This weekend was awesome. I’ve cut these videos down into segments so they are easy to upload to youtube.

Haunted Halloween House by DDPie

After you get over your initial sugar hangover, try these nifty ideas to make the most of all that leftover candy.

10. Homemade Flavored Vodka

Some candies dissolve beautifully in vodka to create “infused” booze. In addition to candy, you can add coffee, rosemary, cinnamon, pepper, citrus fruits or dried flowers. The recipe linked below uses Jolly Ranchers, but you can also try candy corn (use 1/2 cup candy corn for 1 1/2 cups vodka).

Jolly Rancher Vodka

9. Make Hot Chocolate with Real chocolate

Melt a 1 oz. mini chocolate bar into a mug of milk, making sure to stir frequently. It’s especially tasty with rich chocolates such Dove miniatures.

8. Sweeten Your Cooking

Yeah, it’s Friday! This is going to be a great weekend for many reasons including the return of Desperate Housewives and another steamy season. Did you know there’s a new housewife on Wisteria Lane who I hear can really bake up a storm? Watch out Bree!

Most of you probably know that Desperate Housewives has been a BakeSpace member for a couple of years now. Between the juicy bites and saucy dishes, they have definitely added culinary intrigue to our community.

So, to celebrate the show’s return, we’re giving away a pink KitchenAid Chef’s Series Food Processor to the BakeSpace member who posts the most desperate housewife story based on a personal “desperate” expereince.

Here’s how you can win:

• Head over to the Desperate Housewives BakeSpace Kitchen
• If you’re already a member of BakeSpace, simply add the show to your network of friends (click “add as friends” if logged in). We’ll approve your friend request so you can post a comment. Not a member, join today! It’s only the best recipe swap on the web!
• Once you’re in the show’s network of friends, post your favorite personal desperate housewife story on the show’s profile (fridge at the way bottom of the page – after the videos). Note: This must be a personal story about you, not a scene from the show.
• That’s it!

The most “desperate” story (as picked by our editorial staff) wins the prize. The winner will be announced this Monday (9/28). Deadline to enter is Sunday, September 27th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Story must be about your personal experience, NOT a storyline from the show. Good luck!

VISIT BAKESPACE TODAY AND POST YOUR BET DESPERATE MOMENT

Want to watch the show? Tune in Sundays at 9/8c on ABC! The season premiere is September 27th! Get caught up on past full episodes at ABC.com.

Vote with your stomach.

SXSW (South by Southwest) is a film, music and interactive media festival that takes place every March in Austin, TX. The Interactive program features five days of presentations and panel discussions from some of the brightest minds in digital media.

Each year, thousands of panel ideas are submitted to SXSW, and the best are selected to be part of a public selection process that allows the online community (i.e., people like you) to vote on which panels will make it into the final program.

So this is where you come in. As a fellow foodie and home cook, please help us support the culinary-themed panels listed in our following “Foodie’s Guide to SXSW Panel Picking” list.

Voting is quick and easy, and it ends on Sept. 4th…  so vote today!

SXSW Food-Themed Panels:

• Emily Olsen, Foodzie (@elmilyolson): Food Porn 101: Photos that Engage the Senses
• Jeff Potter, Cooking for Geeks (@cookingwithjeff): Cooking For Geeks: A Primer on Food Hacking
• Leslie Hatfield, Eat Well Guide: Cultivating the Web: Netroots Action for Grassroots Food
• David Berkowitz, 360i (@dberkowitz): Tasty Conversation: Social Media + Food Brands
• Steven Mandzik, A Clean Life (@robotchampion): Local Food: Creating an Online Community of Local Eaters
• Ashley Colpaart, U.S. Food Policy (@ashleyrdtx): BlogBlogs, Tweets & Movies: Fueling the Good Food Movement
• Babette Pepaj, BakeSpace.com (@bakespace): Hooking Up with Hollywood: Riding the Studio’s PR Machine (exploring how BakeSpace.com teams up with movies & studios for recipe-themed campaigns)

Emily Olson Foodzie

Jeff Potter Cooking for Geeks

David Berkowitz 360i

Steven Mandzik, A Clean Life

Ashley Colpaart, U.S. Food Policy

Babette Pepaj BakeSpace

Honorable Mention (or Best Use of Food in a Panel Title):

• Frank Addante, the Rubicon Project (@frankaddante): Who’s Nibbling at Your Cookie?
• David Bloom, Words & Deeds (@davidbloom): Content Curation “Bakeoff” – Which Recipe Reigns Supreme?
• Julie Stanford,  Sliced Bread Design (@jstanford1000): Mac-n-Cheese: Learning About Product Design from Comfort Foods

Panels by Friends of BakeSpace & Fellow Foodies, but Not Food Related:

• Nichelle Stephens, Cupcakes Take the Cake (@niche):  The Broke Diaries: Using Blogs And Twitter To Live Cheaply
• Erik Deustch, ExcelPR Group (@erikdeutsch): Beyond the Hype: Does Your PR Agency “Get” Social Media
• Nicole Jordan, the Rubicon Project (@nicolejordan): Can Marketing & PR Co-Exist Without Competing?
• Jackie Peters, Heavybag Media (@jackiepeters): Are Big Brands Ready For Micro-Conversations?
• KW Low, DreadCentral.com (@kw):  Zombies, Vampires & Monsters: Fostering Loyal Genre Communities
• Chris Tolles, Topix (@tolles): Secrets to Building a Thriving Business Through Community
• Tony Adam, Yahoo (@tonyadam): Social Media Marketing for Your Business
• Mark Horvath, InvisiblePeople.tv (@invisiblepeople): A Conversation about Social Change Throughout Social Media
• Marc Vermut, Fine Point Solutions, Inc.(@mvermut): Practical Digital Anthropology: Getting to Know Your Users
• Wm. Marc Salsberry, WMS Productions (@wmmarc): The Art of Shooting Tech: A Photographic Year in Review
• Tm Street (@1TimStreet): Where Do You Find Inspiration: Beers, Biking or the Bathroom?
• Kurt Daradics, FreedomSpeaks (@kurtyd): Taking the Friction out of Civic Engagement With Open Government & API’s
• Also check out TechZulu’s SXSW 2010 PanelPicker SoCal Panel List (Thanks @techzulu for including us 0n your list!)
• LA Weekly’s Vote or Die: Ultimate Guide to SXSWi Panel Picking (Thanks @alexiatsotsis for including us on your list!)

