I'm throwing a smallish Holiday party in a couple of weeks and trying to plan a menu. I 've committed to feeding everyone but I haven't figured out what I will feed them yet. Should I do just appetizers? There's an endless amount of hot and cold tapas out there. Or should I try to pull off a full meal? It won't be a sit down-style meal since there will be between 12-20 people and I'm just not that talented yet!

I don't own crockpots or chafing dishes so keeping things warm for long periods of time is an issue (not that I couldn't borrow some from someone, but I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible). If I do a full meal, I'm thinking soup, salad and some sort of baked pasta. Easy, but is that too boring? On one hand, I'd like to do something fancier, but on the other, let's face it, I moved just over two weeks ago, (and already hosted a holiday dinner) so trying to pull off somethng fancy when there are still boxes to unpack and furniture to arrange is just asking for a stressful night. I'd like to do something that impresses guests but looks more complicated than it is. I need ideas. Give me some. Please?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey there & Happy Turkey Day (almost)! I'm wiped out. In the last two nights I've made, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, savoy cabbage gratin, pecan and dried cherry stuffing with sage, tomato and goat cheese tarts with basil AND cooked dinner AND unpacked a few boxes. I moved in just 12 days ago and I'm already hosting a holiday. haha. I'm obviously insane.

We're settling in to the house and enjoying it immensely! Everyday I come home from work I find something else that I'm happy to now have. It's my first time having a garage (no more wiping and scraping snow off my car), I have a stove with more than 1 large burner and all of them work, I have a walk-in closet to hang everything J and I own, and I've got beautiful views to look at from every window. Life is good and the new home is just one of many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving!

I promise to get posting again regularly very soon, but for now, I'll leave you with pictures of the cheesecake I made tonight!

All text and photographs (except where noted otherwise) © 2008, 2009 Food is to love / Andrea Quigley