Cherries. We love them in everything from sauces to desserts to ice cream to salads to quick breads and the bold red color of most varieties certainly fits with this Valentine month. But how did the apocryphal tale about George (also well-considered this month as we celebrate President’s Day) get started? Well it turns out […]
Author Archives: Jean Thorpe
Winter Entertaining at Home #4 – BYO Craft Cocktail Party
Craft Cocktails are all the rage but why go out to a noisy bar, spend big bucks and barely hear the conversation? Our suggestion? Host a BYO Craft Cocktail Party at home! You provide the snacks, apps and sweets and each person, or couple, invited brings all the fixins’ for 1 craft cocktail. Why do […]
Winter Entertaining at Home #3 – Host a “Celebrity” Night
You haven’t played Celebrity yet? I think it’s the easiest and funniest game night to host since there’s almost no prep – just chairs for everyone, slips of blank paper and plenty of pens to go around. The game rules: Each player/team gets 3-5 sheets of blank paper and writes the name of one “celebrity” […]
Winter Entertaining at Home #2 – Nostalgic Game Day
Who doesn’t love Dominoes, Monopoly, 1980s Trivial Pursuit, or the Game of Life? Nostalgic games are perfect for any group of friends or family including older kids. The beauty of this type of get-together is that everyone already knows each other as well as the rules of the games to be played. A Nostalgic Game […]
Winter Entertaining at Home #1 – Host a Cooking Lesson, Then Eat!
I got an Instant Pot a few years ago. You know, that fabulous “new” twist on an old invention, an electric pressure cooker – and I love it! But why am I telling you about my new favorite appliance? Because a few friends purchased one recently but weren’t quite sure how to use it. I […]
Which Festival of Light Is Celebrated the World Over?
It’s New Year’s Eve of course – with 24 hours of celebrations around the globe! Back in the day of the Concorde – a supersonic jet built by Great Britain and France in the 70s, you could celebrate New Year’s Eve in London listening to Big Ben chime, then fly to the Big Apple in […]
Kwanzaa: Celebrating African Heritage in America
The third December Festival of Light is Kwanzaa, a week long holiday, celebrated each year from December 26 to January 1st. Kwanzaa was established in the United States in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies, as a non-religious, non-political African-American holiday celebrating the family, community and culture in America but has […]
Christmas Traditions: December 24 to January 7 and in Between!
The second Festival of Light this month is Christmas on December 25, however, in Orthodox Christianity it’s celebrated on January 7, observing Christ’s birth according to the Julian calendar. But, did you know that in many cultures, Christmas Eve is a celebratory holiday as well, complete with unique foods and traditions? For Christians around the […]
Hanukkah: the Menorah, Sufganiyot and a Potato Pancake
The first of the December Festivals of Light to be celebrated this year is Hanukkah, which begins on December 22. I was familiar with the story of Judah Maccabee and the menorah that burned for 8 nights but not why two traditional foods: sufganiyot and latkes, are eaten during this festival. Hanukkah, known as the […]
Celebrating the Season of Festivals of Light
During the month of December, we’ll be featuring posts about four Festivals of Light: Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza and New Year’s Eve, celebrated in the United States and around the world this month. Each week we’ll focus on one holiday and talk about the origins, celebrations and, of course, the food! This year, Hanukkah begins on […]