Can I make a secret holiday confession? Until this year, I never tried eggnog before! It’s almost ridiculous, considering how much I love a holiday-themed drink, that I waited this long to finally try it. My friends at Hood shared some of their eggnog with me to try and it was delicious; I’ve clearly been missing out on this sweet and delectable seasonal drink. Once I tried my first sip, I realized I better do my research and get to the bottom of the best (and creative!) ways to serve this drink at the holidays so that I can make sure the rest of my friends and family don’t miss out like I did for so long.
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As if I didn’t already love dip enough, stick it in a bread bowl and I’m on cloud nine. I thought it would be fun for the holidays to put a new spin on this dip and bread bowl combination and found an easy way to make my own bread “wreath” to wrap around a bowl of Heluva Good! Dips. This is a holiday entertaining DIY for those who are short on time but still want to put something extra special out during this season for guests.
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As the holiday season starts off, I love dusting off the entertaining skills and brainstorming new ways to celebrate with family, food and drinks! When I’m coming up with new recipe ideas, I always like to start with in-season ingredients. Around Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season, there is nothing tastier (and local to my area!) than using cranberries in recipes. I’ve found countless ways to add them into my entertaining mix in the past and continue to find new ideas for incorporating them into drinks, appetizers and décor.
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Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, because it’s all about two of my most loved things: family and food. The actual Thanksgiving dinner is such a treat, but to be honest, I love the leftovers the day after (who am I kidding, sometimes that evening!) even more. In fact, getting creative with Thanksgiving leftovers has become a bit of a sport for me – I love the challenge of creating something delicious and new with them. 
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Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I’m so excited for stuffing and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and family and football! Did you notice I didn’t say turkey? It’s funny how this giant bird is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner, but truthfully, it’s not my favorite part of the meal – I’ll take the side dishes over the bird any day! Roasting a turkey is quite the job, I’ve done it a few times before and it takes time and patience and lots of crossed fingers to ensure it comes out just right.
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A few weeks back I polled my instagram followers and asked what they wanted to see more of this holiday season, recipes or DIYs? The response was almost 50/50 and I have great news, today’s blog post is an easy holiday recipe and makes a simple DIY gift too: Chocolate Ginger Snap Dipped Marshmallows! 
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because of the food – of course! The past few years though the holiday that been inching up my favorites list has been friendsgiving. It seems like everyone has adopted this fun tradition, and I’m delighted that it’s become so popular. It’s another chance to indulge in tasty Thanksgiving side dishes (I love to use it as an excuse to test a new recipe that I might not normally try for actual Thanksgiving day). I also have noticed that friendsgiving tends to come with a bit more of a casual vibe than the traditional family gathering, where friends just kick back with cocktails and bites and catch up – which I am certainly on board for.
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I am continuing on my mission to create to tasty recipes that are toddler-approved, while still being enjoyable for the adults at the table too. Jane, like most kids (and adults), is a big fan of macaroni and cheese. I recently made my classic homemade macaroni and cheese recipe, and stirred in some leftover butternut squash pieces and a few dashes of cinnamon while the pasta and cheese were still piping hot. The butternut squash melted into the sauce and created a sweet, seasonal spin on my favorite pasta dish. It was such a hit that I made it again for a family party this weekend, and it was a hit with both the kids and the grown-ups at the party.
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If I scan a restaurant menu and see anything, I mean anything, that has a brown butter sauce poured over it then I stop right there and close the menu — I know what I’ll be ordering. What is brown butter? Essentially it’s just butter that is cooked over medium-high heat until browned and foamy, which brings out the sweet and savory flavors and tastes delicious drizzled over pasta and seafood and steak. I decided to take this tasty technique and give it an autumnal spin for an easy weeknight dinner: Brown Butter Pumpkin Ravioli.
Our favorite candy and sweets filled holiday is right around the corner and I’m getting prepared with some Halloween recipe ideas. My friends at Peapod challenged me to come up with a Halloween treat that was both gluten-free and nut-free, and still delicious for all to enjoy. I love challenges like this because I feel like I’m on one of those competitive cooking shows, and nothing gets my creative juices flowing like friendly-competition. We actually have quite a few relatives who are gluten-free for health reasons, so I happened to know that my classic marshmallow crispy treat recipe starts with all gluten-free ingredients: butter, marshmallows, and crispy rice cereal.
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