Host a Spooktacular Halloween Dessert Party!

If you're considering throwing a Halloween Bash, I'd recommend skipping the hectic dinner feast and throwing a frightenedly festive dessert party instead!  Not only will you save yourself the expense of serving a whole dinner, but you'll save time as well. Make some memorable Halloween treats and everyone will be begging you to host again next year.

Tips For Planning Your Party:

Who: Invite Friends, Family and Neighbors
What: Offer scrumptious treats that go beyond the usual Trick or Treat candies. (See ideas below.) Go all out and decorate your table with spooky Halloween-themed accessories--skulls, cauldrons, witches, spiders, ghosts and goblins. 
When: After dinnertime, so guests can stop by for a sweet treat, or in the afternoon for some midday delights
Where: Your own home, in the dining room or other room that can easily accommodate a dessert buffet table
Why: It’s fun, easy and a great way to reconnect with family, friends and neighbor

Boo-tiful Dessert Ideas:

Our Halloween dessert table features devilishly delicious desserts from Sprinkles and Sweets, a Seattle family-owned business that specializes in cupcakes, cakes and specialty desserts. (Photos by Nazra Knutsen.)

Our Halloween Dessert Table 

For our tablescape, we add black and white for sophisticated chic and elegance and a little spookiness. Our Rococo Noir Pedestals, Black Dauphine Candlesticks and, Large White Pedestal make the perfect stands for the spider cake, cookies and candied apples. For a pop of color, we placed included orange candlesticks and an orange runner. 

When planning a dessert table, remember… sometimes less is more! Start out by choosing the backdrop and linens first.  Be careful not to linens and decorations something that are too busy or that will clash with the simple elegance of your desserts.  Once you have decided your color scheme, lay it out and don’t be afraid to add multiple linens and layers. 

Then select desserts that complement your cake stands and pedestals. For the medium Rococo Noir Pedestal, we selected the spooktacular white spider cake.  For the other two Rococo Noir Pedestals, we choose cookies decorated with orange and purple to add a splash of color.   

Spider Cake on Medium Rococo Noir Pedestal

I love how simple, yet effective this cake is!  To make a spider cake yourself, just choose your favorite cake recipe and cover it with white frosting. It could be a carrot cake or even a red velvet cake… just be sure to cover it completely with a smooth layer of white frosting before setting the spiders. 

To make the spiders, you can either buy small plastic spiders at your local craft or cake store or make them yourself using basic modeling chocolate. Eeeww!

Pumpkin Cookies on our Small Rococo Noir Pedestal

These Pumpkin Cookies sugar cookies are decorated with Royal icing in orange, purple, white and black accent for the leaves.

Spiral Halloween Cookies on our Large Rococo Noir Pedestal - (Recipe Below)

Tips: Make sure the dough is properly chilled before working with it. When the dough is just pliable (but still cold), roll up the dough (begin with the long side) like a jellyroll. As you begin to roll, gently curl the edge with your fingertips so you don’t get any air pockets as you roll dough into a log. As you roll, pinch tears together as they occur and keep rolling.And don’t be discouraged if the spirals aren’t perfect.

I hope this post gets you in the mood for Halloween and inspires your own Halloween Dessert Party!  Please post pictures of your Halloween Dessert Party on our Facebook page. 

Happy Halloween!

Warmly,

R O S A N N A I N C . C O M

Bedroom Shrines

One of the most soulful ways I know to make a room feel like a sanctuary for oneself is to create a shrine or altar. A shrine doesn’t need to be religious. Rather, it can be a little place you make that honors who or what you love, and gives you strength and inspiration.

The shrine I made in my own bedroom is a homage to my mother, whom I adored and is no longer alive. The little collection of objects and photographs I’ve assembled helps me feel connected to my mother everyday.

In making your own shrine, gather objects that speak to you. These could be mementos, trinkets, or objects you’ve collected in nature—rocks, shells, flowers, and seeds.

Gather objects that come from places from which you draw strength or are special to you. For me, that place is a town on the Oregon Coast, where my parents used to take our family on vacation when I was a little girl.

Whether or not your shrine includes religious iconography is up to you; the important thing is to create your shrine with objects that hold personal meaning that remind you of who you are and what you value every time you see them. 

Warmly,

R O S A N NA I N C . C O M

Savor the Flavors of Autumn!

Nothing says fall like pumpkin and squash. And since these items will be piling up at your grocery store, now is the perfect time to make delicious meals that feature these fall flavors!

One of my favorite squashes is acorn squash. Until the recent rise in popularity of butternut squash, acorn squash were the most commonly available squash in the U.S. They are a great all-around squash, with moist, sweet, tender flesh. They are good for roasting, baking, steaming, mashing, and sauteeing. Smaller ones are perfect for stuffing and make an excellent vegetarian main course for special occasions like Thanksgiving. Acorn squash is also nutrient-dense -- rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and antioxidant compounds.

My favorite way to eat acorn squash is roasted, just like my mother used to make.  The preparation is simple, but the flavors are complex and delicious. The squash's bare hint of sweetness and spice makes it a sophisticated but crowd-pleasing.

Here's my mother's roasted acorn squash recipe. Hope you like it!  

Warmly,

P.S. Please share your favorite squash recipe in the comments!

R O S A N N A I N C . C O M

Apple Dumplings

 

I adore baking in the fall and the smell of warm apples and cinnamon wafting through my house. There's no better way to savor the sweet side of fall than by making homey apple desserts. While I enjoy iconic apple pies and apple crisps, by far my favorite apple dessert is my mother's Apple Dumplings. These warm and comforting Apple Dumplings are great by themselves or served with ice cream.  

Here’s my mother's Apple Dumplings recipe. I hope you love them!

Click here to view these and other pieces in our American Orchard collection.

Enjoy!

Warmly,

R O S A N N A I N C . C O M

October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know 1 in 8 women get breast cancer at some point in their lives and that it's the second most common cancer after skin cancer for American women? 

To help in the fight against breast cancer, this month Rosanna, Inc. is contributing to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance a portion of sales from our Belle Boudoir collection and pink pedestals. 

Please consider shopping these collections and helping to make a difference in finding a cure. Thank you! 

R O S A N NA I N C . C O M

Decorating with maps

Decorating the home with maps is a trend that we can really get behind. Vintage maps are a constant source of inspiration here at Rosanna headquarters. In fact, we have incorporated maps into several of our collections - on both porcelain and gift boxes. 

Below you'll find our Paris tray as part of our Voyage collection, and NYC tray & USA tray as part of our Cartography collection. All pieces are food safe and can be used for serving, or simply for use as a decoration.

Paris Tray | NYC Tray & USA Tray

R O S A N N A I N C . C O M