Mezzetta recently asked me to use a few of their products to share a recipe associated with a favorite holiday memory, and immediately I thought about my family and some friends gathering around the island in my parents' kitchen for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. It's my favorite part of every holiday--especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For Thanksgiving we often make Cosmopolitans, which are delicious but a bit sweet, and from time to time we've been known to shake up a few rounds of Lemon Drop Martinis, which are practically a dessert on their own. When it comes to eating and drinking around the holidays, I'm a big fan of a dirty martini with vodka--it's fancy but straightforward, and its salty olive flavor goes so well with a nice antipasto platter, which is one of my mom's specialties. I've included both recipes for you below. Enjoy!

Really Dirty (Kind of Filthy) Martini

Ingredients:

• One part vodka
• One and a half parts juice from Mezzetta Martini Olives Marinated in Dry Vermouth (If you like your martinis less dirty, just do one part--or less--of olive juice.)
• Ice
• Two or three olives, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Place vodka and olive juice in a shaker with ice. Shake well until the shaker is really cold.
2. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a toothpick loaded with olives.
3. Enjoy with snacks and some people you really like.

Antipasto Platter

Any or All of the Following Ingredients:

• Pepperoncini/Banana Peppers
• Olives
• Pickles
• Marinated Roasted Red, Yellow, or Orange Peppers
• Salami, Pepperoni, and/or Mortadella
• Any assortment of cheese--Parmesan, Gouda, Brie, Manchego, etc.
• Crackers and/or Bread

Thanks to Mezzetta for sponsoring this post. Get a coupon for $.50 off and enter to win a Mezzetta Holiday Favorites Gift Basket right here! Thank you so much for your support as I work with advertisers this holiday season.

Photos by Sarah Gatrell of Photo + Love.

I was in high school when I got my first taste of Amy Tan's writing, and it came in the form of her short story "Fish Cheeks." With just eight short paragraphs she brought tears to my eyes, and I still read it at least once or twice every year around the holidays (often out loud, to anyone who will listen).

The two of us have obviously come from different backgrounds, but there was something in Tan's story that I identified with deeply when I first read it--it was the image of her mother in the kitchen, surrounded by piles of food, outdoing herself once again. So much of who I am is based around food, as well as the fact that for so long, my mom was the one cooking it.

Her father, my grandfather Albino, was a terrific cook, and my dad tells the story of going over to their house in California and being totally unprepared for the number of dishes presented to him at dinner. My mom takes after Albino in that way, genuinely asking "Is this enough for three people?" as she gestures to five bottles of wine or a humorously large flank steak. Our friends know not to eat before coming over for a visit.

My brother and I are each decent cooks, both self-taught and passionate, but Sean takes after our grandfather the most. Maybe it's their shared name--with a middle name like Albino, Sean was always going to be an adventurous soul. Either way, the two of us have always been close friends, and so many of my favorite family memories revolve around food.

As Thanksgiving draws near, I can't help but think of the traditions that Rob and I will continue one day when we have our own children, or the new ones that will happen without us even realizing it over the years--like the Thanksgiving 5K race downtown that morning, marinated cheese, or bright red Cosmopolitans with the neighbors before an enormous dinner.

“I fell in love with the minister’s son the winter I turned fourteen. He was not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the manger. For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose.

When I found out that my parents had invited the minister’s family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried...What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food?

On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu...

...It wasn’t until many years later—long after I had gotten over my crush on Robert—that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the true purpose behind our particular menu. For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen all my favorite foods.”

— Amy Tan, "Fish Cheeks"

This post is brought to you in partnership with The Family Dinner Project, whose mission is to inspire families to enjoy food, fun, and conversation together.

The Family Dinner Project is honoring Giving Tuesday (December 2) and the holiday season by inspiring dinner-oriented acts of giving: to participate, simply snap a dinner/giving-related photo and share it via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #familydinnerforward between December 2-16. You can share as many photos as you like, and all photos with the tag will be entered to win prizes from Lenox. Learn more here.

Photos by Sarah Gatrell of Photo + Love.

As I'm sure you would expect from a Paleo eater, I'm a pretty big fan of sweet potatoes; but the truth is that I don't eat them at home very often--other than baking chips in the oven, I don't really do too much with them. But over the weekend, I made some sweet potato hash browns as part of an at-home brunch and they were delicious and easy, so I'm sharing the recipe with you here today!

Ingredients:

• One to two sweet potatoes, chopped or diced EDIT: I originally made these really thin (as you can see from the photos, but now I prefer them diced--see here.)
• Two tablespoons of ghee
• One to two cloves of garlic, crushed
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. In your largest pan, melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add sweet potatoes and mix around so all sides of them get covered with ghee. Spread out into an even layer and let cook for a few minutes.
3. Stir the sweet potatoes and spread back into an even layer. Let cook for a few more minutes.
4. Repeat step 3 until all sides are crunch and golden-brown. Be patient (it took mine almost fifteen minutes), but keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
5. Serve with fried eggs, or whatever else you might want for breakfast!