dessert's perfect mate

Food gets all the love when it comes to Thanksgiving, and rightfully so. But this year, whip up an after-dinner drink to share some of the spotlight.

I'll be serving pumpkin cappuccinos using my beloved Bialetti stovetop cappuccino maker. (Registry gift -- score!) It’s small, simple to use, and the frothing that goes on beneath the lid is like magic. (Quasi-scientific explanation: the steam builds pressure and froths the milk when forced through the top chamber.) It also brews espressos and lattes, so it's sure to please every variety of javaholic.

The festive flavor comes in with a couple teaspoons of pumpkin spice Italian syrup and a cinnamon-stick swizzle. Perfect right alongside a slice of pie and totally effective at jolting everyone out of those oppressive food comas.

t-giving brunch ideas

Reader Christopher says, "I am looking for ideas for a Thanksgiving Day brunch. It will be a casual family affair for about 40 people. I am not really good in the kitchen but would like to surprise my family with a nice buffet."

Fun! And slightly stressful, but nothing you can't handle with a little good planning. Here are some tips:

• Since food is the focus this holiday, put most of your focus on the showstoppers: turkey, stuffing and dessert. You can always purchase the other usual suspects (mashed potatoes, yams, cornbread) if you run low on time, money or the will to live from all this cooking.
• Ask guests to bring additional dishes. This ensures not only that you have enough food for everybody but also that people with dietary restrictions or particular Thanksgiving needs (cranberry sauce from a can, extra-marshmallowy yams) are taken care of.
• Buffets require good line management: Make food accessible from both sides of the table, with double serving utensils, so guests can divide and conquer. Also, group foods together logically so people don't hold up the line searching for something. And position your dishes at different heights so you can squeeze in as many dishes as possible.
• Put items that require cutting, spreading or other maneuvers at another table. Placing items like breads, cheeses and desserts on their own table keeps the buffet line from backing up.

For more tips on turkey and party prep, refer to our Thanksgiving party guide, check out our buffet blog entry and read the comments that other blog readers have (or will soon) put below this post.

Anybody else have any tips for Christopher?

Tricked Out Stove Top recipe

Hey, all you stuffing fans — this one's for you!

With so many exotic ingredients at our fingertips, we’ve all gotten a little more creative in the kitchen, but let’s face it, stuffing is one dish that doesn’t always benefit from our enthusiasm to experiment. I came to this revelation last year at a holiday party when I tasted a concoction of pancetta, shiitake, chestnuts and liver (ewww!). It made me pine for the simplicity of Stove Top, a favorite with my Midwestern mom back in the days when we actually stuffed stuffing inside the bird.

But here’s the thing: After making a box recently, I realized that I blocked out the weird aftertaste. So I started tweaking … and added just a few easy-to-find ingredients: celery for crunch, raisins to cover up the aftertaste, and bacon because, well, bacon rocks. It’s quick (the recipe takes 15 minutes), cheap and perfect for a potluck, or as a last-minute trick when you have a million other things going on. What’s your favorite way to spruce it up?

Read on for the stuffing recipe...

Brings a Whole New Meaning to "Gift Bags"

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To my nephew, it may have been the Best. Party. Ever. But to his parents? Yeah, well, not so much. This summer, said nephew, only 11 years old, was invited to a pool party: Splish splash. Fun, fun. The parents of the kid who were hosting had informed all of the other parents that they'd take the kids out to eat afterwards. Not a problem, right? P.S.: The restaurant was Hooters.

As you can imagine upon their finding out, my brother and sister-in-law were hotter than a bucket full of buffalo wings. I mean, if they'd at least been told about the choice of eatery, that would've given them the chance to raise the issue of maybe bringing the kids to a more family-friendly establishment. You know, one where the waitstaff wears a hygienically conscious length of pant? [Insert Oprah-esque supportive applause here.] I'd hate to see where this couple would host an 11-year-old girl's party. Chippendales? I mean, good Lord! Where would they even put their name tags?

So, gone, apparently, are the days of Chuck E. Cheese. Paper crown at Burger King? That's so 1975, people. I guess I'm an old fart, but since when did it become okay for preteen boys to celebrate their birthdays not with a menagerie of inflated plastic balloons, but with .... well, a menagerie of inflated plastic balloons bearing dippable food?

Holla if you hear me: Is Hooter's not, hands (and breasts) down, the worst choice of location for a kid's birthday party?

Ron Kelly writes for Parents magazine's Goody Blog, where this article originally appeared.

your fave T-giving foods?

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. Gulp. Time to figure out what you’re bringing to the annual potluck or what you plan to dive for first as soon as you’re unleashed onto this year’s table.

Cast your vote below, and then tell us more about your favorites in the comments section!

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in good favor

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Reader Mara asks, “What’s new with wedding favors? My fiancé and I have gone to great lengths to make our upcoming wedding unique, but favors end up seeming so cookie-cutter. How can we make sure our favors mean something to our guests?”

