Housewarming Treats!

I debated long and hard about what to make for my housewarming party this past Saturday. And by long and hard, I mean I thought about it for all of 10 min on Friday night. I didn't feel like over thinking it or agonizing over various dishes, so I opened my favorite no-brainer-I-know-most-everything-will-be-delicious cookbook: Giada's Family Dinners. Now I know there are a lot of Giada haters out there who think her recipes are boring and lack a lot of flavor. I for one, LOVE her cookbooks and think she is adorably sweet. The recipes and ingredients are simple and unpretentious, and are most often relatively easy to make. They are also easy to improvise on and add your own personal touches.

Here's the recipes I selected:

Rose Wine with Sage and Lemon Peel
I only got to try one sip, but I thought the sage flavor was perfect for fall and the lemon made the entire drink crisp and refreshing. Such an easy twist to liven up an otherwise dull bottle of rose wine. Next time I might leave the sage leaves and lemon peel in the pitcher instead of straining them out just for added visual interest.

Pizza Rustica
I'm always impatient with dough, so waiting for the dough to firm up in the refrigerator was the most difficult part of this recipe. Giada's recommends serving this dish at room temperature, but I think it would be better just outta the oven.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Always a winner. I love how the oatmeal make these a little more chewy and fluffy. The Heath bar adds just a hint of toffee flavor. Yum!

Though not a Giada recipe, I also baked a fresh loaf of the famous NY Times no-knead bread. Raven first introduced me to this recipe about a year ago, and I absolutely love it. The perfect rustic loaf of bread to accompany a cheese plate, soup, or pretty much anything.

All of these dishes (+ plus a cheese plate and veggie tray) easily fed 20+ hungry guests and were fairly inexpensive, which is definitely a good thing when you've just purchased a house. Though I chose to have a cooking marathon Friday night, -- making all of these dishes in an intense 4-5 hour time span -- a sane person could easily make these dishes a few days in advance so your kitchen doesn't wind up looking like a hurricane of flour blew threw hours before your party.