State Tokens + China Markers

Did you know our State Tokens can be used as place cards for your dining table? All you need is a China marker (also called a grease pencil) to customize any piece for a fun and unique table setting idea that doubles as a gift for your guests to take home. Furthermore, our State Tokens are now on sale. (All except for the small USA token and large USA tray). Each piece is only $10!

Similarly, our large USA platter makes the perfect cheese board when you can identify your cheese selections in the same way. The China marker will wash off easily with a little soap and water.

Grab them while they last--great as place cards for your Thanksgiving table, as a stocking stuffer, or as a holiday hostess gift!

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

Mix 'n Match Tablesettings

Mixing and matching plates and patterns is a fun way to change up the dinner table and surprise your guests with an imaginative tabletop. Here we've combined our Rue du Bac dinner plates, Arabesque salad plates, Luxe Moderne appetizer plates, and Portico tidbit dishes along with our pearlized champagne Napoleon flatware. 

You can stick with a color story like we did above with blue-greens, greys and gold, or go with a theme like tropical or floral. Mixing in solid colored pieces and a few neutrals really helps to balance things out as well.

If you like this idea, be sure to take a photo and send it our way! Find more tabletop inspiration on our Pinterest page.

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Tabletop Props: Summer nights with friends, Mojitos, and card games

 

Here in Seattle the summer has been remarkably pleasant. The sunsets are inspiring in shades of sherbet and the evenings are perfectly warm. One of our favorite ways to spend an evening is with good company, mojitos, and a deck of cards. Rosanna Mojito glasses, fancy bar tools, the chicest paper napkins, and the freshest ingredients from the local market ensure a fantastic mojito. A great vintage coaster set and a crisp deck of cards tops it all off and a lively, entertaining evening is sure to take place! Cheers!

Mojito by Rosanna

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Throw a Child's Springtime Birthday Party

This month we're partnering with Pizzazzerie, a wonderful entertaining website and blog focused on various party ideas, DIY holiday and party decor projects, recipes, and wedding advice. Head over to read more tips about children's parties and some amazing ideas for throwing your own soiree for your favorite little ones! Check out the article here.

My older daughter Alessandra’s birthday is in May, and my younger daughter, Francesca, has a birthday that falls right after Christmas. Because the holidays are such a hectic time, I always throw Francesca’s birthday party in March. Although it’s still officially winter, I try to put a spring twist to the theme to transform the environment into a fun, colorful, light celebration that contrasts with the lavish decorations and extravagant mood of the winter holidays.

A few years ago for Francesca’s twelfth birthday, I re-created a party from my own childhood. I chose color combinations that were popular in the 60’s, and we made posters and decorations reflective of the era. Vases of hot pink gerbera daisies filled the house, trays piled high with homemade cupcakes graced the table, and in the background played the music from Across the Universe. Her guests even played vintage Barbie, a board game from my childhood. I also invited the mothers of Francesca’s friends over for a pre-party glass of Champagne. I served homemade stove-top popcorn along with pizza and a variety of organic “junk food.” We watched Francesca and her friends on what was probably the last year of their official “girlhood” and sang Francesca “Happy Birthday.” Then the girls headed downstairs with sleeping bags in tow, ready to enjoy their first independent sleepover.

Rosanna’s Tips on Planning a Child’s Party

Over the past twenty years that I’ve thrown birthday parties for my daughters, I’ve learned some important lessons for how to make a birthday party successful.

1. Pick a theme. We chose the 1960’s because we love the colors and design elements of the era. It’s often easier to come up with fun foods, decorating ideas, and party activities when you have a framework in which to brainstorm.
2. Design a fun invitation on the computer or craft handmade invitations that define the party. Let people know that this is an event to look forward to!
3. Play a variety of age appropriate games; the most popular at my daughter’s twelfth birthday party was the vintage Barbie game, and we also rented movies like Big, Mamma Mia!, The Parent Trap, and Grease.
4. Provide food that’s easy to deal with and at least somewhat healthy. To accomplish these goals, I ordered pizza from a restaurant that uses fresh, local ingredients, and I made my own cupcakes from a good boxed mix that had no preservatives or additives. I made big bowls of homemade popcorn and served fun snacks like Smart Puffs and Hava Corn Chips form San Francisco (another throwback from the theme era), and for an indulgent treat, I set out bowls of colorful M&Ms.
5. Set up a space that takes into account the interests of your child and his or her friends. For the sleepover in our basement, I piled up lots of blankets and set out big puffy floor pillows and beanbag chairs for easy movie viewing and late-night chats.

