The last time I hosted Easter at my house, I made these cute little bunnies out of napkins and put one at each place setting.   Especially if you have children in your home, you may want to try these this Easter.  They are simple to do and you get better after each one!  Thinner napkins work a little better, if you have a choice.  

Also, this is the time to start thinking of making Italian Easter Bread.  If you have never made this delicious bread, give it a go this year.  It is slightly sweet and a real treat. If you are looking for additional Easter recipes, you can try my Pesto Stuffed Eggs, which are so pretty at Easter.  You can also try these pretty Edible Easter Egg Nests, which I have made and placed on the table for dinner.   Enjoy!

I'm finally putting this recipe up on the blog.  This delicious breakfast casserole is something I've been making on Christmas morning for years and years.  I do it because my mother-in-law gave me the original recipe and I make it for my husband.  So it's become a tradition and I serve it every Christmas morning. We give a big neighborhood Christmas Eve open house every year, so when I am preparing dishes for that on the 24th, I go ahead and make this dish and stick it in the fridge. Then, on Christmas morning, I get up and pop it in the oven while we open gifts and it takes about an hour to heat up.  It's perfect timing! Serve it with a bowl of fresh fruit and you're all set. 

If you are trying to think of some different dishes to fix this Easter, here are a few that you might like.  Some are more ambitious than others to make, but worth the effort.  The Italian Easter Breads are very easy to make and delicious - they are a sweet bread.  The Pesto Eggs are super easy and the Edible Easter Egg Nests are something different that will get the attention of everyone at the table.  They make cute little place setting decorations.  The Italian Easter Pie is definitely a labor of love, if you want to try your hand at it.  Buona Pasqua!

Aren't these adorable?  They are the perfect little thing to put on your Easter table. And they are completely edible.  Kids and adults alike will love them.  I wanted to post this far enough in advance that you would have time to go out and get the proper ingredients to make them, if you wanted to.

I've made these beautiful delicious cranberries for the holidays for a couple of years now, ever since I saw them over on Heidi's blog. These pretty cranberries look like they might be just for decoration, but they're not - they are like eating candy.  I usually put them on my Christmas Eve buffet table.

They're so simple to make but you do need to start them the night before. 

I've been having so much fun with this little DIY project that I had to share it with all of you because I know you will love it, too.  These beautiful "snow" candles are pretty, easy and cheap to make.

I love sharing fun things I have found with you all and so I thought I would post a few things for Christmas that I'm either enjoying now or plan to make myself.  So here are a few fun links for Christmas:

These candy cane marshmallows from Martha Stewart would be a nice little DIY gift to give out:

When I first posted the recipe for Italian Easter Bread three years ago, I couldn't believe the response. Every year as Easter approaches, I still get many e-mails about this recipe, so I thought I would make it again in a little different way and this also gives me the chance to update the recipe a little.

This bread is a sweet, delicious bread and so kids love it.  When I've made it for my kids I've usually topped it with colored sprinkles and eggs dyed different colors.  This year, I made golden eggs and topped the breads with Swedish Pearl Sugar from Lars, which doesn't melt when you bake the bread and looks pretty. 

These just scream Christmas, don't they?  I wanted to show you this recipe to give you plenty of time to include this in your holiday entertaining.  I love cranberry desserts at the holidays - they are so pretty, with the cranberries looking like little jewels. These phyllo baskets are simply scrumptious and you can make the components of these ahead of time, making it a breeze to assemble right before you want them.

If you look for recipes for the traditional Italian Easter Pie, you will find many variations.  Some people call it a pie and some call it a cake.  Some have meat inside and some do not.  There are so many different ways to make it, but they are all savory.  This recipe is one that I have had for twenty-five years.  It comes from a very authentic source - Anna Teresa Callen, who is now in her eighties. She is a very well known cooking teacher and author who lives in New York City. She is from the Abruzzo region of Italy.  She says this pie is traditionally made with 33 layers of dough, one for each of the years that Christ lived.  But she makes this with twelve - for each of the apostles (and a whole lot easier!)

Well, the holidays are fast approaching - do you have your menus figured out yet? I have two boys coming home from college in the next week, both of whom have birthdays, and we give a big Christmas Eve party every year. It's a lot of food planning.  I've had cookbook reviews to do, I've been writing Christmas cards, baking a lot and buying and wrapping gifts.  But I did manage to finish this purple scarf I've been knitting for quite some time.  It's made out of Malabrigo (indigo 88) and it's super soft and very fun to wear.   Just had to show that in case we have any knitters out there.

When  you need a dessert for a lot of people, this is it.  This beautiful pie is baked in a rimmed sheet pan and serves at least 12 people.  It's perfect for the Fourth of July because cherries are in season right now.  If you have even more people to feed,you can even make two pies - one with cherries and one with blueberries for a real Fourth of July look.  

I made 225 biscotti yesterday for Christmas.   Yes, it took a long time, but it was so very worth it.   These Mosaic Biscotti are so beautiful and just look like Christmas to me.  They contain hazelnuts, chocolate, pistachios and cranberries (my addition).   These come from the Queen of Desserts,   Gina DePalma, the pastry chef at Babbo.   There is a reason Mario Batali hired Gina.    She's brilliant.    And if you aren't familiar with her, check out her book on desserts, Dolce Italiano.   This book is such a must have if you like baking.