On Saturday, Morgan had a bunch of girls (and assorted adorable dogs and babies) over to celebrate the holidays with mimosas and macaroni (and cheese).
One of my favorite things about Morgan’s hostessing style: she adds little extra touches wherever possible, like candy-cane ribbon wineglass decorations…
…and Christmas ornaments hanging from coat hooks. These small details add a ton of impact for just pennies (or nothing, if you use extra ribbons and ornaments that you already have laying around).
My favorite dish: The Barefoot Contessa’s Macaroni & Cheese. I may even (can’t believe I’m saying this) prefer it to The Great Blue Box.
Above, the banana bread that I brought over (along with some Peppermint Bark Swirl). The middle sort of collapsed a bit as it cooled, resulting in those odd puzzle-piece-shaped slices in the center of the plate, but hey: all banana bread is good banana bread.
Above, the truffles contributed by one of Morgan’s friends. Love the crushed pistachios! (Go here for my Oreo Truffle recipe, and feel free to try out all those beautiful toppings pictured up there.)
These are sprinkle-covered Gummy Bears, and they are delicious. For a DIY variation, try this:
Stick a toothpick into the bottom of each Gummy Bear and dip it in melted chocolate (just melt some chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring frequently). Dip each chocolate-coated bear into sprinkles, set on wax paper, remove toothpick, and chill in the refrigerator until set.
Cooper needed to be physically restrained from hitting the sauce.
After brunch, I headed downtown to meet Mom and stumbled across a bunch of Santas dancing to Madonna in a subway station. Ah, SantaCon.
(Thank you to Andrea for all of the non-iPhone pictures!)