Sleepover Chocolate Chip Pancakes

These pancakes are the perfect breakfast for a pre-teen sleepover party. They are homemade and deliciously decadent served with pure Vermont maple syrup. After a long night of chatting and girl talk, this breakfast is the perfect food to accompany the last bit of silliness and joking before everyone heads home. To offset the rich, high-carbohydrate breakfast, I serve tall glasses of ice-cold organic 2 percent milk (then leave the girls to enjoy the meal on their own). Use several skillets so guests are not left waiting for their breakfasts.

MAKES 8 (6-INCH) (15 CM) PANCAKES

1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour

¼ cup (49 g) sugar

1 teaspoon (6 g) fine sea salt

1 teaspoon (6 g) baking powder

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter, melted

Canola oil

1 (10-ounce) (284 g) bag semisweet chocolate chips (you want to add about 7 or 8 chips per pancake)

Real Vermont maple syrup, for serving

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold to just combine.

Brush a large, heavy skillet (or several skillets) with oil, then place over medium-high heat. Using a ¼-cup (12 ml) measuring cup, scoop the batter into the skillet to form 6-inch (15 cm) pancakes. Cook until small bubbles appear on the top of the pancake, then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Flip the pancake to cook the other side until lightly browned or golden, about 4 minutes per side, or until the top is bubbling and the bottom has solidified. Serve hot, with syrup.

Have fun!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com

Thanksgiving Entertaining: Making A Healthy & Cherished Tradition

In the second of our Holiday Entertaining Series Collaborative posts between Rosanna’s Table & Family Eats, we look at the Tradition of Thanksgiving. Be sure to gather Thanksgiving ideas from Family Eats article, Planning for Success: Making the Thanksgiving Meal A Happy Tradition.

Every agrarian (or formerly agrarian) culture has some version of the celebration of the harvest, an important seasonal marker throughout the world.  American Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the beginnings of the nation, but it’s also a time to be thankful for the bounty nature brings forth for our sustenance and enjoyment, to pay homage to the gradual passage from fall to winter.  It is also, perhaps most importantly, a time to share, to open our hearts, to be generous as well as thankful for the generosity of others.

For most Americans, Thanksgiving dinner is a tradition that lingers easily in the mind throughout the rest of the year.  Below are a few tips to help you make you meal memorable and delicious.

Treat The Turkey

Choose an organic local bird, preferably free-range.  The flavor will be more interesting than the usual frozen grocery-store varieties.  Make a paste of fresh herbs, olive oil, and garlic and rub it under the turkey’s skin the day before Thanksgiving, allowing it to marinate overnight in the refrigerator; this will make the meat succulent and juicy.

Select Your Sides

Take your cue from the delicious variety of fall vegetables available in your local market and roast them in the oven as the turkey cooks; with extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, and fresh rosemary and sage. 

No Thanksgiving meal is complete without the old favorite of mashed potatoes and homemade gravy.  But consider adding in something new.  Cook local squash instead of sweet potatoes, if you’d like a change of pace.  (See my recipe below).  Or add a dish to your Thanksgiving table that is distinctly yours; it could even be a food from another culture. Family Eats has some wonderful recipes for other side dishes that you’ll want to check out.

Keep It Fresh  

At Thanksgiving especially, I strive to make sure everything on the table is homemade and make a point of using only natural ingredients. No margarine, no cranberry sauce in a can, and no instant gravy. This meal is as much about the time, effort, and love it takes to prepare as it is about the actual eating of it.

Growing up, I remember my grandmother made every single Thanksgiving dish from scratch. If you don’t know where to start with from-scratch cooking, you don’t have to look much farther than two generations back. Refer to old family recipes from your grandparents’ generation, before ready-made, instant food became widely available. During that era, there was nothing but homemade.

A Thanksgiving made with fresh ingredients from nature instead of from a can make for a meal that has something special. The extra effort and mindful attention to detail set this dinner apart from the everyday meals. The long hours in the kitchen are something to take pride in and to cherish. Cooking, after all, is one of the most basic and intuitive expressions of love.

