Posts categorized as Holiday

Stuffed Pumpkin with Alpine Cheese and Bread

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This recipe popped up on my Instagram feed and I wanted to share it with you. The stuffed Pumpkin is delicious and will be perfect on your Thanksgiving table next week! The rich, nutty cheese flavor infuses with the sweet pumpkin. The cheese melts into the tender pumpkin and forms a creamy texture. I added a hint of hot pepper for a jolt. The result: a warm, tasty comfort food that will serve as an impressive appetizer for your family and friends. A stunning centerpiece on your Thanksgiving table, the […]

Gift Food and Drink

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  Gift giving is part of the holiday season – for better or for worse. My intentions are to give meaningful presents but then end up delaying because I haven’t thought of that perfect gift idea. Then I’m scrabbling. If this sounds familiar “the gift of food and drink” is a great last minute solution. Let’s get the juices flowing… fancy coffee, tea, seltzer, kombucha, wine, beer or liquor. I say fancy because I’d suggest buying higher-end. Purchase something the recipient would not often splurge on. For your friends and […]

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The Best Italian Christmas Cookies!

The Best Italian Christmas Cookies

I saw my sister Maria last week at my Goddaughters birthday party. I was ranting to her about how busy and stressed out I am with work. I mentioned I didn’t have an idea for my column this week and she said, “Oh, this is easy, bake Christmas cookies and share the recipe.”  Flailing my arms in the air, I respond, “But I don’t have time!!” Maria said, “Calm down. I have pictures of the Italian Christmas cookies from last year. You love them, lie and say you made them.” […]

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The Unforeseen Joy Of Impulsively Buying The 12 Ft. Home Depot Skeleton, 5 Days Before Halloween

Mckenzie Dowler gets a photo with Skelly after a surf sesh. It was late at night. I was in bed looking on craigslist in hopes of finding the elusive 12 foot Home Depot Skeleton on the black market. No luck. But then, like a magic rabbit popping out of a velvet hat, there he was, back in stock on homedepot.com. Clicking “purchase” gave me a sensational rush of power. I hit the freedom button. It’s not often that a big box store gives society a big communal gift. There is […]

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Frankenstein Avocado Toast

Frankenstein Avocado Toast

I just returned from a family vacation to Colorado with my sisters and two nieces. The landscape of the valleys and mountains, rock formations and waterfalls was stunning. Exploring a new city is awesome and this trip gave me an opportunity to spend quality time with my nieces. The girls are 10 and 12 years old. Kids are refreshing and have a wonderful perspective that adults need to be reminded of from time to time. They see and approach the world so differently! We ate a lot! At each meal […]

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The Irish Pumpkin

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The most iconic image for this time of year is the glowing jack o’lantern. But where did this tradition come from? Carving pumpkins came to America by way of Irish immigrants. Perhaps this is common knowledge for all the Irish folks here in Rockaway but it was news to me. My friend sent me an article from history.com that I found so interesting. It’s about the origins of pumpkin carving. And so, I also learned about the legend of “Stingy Jack.” The story goes: “The practice of making jack-o’-lanterns originated […]

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Deep Dive On Decorating

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I’ve always enjoyed decorating for the holidays. I believe it’s because of the fond memories I have as a child with my sisters and father, preparing the house for whichever celebration was up next. We’d help dad string Christmas lights, begging him to go higher and higher on the roof! Notably, strapping baby Jesus down with cables “so nobody would steal him” was a sought-after task. For Easter, we’d use Scotch tape to adhere the cardboard bunnies to the glass on the front bay window. My father also had the […]

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Homemade Coquito For The Holidays

Elizabeth Medina whipping up two batches

You’ve seen Anthony Medina’s byline in the paper. He’s one of The Wave’s beat reporters. But he’s also an expert Coquito-maker, and this is the second year his family has been selling their version of the holiday beverage. In Spanish, Coquito means little coconut. It’s a traditional Christmas and New Year’s drink that originated in Puerto Rico. It’s made with Puerto Rican rum, coconut milk, cream of coconut, and sweetened condensed milk. Other spices and flavoring can be added like ginger, anise, nutmeg, cinnamon, or egg yolk. A few weeks […]

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DIY Easter Egg Coloring

The bright color created from cabbage and turmeric

I normally host Easter Sunday for my family and friends, and right now, I’d be gearing up for the party – ordering the paper goods, getting all the soda, liquor and wine, buying the canned antipasto, olives, artichokes and roasted red peppers.  Today and Saturday I would’ve been on my feet, cooking nonstop in preparation for Sunday. It feels strange to not be doing it this year. To mitigate this feeling of “Easter is canceled”, I pulled out the bins of decorations from the basement and made the house look […]

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Italian Easter Bread Gone Horribly Wrong

Placing the eggs within the braid was a challenge

I was a little overzealous after my successful baking venture with homemade pretzels a few weeks back. This past weekend, I decided to bake something for the Easter season, to get into the spirit. It would cheer me up, since obviously, I had to cancel my annual Easter Sunday Party. I thought it would be fun to bake Italian Easter bread (Pane Di Pasqua). This bread is symbolic of the season.The eggs represent rebirth and renewal. The bread, the Body of Christ, and the sweetness is for celebrating after the […]

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