For me -- and for many Southerners, I presume -- Easter is the first real mark of spring. We dress our houses and tables (and even ourselves) to impress, pulling out all the stops from the freshest flowers to the fanciest flatware. We join together to celebrate a time of joy, renewal, and life. And then we eat! Here's a look back at my own Easter weekend celebration, with a recipe for a classic Southern ham, warm and glossy with a mustard glaze.

Dinner parties are one of life’s great pleasures: the preparation and planning, the first pop of a cork, the mutual enjoyment of new dishes and old favorites, and the conversation around the table that can last into the wee hours. But what if every night is a dinner party and you have to keep it simple? More often than not, we have extra people around our table, usually aunts, uncles, or grandparents, but we’re happy to welcome friends, as long as they don’t mind eating with children. The meals are simple, served family style, often including recipes from my childhood, and the conversation stays clean. (Little pitchers have big ears and all that.)

Here is our last installment of this week's series on throwing a winter dinner party with a big, lavish board of polenta. It's the first in our new Gatherings from The Kitchn columns. We'd love to be a resource for you in gatherings large and small, from intimate dinner parties to fabulous fetes — and we have plenty more planned for this year. (Tell us if there's anything in particular you'd like to see! Any requests for gatherings inspiration?) 

Today, let me cap off my big polenta party story by sharing a few practical tips for doing this yourself, including 10 more topping ideas, and a few ways to make this dinner even simpler and more casual. 

It was 'polenta party' time at Faith's house last week, and she served it with a delicious dish of beef braised in red wine. My mouth is watering already. So, the big question we pondered was, what wine or rather what wines to serve alongside this robust, meaty, yet creamy dish. Here are some thoughts on how to choose wines to go with this meal, and some specific budget picks.

So things are looking good with you and your special someone. Hooray! Good enough that you've decided it's time to introduce each other to your respective parents. Double hooray! And you've decided that the perfect setting for these introductions would be a cozy home-cooked meal. Um... gulp. Let's talk about a menu that will make sure the whole evening goes smoothly, shall we?

This week I've been sharing one of the most fun dinner parties I've ever hosted — we invited six friends over and threw an Italian polenta party anchored by a four-foot-long board in the middle of the table! Today I want to share the whole party with you and show you how it all came together. 

From dramatic polenta pouring, to bottles of red wine, to my favorite tip for keeping polenta warm and creamy for hours before dinner, here's a peek inside this cozy supper. 

When I think about throwing a dinner party, especially a big one like this polenta supper I'm sharing with you this week, my thoughts immediately go to: What can I make ahead? Last week, I had an easy answer: a shredded, succulent mess of beef braised in red wine and tomatoes, falling apart in its juices. It's a terrific make-ahead dish, since like most braises, this beef gets better overnight, and takes all the stress of a main dish off your hands entirely. Sound good? It gets better. 

This week we're launching our Gatherings from The Kitchn series, with my Italian polenta supper the first of many dinner parties we'll share with you this year. What makes a great dinner party? Besides food, wine, and friends, what are the easiest ways to set a dinner party atmosphere? Here are my own top 5 habits for setting a dinner party atmosphere; these are all really simple things -- you may do them too without even thinking about them! -- but I'm curious to share, and for you to tell me if you do things differently! Here are my top 5 tips for creating a really good dinner party atmosphere...

While all of us here at The Kitchn love to chat about simple meals and the day-to-day realities of cooking, we also really love a good party. So this week we're launching a new monthly series, Gatherings from The Kitchn, showing you our own dinner parties, large and small. Gathering with friends can be as simple as a cozy dinner party for for four in a little apartment, or as ambitious as a backyard movie night. We'll show you our real-life parties, taking a week to walk through planning, recipes, tips, decorating tips, and the party itself. 

Our first party comes from my own kitchen, where last week I threw a dinner tailored for the end of winter, one with hearty, rustic polenta and lots of red wine. Simple, right? Well, we decided to add a dramatic centerpiece for this party -- a four-foot-long polenta board! Want to see more? 

The key to a really fantastic office potluck — one that you and your coworkers actually look forward to — is variety. And cupcakes. Get everyone to sign up for a dish they are truly excited to make and bring, and I guarantee you'll end up with an office table that groans under the weight of the bounty you are about to inhale.