Mission #fallbucketlist complete

If fall isn’t your favorite season…you’re basically wrong. The weather is great, the clothes are great, the food is warm and comforting, and then there’s Halloween and Thanksgiving. My friend Riju loves Halloween and in an effort to keep me very busy during the month of October, she sent me the “31 Days of Halloween to do list” to do. This blog will be my recap…with one caveat: some of the items were modified but totally still count!

Screen shot 2015-11-14 at 11.15.17 AMNo. 1 – Bake Halloween cookies. Krista, Nicole and the cookie-decorating master Avery helped out with this one.

IMG_2053
The master at work
IMG_2054
Our cookie-decorating work zone
The best of the best
The best of the best

No. 2 – Drink cider

I chose the adult version...
I chose the adult version…

No. 3 – Watch a classic monster movie. This one was completed…just not documented. I watched some freaky movie about Halloween.

No. 4 – Make pumpkin bread with fresh pumpkin. This one was also completed with help from Krista.

Krista doing some baking things
Krista doing some baking things
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Pumpkin bread pre-bake
Pumpkin bread
Pumpkin bread

No. 5 – Collect different color fall leaves. I didn’t know what I would do with a handful of leaves, so I just took pictures during a hike.

Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park

No. 6 – Eat a caramel apple. I got this one at Treinen Farm in Lodi.

Caramel apple
Caramel apple
I didn't want to lose a tooth, so I cut it.
I didn’t want to lose a tooth, so I cut it.

No. 7 – Build a fire. This one was very unconventional…but fire is fire right?

Watching the Packers game and I "lit a fire."
Watching the Packers game and I “built a fire.”

No. 8 – Go on a hay ride. The hay ride at Treinen Farm was pretty interesting. It was one of the only cold and rainy days in October, but Nicole, miss Avery and I made the best of it!

Cute boots for hayride in the rain!
Cute boots for hayride in the rain!

No. 9 – Eat a Halloween Oreo. They don’t taste different, but I feel like they should!

Halloween oreos
Halloween oreos
Orange oreo
Orange oreo
Orange you glad I didn't make a joke!?
Orange you glad I didn’t make a joke!?

No. 10 – Wear orange. I don’t own anything orange, so this scarf will have to do.

This picture also qualifies as No. 21, which is eat a caramel apple Milky way…but they don’t make those anymore, so I had a caramel apple pop instead!

Orange scarf while eating a caramel apple pop!
Orange scarf while eating a caramel apple pop!

No. 11 – Watch Hocus Pocus. Thanks to Mary and Kevin Arbuckle for the movie access and the prop!

Hocus Pocus at the Arbuckle's.
Hocus Pocus at the Arbuckle’s.

No. 12 – Drink a pumpkin spice latte.

Strayed from my "regular" to get this.
Strayed from my “regular” to get this.
But coffee is coffee!
But coffee is coffee!

No. 13 – Eat candy corn. This nasty Halloween treat goes pretty well with coffee!

Candy corn
Candy corn
Candy corn in a candy corn!
Candy corn in a candy corn!

No. 14 – Play in the leaves…see No. 5.

No. 15 – Drink spicy tea. The Trader Joe’s version I got was not good.

Spicy tea
Spicy tea
Pumpkin spice rooibos tea from Trader Joe's.
Pumpkin spice rooibos tea from Trader Joe’s.

No. 16 – Bake an apple pie. I thought this was going to be one of the hardest ones on the list…but Krista and I made a pretty great pie!

Pie part 1
Pie part 1
Pie part 2
Pie part 2
Pie part 3
Pie part 3
PIE!!!
PIE!!!

No. 17 – Carve a pumpkin. Steph and I carved Frank the Pumpkin…harvested at Treinen Farms for No. 23.

Soon-to-be Frank
Soon-to-be Frank
Frank in progress
Frank in progress
Frank's insides are gone
Frank’s insides are gone
Frank is emerged!
Frank has emerged!
Frank is officially a jack-o-lantern!
Frank is officially a jack-o-lantern!
Love me some Frank!
Love me some Frank!
Hannah, Frank, Steph and Dunkin!
Hannah, Frank, Steph and Duncan!

No. 18 – Host a spooky movie night. I’d say mine was technically a movie afternoon…but it totally counts.

No. 19 – Eat Frankenberry, BooBerry or Count Chocula. I chose BooBerry…

BooBerry cereal
BooBerry cereal
Sugar and purple dye...ick.
Sugar and purple dye…ick.

No. 20 – Drink pumpkin ale or beer. Thanks Marissa for sharing your pumpkin beer!

Pumpkin beer at Chicks with Picks!
Pumpkin beer at Chicks with Picks!

No. 21 – Eat a caramel apple Milky Way. See No. 10.

Caramel apple pops...because Milky Ways don't come in caramel apple flavor anymore.
Caramel apple pops…because Milky Ways don’t come in caramel apple flavor anymore.

No. 22 – Roast pumpkin seeds. Steph and I roasted the shit out of Frank’s seeds!

