instead of the apple garnish, you can substitute a few roasted pumpkin seeds, toasted nuts, and/or dried fruit: cherries, cranberries, raisins.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
For Serving

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the apple topping: dice and sauté in butter with a splash of pumpkin liqueur and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Cover for warmth and set aside.

2. MIX together the milk, liqueur, eggs and brown sugar

3. MELT the butter on a hot griddle or in a pan. Dip the sliced bread into the batter and allow it to soak in, turning if needed.

4. PLACE the battered bread on the griddle and cook until the first side begins to turn golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side.

5. TOP with the apples or other garnish, or serve them on the side. Serve with butter and syrup.

SNACK OR DESSERT: CARAMEL FRUIT DIP

You can dip fruit, or top desserts with this boozy caramel dip. You can also use it as a garnish with cake or pie…or make [adult] cookie sandwiches.
 
Ingredients

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. BLEND the cream cheese, brown sugar and powdered sugar with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla and the liqueur.

2. BLEND in the caramel sauce and scoop into a serving dish. Top with the Heath Bits.
Cut up apple (of your choice) to serve with dip.
 
 
DESSERT: PUMPKIN LIQUEUR ICE CREAM #1

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BEAT the eggs with an electric mixer at medium speed. Gradually add the sugar while continuing to mix. Add the liqueur and condensed milk and mix well. Add the half-and-half and mix well.

[4] There’s a good supply of store-bought pumpkin ice cream…but it doesn’t have liqueur (photo courtesy Dolcezza Gelato).

Soften store-bought pumpkin or vanilla ice cream until you can swirl in pumpkin liqueur. Mix and return to the freezer until ready to serve.
  

Chef François Payard has put a seasonal twist on the ubiquitous avocado toast: sweet potato toast!

We love avocado toast, but sweet potato is a good seasonal variation.

Chef Payard suggests that you top your morning toast with a layer of caramelized onions, balsamic vinaigrette and sliced roasted sweet potatoes. We re-created the recipe: It’s easy.

 
And although Chef Payard makes some of the most delicious pastries in the world, he starts the day well. Use whole wheat or mixed whole grain toast, he says.

Make it a crusty loaf, we say.
 
 
RECIPE: SWEET POTATO TOAST

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BAKE the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pierce each potato several times with the tines of a fork and place them on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Bake until al dente, about 35-40 minutes (test with the tines of a fork or the tip of a paring knife). When ready to serve…

2. REMOVE the skins and slice the flesh into 1/2-inch circles.

3. TOAST the bread. Spread the caramelized onions on the toast. Layer the potato slices on top; drizzle with the vinaigrette; garnish with the herbs and serve.

Balsamic vinaigrette can be as simple as one part vinegar to two parts oil. Olive oil is classic; but if you like playing with different flavors, try an infused oil, a nut oil, or whatever you have on the shelf.

For a more complex recipe, try this:
 
 
RECIPE: DELUXE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE combine the vinegar, mustard and garlic in a small bowl.

2. ADD the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly; or emulsify in a blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
Variations

October 31st is Halloween, and November 4th is National Candy Day. What’s a calorie-counting candy lover to do?

Here are some of your best candy choices.

Note that this is not permission to gorge on anything on the list. You should limit yourself to 150-calorie portions daily—and limit gorging to lettuce and celery.
 
 
BEST CHOCOLATE CHOICES

 
 
BEST HARD CANDIES

Nutritionist Joy Bauer recommends hard candies, “because they automatically pace you. They take a while to finish (as long as you suck or lick, not chomp!), so you get to savor the sweetness for a bit and stretch your sugar calories.

“As long as you limit yourself to a few pieces, you can’t do that much damage,” she concludes.

Joy’s comments on her favorites in the category:

 
 
BEST CHEWY CHOICES

 
 
WHAT ABOUT SUGAR-FREE CANDY?

[2] Chocolate lovers: Chocolate-covered nuts are a better choice than chocolate bars (photo of chocolate- and cocoa-covered almonds courtesy Charles Chocolates).

[3] The best choice may be chocolate-covered strawberries: low-calorie fruit and a thin coating of chocolate (photo courtesy Balducci’s).

[4] The chocolate coating on York Peppermint Patties is very good, and two or three minis do the track (photo courtesy Hershey’s).

[5] Coffee lover? These coffee-coated espresso beans (photo courtesy Superior Nut Store).

