Even though my kids are young adults, I’ll take any opportunity to still do things with them we did when they were growing up. There is so much to do in the fall but pumpkin carving has always been something we’ve done with family and friends. College kids were home and we decided to get together for the fall tradition. After greetings with hugs and kisses I told them where they could pour themselves a warm cup of mulled cider and get started.
When entertaining it’s important to be prepared. I made sure I had the carving station ready to go with washed off pumpkins, big bowls for the insides and seeds (which I will go through and roast), carving tools, knives, big spoons for scraping and scooping, markers, stencils, and votive candles for when it was time to light them. A dollar store black plastic table cloth for easy throw away clean up and we were set to carve our pumpkins.
For me, I wanted a simple meal that everyone could grab a bowl of and move around if they wanted to work on their creations while they ate. I made a big batch of chili and served it over rice. I found the perfect tortilla chips to serve with the chili – bright orange and black. Shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado and hot sauce were the toppings I put out. A simple tossed salad and dinner was served. It was a real pleasant surprise when everyone decided to sit and eat around the farm table together catching up on each other’s lives.
For dessert I made homemade moist chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. I found adorable paper cupcake holders at Homegoods and new they would be perfect for the dessert. I made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to keep with the theme.
We lit the pumpkins and those who were of age enjoyed a Mulled Cider Moscow Mule. The perfect ending to another evening with friends.