Please feel free to comment below which panel’s you think foodies may want to check out. This list is by no means complete.

How to Vote:

Visit the SXSW Panel Picker and browse the selections. Or you can simply click on the links above to go directly to each corresponding panel. Before your vote is counted, the SXSW Web site will ask you to register (it’s super quick and easy). Once registered, you’ll be able to click on the “thumbs up” icon to vote. That’s it!

Share this post with other foodies & home chefs:

Click on bird above or tweet this: Foodie’s Guide to SXSW Panel Picking http://bit.ly/foodsxsw – Voting ends Sept 4!

BakeSpace Cookover 2009

In July, BakeSpace.com members from eight states got together for a good old fashioned Cookover. A cookover is when a group of friends get together and pitch in to make a meal.  Check out the recipes made for the event. See photos of the event here!

To find a cookover or foodie meetup in your area, check out our forum meetup posts. If you don’t see your state, why not start your own meetup or cookover?

The event as also covered in the Pittsburgh Post Gazett’s Online Cooks Meet Here story.

Marguerite Millren and Michele Brigante at the BakeSpace Cookover in PA.

Crumbs Bake Shop Cupcakes at the BakeSpace.com booth at Twiistup6

Nothing says BakeSpace more than 1,000 cupcakes. That’s why the moment we heard we were selected to participate as one of twelve Startup Showoff at Twiistup6 we knew we had to bring cupcakes. If you’re not familiar with Twiistup, it’s a 2-day tech event in Los Angeles which features an extensive list of panelist covering the tech and digital media.

Crumbs Bake Shop Cupcakes at the BakeSpace Twiistup Booth

Most of the night was spent at our booth schmoozing and “reloading” our 6-tier cupcake tower. Check out our booth and the 1,000 cupcakes donated to us by CRUMBS Bake Shop. (Thanks Danielle, Harvey & the team at CRUMBS!)

Also, thanks to Ely with BizCard.com for printing out our postcards and delivering them in less than 72 hours!

Check out some of our recent Twiistup Coverage:

BakeSpace: An Unlikely Startup Success Story from Twiistup – ReadWriteWeb

Twiistup Brings Web and Entertainment Startups Together This Week in Universal City - LAist

Photo by Jolie O'Dell via Flickr

Exciting news! My panel was selected in the SXSW Interactive panel picker.

What’s that you ask?

The organizers of SXSW (South By Southwest) Interactive Festival put together a panel picker which allows folks like me and you pick what topics will be discussed at their event.

How cool is that?

So from now until September 4th, you can place your vote and help us get our panel titled Hooking Up with Hollywood: Riding the Studio’s PR Machine in the lineup!

Thank you!

Apricot Coolers (Non-Alcoholic) by Alicat03's (BakeSpace Member)

In English folklore, it’s thought to be good luck if you have a dream that involves an apricot. While we can’t say for sure if apricots will bring you luck, there’s no question that they’re delicious. Why wait to dream when you can enjoy one right now?

Check out our Apricot Recipes Newsletter featuring recipes submitted by BakeSpace members

Today’s Tip:

When chopping dried apricots in a food processor, toss in a pinch of flour to keep them from sticking to the blades.

When chopping by hand, oil the blade of the knife or kitchen shears. You can also dip the dried apricots in flour.

Everyone has their own particular preference when it comes to eating fresh salsa. What’s great about making salsa at home is that you can customize it to fit your pallet. 

Try  substituting Jalapenos with a milder type of chili pepper such as Anaheim or Poblano chilis.

You can also cut down on spice by using just 1/2 of the Jalapeno pepper in the recipe, or by seeding the Jalapeno before adding it to the mix.

Hot and Bothered

Craving more sizzle with your sauce? Add 1 to 2 more Jalapeno peppers, or trade in the Jalapeno for an intensely spicy Habanero chili. Just make sure to keep a glass of water handy, because this sauce can get mucho caliente! 

Check out BakeSpace’s Salsa Newslsetter

Packed with Vitamin C, Orange juice is one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants. It fights infections like colds and flus, and helps the body ward off free radicals that can lead to diseases such as cancer and heart disease. With OJ’s great taste and health benefits, it’s always a great time to enjoy a glass of “liquid sunshine.”

Caramel Topped Flan by Piday

But orange juice isn’t just for drinking… it can also add some zest to just about any recipe!

Thawing Frozen Orange Juice Quickly

Keeping a few cans of orange juice in the freezer can you help “chill out” during the warm summer months ahead. The only catch is that when the craving hits, you have to wait around for the concentrate to thaw. Here are three easy steps to help you speed things up.

1. Hold the can of frozen concentrate under hot water for a minute or two. This should melt the concentrate just enough so it releases easily from the can.

2. Dump the block of concentrate into a pitcher and add the suggested amount of water.

3. Use an immersion blender to mix the frozen block with the water. The mixer will produce a smooth, lump-free juice… with no waiting. 

For more recipes check out the BakeSpace Orange-infused Newsletter