This menu, loosely based off Italian-American cuisine, is foolproof — even for the beginner cook. The main course and dessert can be made the night before, and the cocktails and appetizers are straightforward and a cinch to pull together an hour before your guests arrive. Entertaining is all about enjoying yourself, too. Put the apron away, and take out the party dress. It's about time you joined your guests in the living room. Here's to a successful, easy-breezy dinner party!

Negroni

The bittersweet negroni cocktail, made from gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, is stirred and served straight up with an orange twist. It's a strong beverage, intended to be sipped slowly. You'll find negroni cocktails help cut the fat in rich appetizers like the sausage skewers and buttery garlic bread.

See the rest of the menu.

• Make breakfast fun with oatmeal chocolate chip breakfast bars — Big Girls Small Kitchen
• Watch Coca-Cola's first antiobesity commercial — Grub Street New York
• Embrace the Jewish deli trend with homemade rye salmon cakes — Tasting Table
• 10 hot dogs worth traveling for — Zagat
• This toaster makes the world's cutest toast — HuffPost Taste
• Watch a clip of The Taste, Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson's new show — Eater
• Are Subway customers victims of false advertising? — Delish

When you first step into the kitchen and prepare a dish you love for the first time, things can be a little overwhelming; often the last thing you want to do is translate what a technique actually means as you're knee deep in the kitchen. I get it: there are some French cooking methods and terms that scared me so much when I started cooking that I let go of the dream of creating a certain recipe and moved on to something that felt more accessible.

Truth is, fancy words aside, you'll be surprised how many of these techniques are actually fairly simple concepts once you get a little confidence in the kitchen. Like most things we're afraid of, it's never as bad when you tackle the problem head on and figure out what you need to succeed.

So don't sweat the technique right away; once you get into the swing of these, you'll feel like a kitchen queen. Get acquainted with these French terms and techniques, and they'll soon seem like no kitchen biggie.

Butternut squash soup doesn't have to be boring. Jessica Gavin makes hers full of hearty ingredients like mushrooms, Italian sausage, and rosemary for a Winter-worthy soup.

The Winter vegetables are in full bloom, and squash is in season which helps make this soup even more exquisite! This is the perfect Tuscan soup to try on those colder Winter nights.

For more — including the recipe — check out her post, and then be sure to share your food photos in the YumSugar Community or by starting your own blog. If you're on Instagram, then chime in on the conversation with the hashtag #savorysight.