Most healthcare professionals advise that it be limited to diabetics and those with other special needs, like too much tooth decay. Here’s more detail.

Add even more fun to Halloween festivities for family and friends…for party hosts…for your workplace:

Make a Halloween cake with a NordicWare cake mold. It requires no more time and talent than pouring a cake mix batter into the mold.

The molds are artfully embossed, creating “cake sculptures” that need no added decoration. Of course, you can add your own touches with icing, edible glitter, spider candies, etc.

Beyond Halloween, the skull molds also work for El Dia De Los Muertos. In photo #4, one home baker created a classic decorated skull design.

NordicWare’s Halloween cake pans include:

 
The pans have a nonstick finish that guarantees easy release, and a lifetime guarantee.

There are also cookie stamps: a set that includes a black cat, pumpkin and spider.

They’re available at many retailers including Williams-Sonoma, plus online at Amazon and NordicWare.com.

You can use any cake recipe you like. Particularly seasonal:

 
But sure, go for the brownie batter, the chocolate ghost with white icing, or other family favorite.
 
ADD A SAUCE

You can add a sauce for a more elaborate dessert:

 
The best approach is to put the sauce on the plate first, then set the cake on top of it. You won’t cover up the design elements.

Have fun with it!
 
 
MORE USES FOR THE CAKE PANS

Use the cake pans to mold other foods:

[3] A ghost centerpiece (photo courtesy Nordicware).

[4] Skull cakelets, decorated for El Dia De Los Muertos (photo by Nozomi | Williams-Sonoma upload.

This make-ahead beauty (photo #1) is a stunning first course or, turns into a dinner with a light salad. You can make it vegetarian or add meat: chicken, ham, turkey or sausage.

This squash soup is packed with shiitake mushrooms, sausage and red chard, and topped with a fresh sage chiffonade. There are no right or wrong ingredients: Use whatever sounds good to you.

The soup bowl in photo #1 is from Olmsted restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. The photo, along with the availability of so much squash in the markets—had us spending a week trying different recipes that used small squash as individual edible bowls.

The result: delicious baked squash filled with other delicious things, from breakfast eggs to baked fruit sides.
 
 
WHAT SQUASH SHOULD YOU USE?

While stuffed squash has served as edible bowls for millennia, our concept was to expand the squash bowl for soup (broccoli soup, butternut squash soup, mushroom soup, etc.) to other uses.

Small acorn squash squash (photo #1) are the most available; but you may be able to find eight-ball zucchini (photo #2), carnival squash (photo #6) or golden nugget pumpkins (photo #5). A farmers market is your best bet.
 
 
WHAT SHOULD YOU PUT IN YOUR BOWL?

Use whatever filling you want.

Soup is most popular: not just butternut squash soup, but mushroom and any but that’s because most people haven’t thought further. Here are 20 options, including two for breakfast.

You can serve the squash bowl as a side, or add as a main with a protein (chicken or turkey, sausage, tofu).

 
Garnishes

 
PREPARATION

1. MAKE the soup or other filling ahead of time, and warm it when the squash bowls are ready.

2. BAKE the squash: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Halve the squash widthwise and scoop out the seeds and any loose fibers. Discard the fibers and reserve the seeds for garnish, if desired.

3. SLICE a small piece from the bottom halves of the squash, so the “bowls” will sit evenly. You can bake the top halves and serve them as well; or cut the flesh into chunks to use as a filling ingredient or for other purposes.

4. BRUSH the cut surface of the squash with olive oil and season lightly with salt, pepper and thyme. Place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until golden brown and tender, 20-30 minutes, until you can pierce the rind with a fork or tip of a knife.

5. REMOVE any additional center of the squash, until the bowl opening is large enough for your purposes (save the cooked squash for another purpose). Add your filling(s) and serve.

You can also bake the squash in advance and microwave it when ready to serve.

[2] An eight ball zucchini makes an ideal single-portion bowl, at Bittersweet Blog.

[3] Curried lentils with onion and carrot at Fried Dandelions.

[4] Sausage- and apple-stuffed acorn squash at Cherished Bliss.

[5] A golden nugget pumpkin stuffed with couscous, bacon and sausage, from Good Food | Australia.

[6] Check farmers markets for squash that work as individual bowls. This is a carnival squash: butternut’s flashier brother (photo courtesy Kitchen Tangents).