Invite Your Guests

Bringing together family is an important part of Thanksgiving.  Being around loved-ones is heart-warming and comforting.  Consider inviting someone to share your Thanksgiving who is alone and far from family.  Sharing the bounty of the season is the spirit in which the first Thanksgiving originated.

Set The Table

Decorate the table with something that comes from nature.  I like to use grapes and vines from our grape arbor.  The gorgeous green leaves that have changed colors are beautiful accents for a fall table.  I like to personalize the table with homemade place cards fashioned from heavy paper.  It not only adds warmth and texture to the table arrangement, but also make each guest feel important.  If you have a set of dishes you use as part of your family traditions, make sure to include them.  If you haven’t started a tradition, now is the time.  A few years back I created the Floriography Collection as a set I wanted to adorn my own Thanksgiving table, and it has become part of our family tradition.   

Finally, don’t forget to enjoy the holiday.  It’s very easy to get sidetracked and focused on what needs to be finished than the people you get to spend time with.  Let some of your focus be on connecting with others.  After all, these are the moments you will want to remember.

Rosanna’s Thanksgiving Squash

One of my favorite dishes from childhood was my mother’s roasted acorn squash.  The preparation was simple, but the flavors were complex and delicious.  The squash’s bare hint of sweetness and spice makes it a sophisticated but crowd-pleasing substitute for the traditional yams.

Ingredients

4 acorn squashes, halved, seeds removed

8 teaspoons unsalted butter

8 tablespoons brown sugar

Ground cinnamon

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

Arrange the squash halves cut side up on baking sheets.  In each squash half place 1 teaspoon of the butter, 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar, and a dash of cinnamon.  Bake for about 1 hour, until the flesh of the squash is soft when pierced with a fork and the sides look slightly caved in.  Let the squash rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Note: Recipe from my book Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions.

www.rosannainc.com

The Show Must Go On

As entertaining as it is to entertain, throwing big dinner parties can get rather expensive. We all know that keeping connection in your life is important. How to have people over but stay within your budget? Here's one possible solution: 

Last week I attended a birthday party that allowed the hosts to entertain on a low budget. The party was both low stress and highly creative.

First of all, the party was a potluck. Spreading out the cooking responsibilities among guests kept costs low and cleanup at a minimum. But the best part of the party was the main event—a reading of the 1940’s play Light Up The Sky by Moss Hart. The hosts assigned each guest a part ahead of time and sent a script.

This kind of party is a trade off. It is less expensive, but it does require more planning. But the planning is worth it. A play reading makes for a creative, unusual, and refreshing gathering. After a glass of wine, shy performers lose some timidity and those of us with frustrated inner actors (yes, that would be me) get the chance to flex our thespian muscles.

If you’re interested in throwing a dinner-theater dinner party, here are a few tips:

-Choose a play available online. That way you can email your guests the script and not worry about making photocopies

-Get your invitations out well in advance, so your actors have time to read their lines through and get comfortable with the play

-Pick a show with a clear era or theme. Encourage everyone to dress the part

-Make the event a potluck or a dessert party to take the cooking pressure off

-Pick a play with a large ensemble so that as many people as possible can participate. If there are too many parts, double up!

www.rosannainc.com

Pie Time

by rosanna's eldest daughter, alessandra wollner

Dilemma: What do you do when you have two frozen pie shells and you are moving out of your apartment in two days time?

Solution: You make pie.

Dilemma #2: There are two of you, and lots of pie, which contains vast quantities of butter that you do not want going straight to your thighs, but which you will eat in its entirety, if left to your own devices.

Solution #2: Go out for drinks, meet up with friends, invite friends over after last call for homemade pie.

Problem(s) solved.

Around the same time my mom wrote about throwing a spontaneous cupcake party, I found myself in my friend’s soon-to-be-vacated apartment with two frozen pie shells on my hands and a directive to do something with them. Having filled one shell with a peach/blueberry medley topped with a crumble crust (so so easy—just toss the fruit with some lemon juice, sugar, flour and cinnamon for the filling and mix together some oats, flour, butter and brown sugar for the crumble) and the other with simple custard and chopped strawberries (you can even use an instant pudding Jello mix for this if you want and dress up the pudding with other chopped fruit inside, like banana) we were on our way to pie city. TMP, (Too Much Pie) turned out to be the perfect excuse to have some friends over to chill. It was totally low-key, almost insultingly easy and utterly satisfying, socially and gastronomically.

Let them eat cake? NoNoNo—It’s all about the pie.