[1] Here’s looking at you! Eyeball meatball sandwich from BBQ Bob Trudnak | BBQ Guru. [2] French rolls are crusty on the outside, with an elegant crumb on the inside. They can be round dinner rolls, oblong or square sandwich rolls; the artisan versions have a dusting of flour. They’re easy to make at home with this recipe from DineAndDish.net.

You don’t need a grill to make these captivating eyeball meatball sandwiches from “BBQ Bob” Trudnak.

We made them in a skillet on the stove top. Everyone—children and adults alike—wanted more.

We love nouvelle surf and turf ideas of any kind. So to this recipe from “BBQ Bob” Trudnak, we added some “gourmet” flavor lists:

 
RECIPE: SPOOKY HALLOWEEN EYEBALL
MEATBALL SANDWICHES

Ingredients For 4 Sandwiches

1. HEAT the grill to 300°F direct; or for stovetop cooking, heat a skillet when ready to cook the meatballs.

2. MIX the ground meat, eggs, bread crumbs, herbs, spices and water by hand in a bowl until well blended. Add ¼ cup of grated cheese and mix once more. Divide into 8 equal portions and oll the meatballs to the size of golf balls and set aside on wax paper.

3. SET the meatballs in the fridge for 30 minutes while the grill comes up to temperature or the skillet heats. (a) Grill the meats balls over a direct fire turning them to brown all sides and take them to an internal temp of 165°F, or (b) similarly cook them join the stovetop. While they cook…

4. WARM the marinara sauce. When the meatballs are done, remove them from the heat.

5. LIGHTLY BUTTER each roll, and toast for a minute over the coals on the grill (we toasted ours plain in the toaster oven, then buttered them.

6. ASSEMBLE: Place 2 meatballs on each roll and pour a little warm marinara sauce over them. Lay out two slices of provolone over the meatballs and place the sandwiches back on the grill in a pan to allow the cheese to melt. Place a sliced black olive on the top of each meatball so they look like eyeballs, then drizzle a little more marinara sauce between the meatballs.

If using the arugula, anchovies, etc.: We put the on the arugula and basil on bottom half of the roll and the anchovies on top of the cheese, creating some nicely creep “hairy eyeballs.”

WATCH THE PROCESS with this video:

 
ABOUT “BBQ BOB” TRUDNAK

Robert “BBQ Bob” Trudnak of Lansdale, Pennsylvania has been grilling and smoking barbecue professionally for more than 13 years. He has amassed over 200 awards and prizes at national and international competitions. An entrepreneur and inventor, he helped launch the world’s first BBQ temperature control devices for the company BBQ Guru, which develops and sells high-tech cooker accessories.
  

In this easy recipe, you don’t even need fruit: You use the bottled juice. Apple, blood orange, grapefruit, pear and pomegranate are delicious fall sorbet flavors.

You can set out different garnishes and let everyone style their own dessert or snack.

This sorbet recipe comes to us from US Apple, which has many recipes and apple-cooking and -baking tips.
 
RECIPE: APPLE CIDER POMEGRANATE SORBET

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. STIR together the juices, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes; then transfer to a large bowl, stir in the lemon juice, add the cinnamon stick, cover and chill in the fridge until cold.

2. FREEZE the mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
 
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*Leave the skin on—it’s more attractive. Be sure to dip the sliced apples in acidulated water to prevent browning: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lime juice or wine per quart of water.
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CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FROZEN DESSERTS
in our Ice Cream & Sorbet Glossary.
 

[1] Easy apple-pomegranate sorbet, served with a fresh apple slice (photo and recipe courtesy USApple.org). [2] Use your favorite juice. Two of our fall favorites from Natalie’s: Pumpkin Apple and Orange Cranberry (photo courtesy FreshPlaza.us).

 
RECIPE: PICKLED APPLE SLICES

Make your own pickled apples. In addition to a sorbet garnish, you can use them on sandwiches, slaws, sides with grilled meats and seafood, baked ham and any fat-laden recipe that needs a slightly tart counterpoint.

This recipe makes a quart or more, depending on the apple size. If you want to test the recipe, halve it, taste and adjust accordingly. If you make the recipe but have more than you’ll use in a month, you can send some home with guests.

