Italian-Style Pigs in a Blanket | Holiday Recipes: Make Ahead

Holy November! You guys, this month went out with a serious attitude. We had Winter Storm Brian come through Sunday night and around 5am Monday morning the power went out. During this power outage, there is a small chance my laptop got fried but it’s oddly the only thing in the house effected and it was on a surge protector. So chances are it just decided to die on me for no reason. So when the power finally came back on in the late morning, which also happens to be the time I found out about my dead computer, I had to dive into new laptop research…

What to Bring to Holiday Gatherings

Happy almost Thanksgiving! The laziness kicked in big time this week which is why this post is a few days late. Monday was productive but it all started to go downhill yesterday when I realized that the week was halfway over. I’m ready for overindulgence (again), Gilmore Girls marathons and the Broadway performances in the Macy’s parade tomorrow. Anyone else? On another note, do you ever notice that many of the people that host holidays are often the hardest to shop for? Unless your family goes potluck style with their holidays, it can be tricky to figure out what to bring to contribute or at least to thank the host…

LifestyleChristine RoskoNovember 21, 2018Lifestyle, Life, Holiday, Entertaining, Christmas, Thanksgiving

Chocolate Strawberry Pie Squares | Holiday Recipes: Desserts for Non-Bakers

Happy Sunday! It’s the week. The week where the holiday season officially kicks off with the first holiday...Thanksgiving! I celebrated Friendsgiving with my group of girlfriends from college this weekend and let’s just say I don’t want to eat for five days. Hopefully I’ll have deflated by the time Thursday comes around. We’re not doing any entertaining for Thanksgiving, our job is 100% Christmas. However, I can understand the need for quick and easy recipes this week. Lucky for you, we have our second Easy Dessert for Non-Bakers and coincidentally, it’s another that uses the amazing store-bought pie dough. These whip up pretty easy, although a little messy, and they’re super addictive. I wasn’t sure how this recipe would turn out while it was still an idea but man was it a hit…

FoodChristine RoskoNovember 18, 2018Food, Food Blogger, Foodie, Dessert, Chocolate, Strawberry, Holiday, Recipe, Entertaining, Christmas, Thanksgiving

Sausage & Farro Stuffed Acorn Squash | Farmers Market Series

It’s the weekend! While I’m working a sweat up in the kitchen preparing brunch and dinner for a whole day’s worth of Friendsgiving activities, I hope you’re taking it easy this morning catching up on some Food Network. I’m kind of sad because today is the last farmers market series recipe! I was really bummed that our local market ended earlier in the season. I haven’t had a chance to get to one of the closest farms so the journey sadly ends here. However, I will most definitely be bringing the series back in the late spring once the produce starts growing in…

FoodChristine RoskoNovember 17, 2018Food, Food Blogger, Foodie, Comfort Food, Fall Recipes, Fall Cooking, Fall, Farmers Market, Farm to Table, Recipe, Cooking

Herby Apple Stuffing | Holiday Recipes: Make Ahead

Happy Friday! Thanksgiving is less than one week away which means that Christmas is 5 weeks away. It’s the countdown of the year and I seem to get a little bit more excited every day. We already have one Christmas tree up and the kitchen is decorated all festive. I have my schedule pretty much in place for the rest of the year unless, of course, something comes up which isn’t uncommon. Many people who are entertaining for Thanksgiving have already been preparing for next week. Any groceries that can be bought are sitting on their own shelf in the pantry and freezer. Decorations are bought and ready for display…

Sweet Potato Soup | Farmers Market Series

Happy Monday! I hope your week is getting off to a productive start. It’s been awfully cold around these parts lately. Dinners have been all about soup in my house. Not only is soup easy to make and a one-pot-dish, it’s comforting and warming which is all you need on a cold night. The sun starts setting around 3:30 and is down completely by 5 which is crazy but I love it. I’m still adjusting to the early nights and trying not to go to bed by 8PM but I’m all for the arrival of winter. It’s the season of bundling up, fires in the fireplace, hot cocoa, Christmas music, and comfort food. You can add this recipe for Sweet Potato Soup to your collection of cozy cold weather soups too! It’s a good for you but still stick-to-your-ribs kind of soup…

Tips to Be a Gracious Host & Guest During the Holidays

The holidays are some of the busiest travel times of the year. It’s rare that families end up in the same area where everyone can go back to their own beds each night. With that said, it’s not uncommon for people to stay with friends or family members during the season. I have yet to host a guest that I didn’t want back but I have heard horror stories from other people. It inspired today’s post sharing tips to be a gracious guest AND host. Why host, you ask? I am sure most of us have experienced at least one home we’ve stayed in that was super uncomfortable. Not everyone is a great guest and not everyone is a great host. We could all use reminders on how to be better at both, especially during a time of year that’s more stressful than usual. Don’t worry, though. I’m not here to lecture on what not to do. I’m here mostly to encourage positive interactions and experiences so that everyone has a wonderful holiday…

LifestyleChristine RoskoNovember 6, 2018Lifestyle, Life, Holiday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Travel, Travel Tips, Entertaining

Classic Meatballs | Holiday Recipes: Make Ahead

There’s one question people who rock the holidays always get: How. Do. You. Do. It? For starters, a lot of very serious planning. Once the planning is out of the way, preparation beings. It’s crazy to believe that one person can prepare a meal for 10+ people in just a day. No. It takes days of work, and weeks of advance preparation a little bit at a time. Just yesterday, I was visiting with one of my best friends. While I was putting the final touches on the meal planning for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, she was making homemade turkey stock for Thanksgiving. Why? Because it’s one less thing to worry about when you’re in the final countdown. There are several make ahead recipes that will make it to my holiday parties this year, including these delicious Classic Meatballs…

Apple Hand Pies | Holiday Recipes: Desserts for Non-Bakers

As an Italian, the sweet table at holidays rivals that of our dinner table. I come from a family of bakers and not just average bakers, great bakers. Pie making, pastry wielding bakers. Bakers that make me feel incompetent with a whisk and mixer. In case you haven’t caught on, I’m not a baker. Sure...I can whip out a muffin or two, brownies and easy one-bowl creations. But I hate to measure and I certainly don’t have the patience for butter to soften. Have you noticed that any recipe I’ve shared that uses butter in baking, it’s always melted? Simply put, I don’t have the patience for baking. When I need to make desserts, I want them to be easy and brainless. That’s what inspired me to come up with a few recipes for other people like me this holiday season who are not born bakers and would rather whip up a pot of Coq au Vin than measure out perfectly portioned cupcakes. Starting with these scrumptious Apple Hand Pies that take a shortcut for the hard part…

FoodChristine RoskoNovember 4, 2018Food, Food Blogger, Foodie, Baking, Pie, Apples, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Holiday, Recipe, Dessert

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