H-A-Double L-O...

My oh my where did the time go? It seems like Fall has only just begun and now Halloween is just a couple days away!

Though I love to bake, I've never been much of a Halloween baker.  This type of holiday baking is a category all its own, a special craft with an emphasis on creativity, patience, and detail.  I'm usually too busy throwing together a last-minute costume to even begin to think about breaking out my oven mitts...unless it's part of my costume.

But like a good costume, I very much enjoy seeing what fanciful and festive treats people invent. Below is a round-up of some adorable, some amusing, some just plain strange, Halloween recipes I've come across.

Zombie Marshmallows from the decorated cookie

Ogre Eyes Hot Cocoa from TasteofHome

Cheese Ball Goblin by (who else?) Paula Dean

Wicked Witch Cupcakes from Martha Stewart

Spiderweb Cookies from Martha Stewart

Bizarre Brain Pate from Britta's Halloween Recipes

Spiderweb Brie En Croute, also from Britta

Monster Mouths from BHG

Spooky Witches Fingers from All Recipes

Cupcake Graveyard from All Recipes

Mummy Meatloaf from Family Corner

Mummy Rolls from Unfurled

A very impressive Melting Head Cake from Do It Myself

 Creme Brulee P-Eye from Hungry Halloween

Frankenstein on Spinach Artichoke Dip, also from Hungry Halloween

And last but certainly not least...the Thorax Cake

Vinitaly Day at Eataly

Image from ChefsBlade.com

 I just walked over to Eataly on my lunch break to grab some bread and I found myself in the middle of a full-blown wine tasting event, "Vinitaly Day."

Eataly was bustling, as always, but this time the crowd was noticeably suave and stylish, congregating around the long tables with bottles upon bottles and Italian breads and crackers.  Apparently the tasting featured 200 wines from 50 Italian wine producers. Though the set-up facilitated easy movement for the most part, a couple tables were blocking the store goods, and I actually saw a patron asking one of the wine servers about the type of cheese she was blocking.

I was there for the trade tasting, which takes place today from 2PM – 6PM. The consumer tasting follows from 6PM – 9PM.  Tickets are $55 - a good price considering the selection.  And because 100% of the proceeds goes to The American Cancer Society.

After poking around on the internet I learned the event is part of a series sponsored by Vinitaly, the Ambassador organization of Italian wine and the largest wine fair in the world - host to 4,500 producers and 150,000+ visitors every April in Verona.

The Eataly event is part of Vinitaly Tour, a series of events in major cities throughout the world "to facilitate the collaboration and communication between Italian wine producers, key players of the wine sector and retail consumers," according to the website.

The best part about this? I came within a few feet of one of the proprietors, Lidia Bastianich; in fact I'm pretty sure I was captured in the background of a photo with her.  It's only a matter of time before I see Mario.