I feel your pain -- my fiancé and I are still deciding what to do for our own wedding. I’ve certainly collected my share of tchotchkes emblazoned with various dates. But think of the favors as an extension of your creativity and an opportunity to give your guests something that will make them think of you and your wedding day. So how can you make sure you don't give them something that'll end up at the back of a drawer? Here are some of our favorite ideas:

• Play up to everyone’s inner do-gooder by donating the money you would have spent on favors to your favorite charity. The charity you choose can also say something about you as a couple. If you’re animal lovers, for instance, give to the ASPCA. Let your guests know by leaving a note card at each place setting indicating the cause that you chose to give to in lieu of favors. A word to the wise: make sure to choose a charity that won’t bring contention among your guests. You probably don’t want your wedding to be a forum for political debate.

• Create a CD with a selection of songs that will play at your wedding. The music you choose will remind your guests of the great time they had. Then when they hear My Heart Will Go On, your guests can think of you and your sweetheart instead of Kate and Leo.

• Send everyone home with a late-night snack. Set up a candy buffet with scoops and baggies so they can take the "sweet" memories with them. You can also hire companies to come in and make mini donuts on the spot for your guests. Who won’t always remember hot donuts?

Your turn! Do you have any unique and interesting favor recommendations for Mara?

burning flame

You've tried the trick candles (blow them out, watch them reignite, pause for laughter...lather, rinse, repeat). You may have even topped your cakes with sparklers for 4th of July or New Year's Eve.

But get THIS: Color Flame Party Candles have a flame that matches the color of the candle! Purple candle, purple flame! Red candle, red flame! White candle, orange flame — uh, orange? Okay, the white one does its own thing, but the others are all color-coordinated. Enlightening.

Halloween recap

Let's talk Halloween 2007. What was your favorite costume? Skimpy Halloween getups: yay or nay? Any clever ideas you want to share?

Here's a tip from reader Laura: She has the same problem I do with coming up with good Halloween costume ideas in, like, November, and forgetting them by the next Halloween, so she sets up reminders in her Outlook calendar. Come early October, Laura-from-the-past pops up to remind her what she thought would be a good costume several months prior. Great idea, Laura!

I'm happy to report that Eviters love Halloween. More than 4 million of you were invited to Halloween parties through Evite this year. Cool! Hope you all had fun. If you haven't already, share your photos with other party guests using the Evite Photo Center.

And a big THANK YOU to everyone who responded to our call for Halloween photos, like Kim and Princess Alex (above). 

Read on to see more of our favorite photos...

slumber party sugar rush

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As someone who grew up in a junk food-free household, half the fun of getting to stay up late with my friends at slumber parties was the sugar rush that helped get us through those countless games of Truth or Dare and repeated Princess Bride viewings. Now that I'm older and after-midnight girl time has graduated to cocktails and discussions of John Cusack's career choices since Lloyd Dobler, my friends and I still get nostalgic for the late-night munchies of our youth.

Turns out, we all had different sleepover snacks depending on where we grew up. When I lived in Minneapolis, the treat of choice was Puppy Chow — the ooey, gooey mixture of melted chocolate and peanut butter coating Rice Chex and covered in powdered sugar. When we moved south to Little Rock, the custom was to nuke slices of Velveeta cheese and a can of diced Rotel salsa to create our own queso.

DIYers like my friend Gena from New Jersey long for the days of build-your-own pizzas. Rice Krispies Treats were the big thing in the West, according to Connie from Orange County and Celena from Seattle. And popcorn was all the rage in the South: Jodi from New Orleans liked hers covered in melted chocolate; Christine from Knoxville craved caramel corn; and in Birmingham, Amy preferred it air-popped and buttered.

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cream and sugar?

Cookie Puss, Fudgie the Whale — I got nuthin' but love for ya, baby. Choco Taco, we've had some good times, my little ice cream novelty. Make-your-own-sundae bar? Don't go changing.

But sometimes I want something a little more refined. A cool, cold dessert I can bust out for grown-ups that is full of icy-good flavor but skips the supersweet icing, smiley faces, drippy messes and all that other kid stuff.

I'm talking about what you serve when you want to drop a bomb, people. Make that a bombe, an ice cream bombe — layers of ice cream and/or sorbet in a funky dome shape. It looks tame at first, but cut into it and hear guests gasp at the cross-section of ice cream awesomeness that awaits.

Bombes are easy to make, despite their impressive appearance, and there's an endless amount of flavor and color combinations you can try. Not up for it? Then get in on the next big thing in ice cream and buy a gourmet ice cream cake, like the one pictured above from Café Glacé.

Café Glacé comes up with the clever combos so you don't have to: mint chocolate macaroon, lavender and plum, even sophisticated takes on kid favorites like PB&J and creamsicles. I tried the spiced pear (cinnamon ice cream, pear sorbet), which would dress up an autumn dinner party and make a great addition to the usual spread of Thanksgiving desserts.