Easter Entertaining

When it comes hosting a holiday, planning the dinner can be the biggest challenge! In case you missed Ina Garten on Tuesday's Today Show I'll share what I think was her best advice: keep it simple! There is no reason to be a stressed out host or hostess. Cook simpler dishes so you will still be able to enjoy your guests!

This Easter is the first major holiday that my husband and I are hosting. As my head started spinning with all of the preparation, I decided to pause, breathe, and simplify. Traditionally, our holiday family gatherings center around dinner. However, with 13 guests in a condo, seating that many people seemed daunting. My solution? Easter brunch buffet. I mean really, isn't a meal on a Sunday at 1pm more brunch than dinner anyway? I thought to myself, if I'm going to pull this off I need to plan ahead! Hopefully my advance planning can help you with you menu too.

Appetizers:

-Champagne Bellini
- Bloody Marys (both with Stonewall Kitchen drink mixers)
- Old Farmhouse Chutney Cheeseball with french bread crostini toast
- Fresh Fruit
- Ask mom to bring an appetizer



Buffet:
- Maple Glazed Ham
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Oven Roasted Yams & Potatoes
- Baked Herb Eggs
- Glazed Green Beans

Dessert:
- Mini Carrot Cake Whoopie pies (to make them "mini" just use smaller spoonfuls of batter and keep an eye on them while baking for less time)
- Easter Cupcakes (see all of the Barefoot Contessa Baking Mixes here)
- Ask an Aunt to bring a dessert

Is anyone else out there starting to plan menus? Please share your ideas! Maybe you'll be a guest instead of a host this year. In that case don't forget to ask "what can I bring?" You can see more of our menu suggestions here!

What I haven't figured out yet is my decor. Luckily, I work here, and we have lots of great decorative spring items both online and in our stores!

Our Sweet 16

It's that time of year again, March Madness, where college basketball fans flock to fill out their brackets. Risk-takers choose a Cinderella team to go all the way so they'll be less likely to share the winnings. Me, I'd rather watch Cinderella the Disney movie with my favorite 5 year old than some of these games. However, with an Alma Mater like Syracuse, I can say that I've recently gotten more into the madness myself. This year, I even filled out my own bracket - with no help from my husband. (Please feel free to congratulate me on this accomplishment now)

As I was filling out my bracket I used techniques like I'd rather visit Florida than Utah (sorry BYU). However, when I got to the sweet 16 all I could think was: sweet? I like sweets ... yum, I'm hungry! So, in honor of March Madness starting today, I'd like to share with you Stonewall Kitchen's sweetest (as in most awesome and best selling) 16 products!

1) Wild Maine Blueberry Jam
2) Sea Salt Crackers
3) Red Pepper Jelly
4) Maple Chipotle Grill Sauce
5) 16oz Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix
6) Roasted Garlic Onion Jam
7) 32oz Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix
8) Hot Pepper Jelly
9) Mango Chutney
10) Rosemary Parmesan Crackers
11) Mini Wild Maine Blueberry Jam
12) Apple Cranberry Chutney
13) Old Farmhouse Chutney
14) Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce
15) Sesame Ginger Teriaki Sauce
16) Mango Lime Salsa

Luckily - you can work all of these tasty products into any college basketball party! Every sports gathering I know of begins with some Chillin' & Grillin' ... so grab #4, #14 & #15 and head out to your grill. Inside you can set out some trays of crackers, #2 & #10, and bowls of the following: #3, #6, #8, #9, #12, #13 for fun do-it-yourself Hors d'Oeuvres . These are so easy any sports fan can can do it: choose a cracker, add cheese (cream cheese or brie), add a topping & enjoy! Add a bowl of #16 and tortilla chips and you've got a party! I recommend you grab one of our pancake puff pans and save #1 (or #11) and #5 (or #7) and for the next morning! I hope you enjoy our sweet 16 with all of your March Madness basketball. Oh... and GO SYRACUSE!