Have you ever noticed how fresh shrimp is always the first thing to disappear at a party, or enjoy how wonderful a simple shrimp cocktail is to start off a fancy dinner?  Everyone's eyes light up when they see it!  I like to kick off our holiday parties with Jumbo Shrimp with Tequila Lime Cocktail Sauce, and apparently everyone agrees with me!  

If you love fresh shrimp, you are going to LOVE it with a classic seaside cocktail sauce that is perked up with a splash of tangy tequila and fresh lime juice.  Customize the horseradish and hot sauce to your heat level, and switch up the flavors by using sriracha instead of traditional Tabasco.  A refreshing twist on an old favorite that is perfect with fresh or fried shrimp, crab cakes or other seafood, and the perfect twist in Bloody Mary's!  Tequila Lime Cocktail Sauce is also fabulous poured over cream cheese for a delicious dip or spread.

One of the best times of the holiday season is getting everything done and finally having a moment to sit and enjoy some quiet time with family and friends.  The gifts are purchased and wrapped, my holiday baking is completed and waiting to share, there's holiday music playing and little ones singing...the only thing left to do is relax with a Winter Holiday Charcuterie Board in front of the fireplace with a glass of my favorite wine.  Heaven!

For the most festive times of the year, when family and friends spend time at our home, one of my favorite things to pull together is a Winter Holiday Charcuterie Board - easily customized with cheese, meats, fruits, nuts and crackers already on hand, and each one is a little bit different.  There's nothing better than easy holiday entertaining - and everyone goes NUTS for this!

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to bake Christmas sweets and treats with my little ones.  They each have their "favorites" that they have loved making since they were just tiny ones, sitting on the countertop to help - such precious memories!

My daughter Melissa has been helping with meringue cookies, which she calls "Angel Cookies" since she was little, at first helping to scoop out the meringue with two spoons, and now piping them beautifully - and left-handed to boot!  Each year she creates new flavors and tries new techniques - and these Candy Cane Angel Meringues are our new favorite!

For the most festive times of the year, when family and friends spend time at our home, one of my favorite things to prepare is a festive and healthy Caprese Appetizer Wreath.  Red and juicy grape tomatoes, creamy fresh mozzarella balls, fresh basil and served with a beautiful and perfect balsamic reduction, this is the perfect start for holiday get-togethers!

I always try to balance out our holiday sweets and treats with a selection of fresh vegetables, and have you ever seen anything more beautiful?  One bite and you won't be able to stop!  This Caprese Appetizer Wreath is a show-stopper!

If you love chewy sugar cookies, you are going to ADORE these buttery Sugar Cookies with White Chocolate & Pistachios!  These are chewy and thick bakery-style sugar cookies that you will fall in love with, bite after bite!  Drizzle with white chocolate, and sprinkle with a few chopped pistachios and dried cherries and these are sublime!

Sugar cookies are the perfect Christmas cookie, and we make more than a few varieties each year - bakery style, old-fashioned, chewy, decorated with buttercream or royal icing, and lots of sprinkles!  But these Chewy Sugar Cookies with White Chocolate, Pistachios & Cherries may be the most perfect of them all!  Start with a perfect soft and chewy cookie that is wonderful all by itself, but the ribbons of white chocolate and a pop of green and red color from the pistachios and dried cherries take these to a new level.  They disappeared faster than I could put them out!

Who doesn't love melt-in-your-mouth almond shortbread cookies, but even more so with a little bit of sugar plums thrown in for magic!  Sugar Plum & Almond Shortbread Cookies are perfect for holiday teas or Christmas cookie celebrations!  Tender, buttery shortbread with a touch of holiday sugar plum jam...sweet and simple with sweet plums and a touch of citrus makes these perfectly delightful - and loved by all of the sugar plum fairies in the world!

Throw in a Holiday Giveaway and you'll have visions of sugar plums dancing in your head!

Sometimes a cookie is almost too pretty to eat!  These Brown Sugar & Caramel English Toffee Cookies taste even more wonderful than they look!  Loaded with tiny bits of English Toffee, every bite melts in your mouth!  Good enough to each alone warm from the oven - but truly perfect with soft silky caramel drizzled on top and sprinkled with more English Toffee bits or toasted pecan pieces.  

The first time I put these out for a party, I kept thinking I must have forgotten to put them on the tray - they disappeared so fast that I had to keep re-filling the cookie plate!  Ooey, gooey and chewy - the perfect cookie for a special celebration!