Cleaning the seeds
Cleaning the seeds
Seeds...
Seeds…
Seeds!!!!
Seeds!!!!
Seeds pre roasting
Seeds pre roasting
Oven time.
Oven time.
Roasted to perfection!
Roasted to perfection!
Yum!
Yum!

No. 23 – Visit a pumpkin patch. Nicole, miss Avery and I braved the rain and cold to find Frank the Pumpkin at Treinen Farm.

Pumpkin patch
Pumpkin patch
I have found Frank!
I have found Frank!

No. 24 – Dance to Thriller. Mary Arbuckle and I got our groove on. A short, yet extremely entertaining video, is available on Facebook.

Thriller!
Thriller!

No. 25 – Visit an OctoberFest…was replaced with “drink an OctoberFest beer.” Thanks Kevin Arbuckle for the beer!

OctoberFest beer...this is my "I don't love beer" face!
OctoberFest beer…this is my “I don’t love beer” face!

No. 26 – Collect cool pumpkins. Thanks for the pumpkins dad!

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Pumpkins from dad!

No. 27 – Sit on the porch and smell the rain…this one seemed odd, but here’s a rainy picture from my balcony.

Cold and rainy October day.
Cold and rainy October day.

No. 28 – Visit a haunted house. I hate haunted houses, but Mary Arbuckle found one for little kids…so I consented. Favorite quote of the night: “Hannah…stop screaming, you’re scaring the giraffe (who was probably about 2 and being carried by her dad).”

Haunted house selfie!
Haunted house selfie!

No. 29 – Make a Halloween playlist.

These are the only two songs you'll ever need!
These are the only two songs you’ll ever need!

No. 30 – Decorate the house – inside and out. Thanks to the instigator of all of this, Riju, for the new Halloween owl!

Pumpkin inside
Pumpkin inside
Decorations inside
Decorations inside
More indoor decorations
More indoor decorations
'Outdoor' decorations
‘Outdoor’ decorations

No. 31 – Go trick or treating. I gave away candy at Kevin and Mary’s…I also got trick-or-treat candy at the haunted house…all of this counts…none of it is documented.

SUCCESS! #Fallbucketlist complete!

Tiny tavern boasts big cider menu, unique dishes

Cooper's Tavern
Coopers Tavern

One Madison restaurant that I took way too long to try out is Coopers Tavern. It’s near the top of State Street on the Capitol Square and has a super tiny dining room with a long bar on one side. It was busy the Friday night I went with a friend, and we had to wait basically inches from people already eating. Once we were seated the cramped dining room issues continued…I had to hook my purse on my knees and I was awkwardly bumped by two people who were hovering around the bar waiting for a table. Despite the super tight quarters the atmosphere at Coopers Tavern is rustic and welcoming.

Crispin blackberry, pear cider
Crispin blackberry, pear cider

I’m not a big drinker, but I do love a good gluten-free cider and Coopers Tavern has the largest selection of ciders I’ve seen. The Crispin blackberry and pear cider was light and refreshing. I could really taste the pear flavor, and even though the blackberry flavor was pretty much non-existent I still really liked it.

Cooper's Tavern Sconnie egg
Coopers Tavern Sconnie egg

We started with Coopers Tavern’s version of a scotch egg, the Sconnie egg. The Sconnie egg is a hard boiled egg wrapped in a Knoche’s market brat patty and fried. It is served with pickled vegetables and stout mustard. The Sconnie egg looks a little odd, but it tastes great. The hard boiled egg and the brat taste like breakfast and then they fry it…frying makes everything better! It’s a pretty heavy flavor profile, so the spicy, seedy mustard really adds a much-needed tang. I was really excited about the pickled vegetables, but they ended up not being good. They were pickled with anise and other warm spices, and I really didn’t like those flavors.

Cooper's Tavern steak and frites
Coopers Tavern steak and frites

I got the steak and frites as my entree. The marinated flank steak came served with blue cheese bone marrow butter, a homemade bourbon steak sauce, green beans and Belgian frites. The steak was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, but it was a pretty small portion for the price ($16.95). The bourbon steak sauce tasted pretty much like pre-packaged barbecue sauce, and even though it was good I was expecting it to be better. The fancy bone marrow butter didn’t taste as special as the description made it sound. The simple steamed green beans would have been better with some seasoning. The frites were classic frites — they were salted perfectly and fried to a crisp.

Cooper's Tavern pork belly mac
Coopers Tavern pork belly mac

My friend got the pork belly mac. The dubliner cheddar mac and cheese comes topped with Madison Sourdough bread crumbs and Guinness stout glazed berkshire pork belly. The sauce isn’t like traditional cheese sauce. It tasted like a fancier version of alfredo sauce. The glaze on the pork belly was sweet and tasted like it had brown sugar in it.

FOOD NOTES: Coopers Tavern has an extremely small dinning room that definitely makes waiting for your table that much more annoying. The gluten-free cider menu is a nice alternative to beer, and I loved the Sconnie egg. My steak and frites were good, but a little on the pricey side. The green beans were generic and the sauce on the steak had a pre-packaged quality to it, but the frites were perfectly crispy and salty. The pork belly mac was a little different than traditional mac and cheese, but it was good. The cider options and Sconnie egg will bring me back, but I will probably get a different entree.