Note that these are not sterilized, shelf-stable pickles. You can keep them in the fridge for up to a month. The flavors will intensify for a week.

If you don’t like the “pumpkin pie spices,” substitute black peppercorns, cardamom, coriander seeds or other favorite.

Make extra for gifting!

[3] Pomegranate arils are colorful and easy garnish (photo courtesy Good Eggs | SF). We buy the arils-only in plastic bags. [4] Pickled apple slices, featured in the Apple Lovers Cookbook by Amy Traverse. Here’s her recipe.

RECIPE: PICKLED APPLE SLICES

Ingredients

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the tap water, vinegar, sugar and spices into a small pan (for convenience, you can put the spices in a spice ball or cheesecloth). Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then add the ice water to cool the brine. Meanwhile…

2. PEEL, core and slice them 1/2- or 3/4-inch-thick (we used a mandoline for even slices). Immediately place into the pickling containers and cover with the brine.

3. KEEP the open jars on the counter until cool. Then cover with the lid and place in the refrigerator. Let infuse for at least 60 minutes. For the first week, the apples will continue to pick up flavor from the brine.

We use this recipe to pickle fruits and vegetables when we have only an hour or so.
 
APPLE CONVERSION GUIDE

For cooking or baking, here’s an apple conversion guide from Kercher’s Orchard:

But what about the rest of the week—or the entire months of October and November—when you want something a bit lighter than pie?

King Arthur Flour solved our dilemma with their delicious Pumpkin Streusel Cake Mix. We stocked up last year after Thanksgiving, when it was half price; but it’s $9.95 full price at KingArthurFlour.com is still worth it.

Why pay triple the price of a supermarket cake mix? It’s all in the quality of the ingredients.

The King Arthur mix is made with real pumpkin and Vietnamese cinnamon. Even the flour in the mix—the highest grade milled—is better, as fans of King Arthur Flour can tell you.

The mix includes a packet of cinnamon-streusel filling to make the swirl in the cake. You add butter, eggs, sour cream and water.
 
 
TO MAKE A COFFEE CAKE

 
As an alternative, you can turn the mix into a pumpkin streusel coffee cake (photo #3).

[2] The cake made in a Heritage bundt pan, also called a swirl bundt pan, from Nordicware.

Streusel is a crumb topping made from butter, flour and sugar. It can also contain chopped nuts or rolled oats.

It’s used on cakes and pies alike.

Pronounced SHTROY-zul, the word derives from the German “streuen,” meaning to sprinkle or scatter. The American mis-pronunciation “STROO sul?” Fuggedaboudit.

Streusel is used as a topping for a variety of pies, fruit crisps, cakes and pastries, most notably coffee cakes. A pie with a streusel topping is sometimes referred to as a “crumble pie.”

Some people like big streusel crumbs, others prefer fine crumbs. The choice is yours as you pinch the crumbs together.

[4] …Pumpkin Streusel Cake Mix (photos © King Arthur Flour).

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. With a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until fine crumbs form.

2. USE your fingers to squeeze the fine crumbs into large clumps (or smaller as desired—we like large crumbs). Sprinkle over the top of the pie and bake per the recipe instructions. That’s it!
 
 
THE HISTORY OF BUNDT CAKES

First, there was the Austrian kugelhopf, a sweet yeast bread similar to brioche and panettone, made in a pan shaped like a chef’s hat or a turban.

A Viennese specialty, it was a favorite of the Austrian Archduchess Marie Antoinette, who became the wife of King Louis XVI of France in 1770.

Fast forward 180 years: Some Jewish ladies in Minneapolis couldn’t find any kugelhopf pans in the U.S., pans with pleated folds that their families had in the Old Country. They turned to a local manufacturer and convinced him to create a version of it. The bundt cake was born.

The name bundt is a derivation of the German word for a gathering of people—exactly what you’ll have when there’s a bundt cake to be enjoyed.

Here’s the history of the bundt cake.

