First of all, please help me congratulate Sharon Denninger, the grand prize winner of the Alton Brown cookbook collection! Alton was amazing last night a Books A Million; my co-worker Judy stood in line for almost 3 hours and got his autograph! Here's Sharon's winning entry: My favorite episode of Alton Brown, which I am certain has saved a life or two in my home, was his episode on how to safely deep fry a turkey!!  About two years ago, my boyfriend decided that he wanted to step into the relm of deep fryers, which, frankly, scared me!  Fortunately for all those living on and around my block, the episode of Alton's "Good Eats" entitled "Fry, Turkey, Fry" happened to air.  This episode detailed how to brine the bird, ensuring a moist and delish turkey.  And, most importantly, it described, in detail, how to safely fry your turkey.  He goes through every step of your set up, what oil to use, what temperature to have it at, how to prep your bird, etc.  More importantly, how to NEVER leave the bird unattended, from when it enters the oil, until when it exits.  These steps have ensured a safely, and most YUMMILY fried turkey for several Thanskgivings, as well as other occasions!  And, there have been no humans harmed in the making of our bird!

Thanks Sharon, and enjoy those wonderful books!

Now, tell me. Do you actually stake out (pardon an oh-too-easy pun) the best neighborhoods for trick or treating? You know, the ones that have the good candy, the ones that let the kids take all they want, they ones that actually include a little something for the adults in the crowd? No, me neither…but in case you do, take some shots and send those along to Kelly’s Kitchen to ann.kelly@coxmg.com.  We’d love to see how the kids made out this year, and how carefully you “inspected” their bags and removed your favorite candy. Bad Mommy and Daddy…unless you share.

Inevitably, the lists come out. Which candy is good. Which is bad. Which dentist is trading toothbrushes for Snickers. That is so not  going to happen! But why not share the love?! Here we go!

David Zincenko, on Yahoo Health names the Butterfinger as the “worst fun size candy bar.” And why is that? He thinks naming anything fun sized means less guilt, less calories, fat, etc. I agree here. How many of those 100 calorie packs have you downed in one sitting? Uh huh. He also thinks the “worst novelty candy” honors for to the Reese’s Pumpkin – take 170 calories, along with 10 grams of fat and you basically have a Reese’s Cup shape like a pumpkin.

WebMD has a good point, that Halloween actually kicks off the over-eating season. It does.  Eat an extra 100 calories a day, add 10 pounds a year. Yikes.  We all have the best of intentions of stopping at one small candy bar, one handful of candy corn, and it all goes down the tubes when all that leftover candy is sitting in the bowl at the end of the night.

See of this helps; do the same thing for yourself that you do for the kids…set limits. I freeze a lot of things so I can’t eat them as fast. And keeping the scale front and center each morning sure doesn’t help. Of course, exercise is a pretty good idea.

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Halloween and enjoy in moderation. And send me those Halloween pics so we can share with everyone!