No plans for Halloween? You can still invite the gang for a Halloween cocktail party with these special cocktails:

There’s still time to invite friends to a Halloween cocktail party—costumes optional. Create your cocktail menu from these cocktail recipes:

 
 
NEXT STEPS

1. SEND out the invite. Costumes optional?

2. DEVELOP the menu: 4 or 5 cocktail options, plus a mocktail and soft drinks for the designated drivers.

3. CHOOSE some recipes that can be made in advance, and make multiple quantities in pitchers.
 
 
HALLOWEEN MOCKTAIL

The easiest: a mix of apple cider, pomegranate juice, and club soda, with an optional candy pumpkin, notched to fit on the glass rim, or a lime wheel.

Mix the juices in a pitcher, and add club soda to the glass after pouring. Vary the proportions as you prefer, starting with a 2:1 or 3:1 proportion of juice to soda.

Alternatively, there are hundreds of Halloween cocktail recipes online.
 
 
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Vampire Martini. Here’s the recipe (photo © Betty Crocker).

[2] Bloody Eyeball Martini. Here’s the recipe (photo © Kris Plazek | What To Drink).

[3] Black Magic Screwdriver. Here’s the recipe (photo © Elegant Affairs Caterers).

[1] Try baked eggs in bell pepper halves (photo courtesy Foodie Crush | Go Bold With Butter). [2] Eggs Benedict on a croissant instead of the classic English Muffin (photo courtesy Peach Valley Cafe). [3] A fried egg sandwich, elevated with a whole grain seeded roll (photo courtesy National Pasteurized Eggs).

World Egg Day is October 21st.

Most of us have grown up with the incredible, edible egg; and we are egg-static to celebrate this little protein powerhouse.

With over 6 grams of high-quality protein, nine essential amino acids and only 70 calories, , it’s one of the least egg-spensive sources of high-quality protein per serving.

It’s a staple food as well as an indulgence (caramel custard, French ice cream, hollandaise sauce, mousse…).

20 RECIPES TO CONSIDER FOR TODAY

Options from breakfast, lunch and dinner through dessert.
 
Breakfast & Brunch Eggs

 
Brunch, Lunch & Dinner Eggs

 
Egg Cetera

 
Next, a recipe that is new to us: Huevos Divorciados, a Mexican breakfast dish that means “divorced eggs.” (We’ve also made it for lunch and a light dinner.)

Sunnyside-up fried eggs are dressed up in different ways and separated on the plate, “each going its own way” (photo #4, below).

The typical direction uses two different salsas: a spicy red salsa for one egg and a cooling tomatillo (green) salsa with the other. The salsa and eggs are set upon two crispy corn tortillas.

But you can use different salsas, toppings and underpinnings, and come up with your signature style.

We adapted this recipe from one by Chef Jeffrey Clark for Davidson’s Eggs.

RECIPE: HUEVOS DIVORCIADOS

As is our won’t at THE NIBBLE, we like to push the boundaries of the original dish and find fun ways to customize it. For Huevos Divorciados, you can separate the two eggs and their different salsas with:

 
Preparation

1. BRUSH both sides of the tortillas with olive oil. Place in baking pan and bake at 400°F for 6 minutes or until crisp. Meanwhile…

2. PREPARE the sunny side-up eggs. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat until melted. Gently slide 2 eggs into the skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until the whites are set and opaque, and the yolks begin to firm. Gently remove from skillet; repeat with the remaining butter and eggs.

3. PLACE two tortillas side by side on dinner plates. Place one egg on each tortilla. On each plate, ladle 6 tablespoons of the red salsa around one egg and 6 tablespoons of the salsa verde around the second egg.

4. SPRINKLE eggs with equal amounts of cheese and cilantro. Garnish with onion slices, a lime wedge and guacamole. Serve with breakfast potatoes, refried beans, or black beans, if desired.
 
CHECK OUT OUR EGG GLOSSARY

It’s a view of the different types of eggs, from blue hen eggs to ostrich eggs.

How many of these types have you had?
 
EGG ETYMOLOGY
The French have the ouef, the Italians and Spanish have uovo and ovo from the Latin ovum. The Greeks have oon, the Germans have Ei.

How did we get egg?

Egge appeared in the the mid-14th century northern England dialect, derived mostly from Old Norse and Proto-Germanic ajja, possibly derived from root awi, bird.

[4] Huevos Divorciados from OiYouFood. Here’s the recipe. [5] It’s easy to make egg drop soup at home with this recipe (photo courtesy Good Eggs).