When my mother-in-law asked me to make a dessert for her Passover seder, I had my work cut out for me.

First off, as you likely know, you can’t use flour to make anything on Passover. In addition, I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth to begin with. Sure, there are some desserts I love—homemade strawberry shortcake, cheesecake, lemon meringue pie…but this is Passover, people.

With all sorts of friends and family visiting over the holiday season it's always good to plan ahead and have an easy crowd-pleaser to break out when company arrives. I love sangrias because they cater to almost any palette. No fumbling with cocktail mixers and martini shakers - just a little bit of prep work the day before and you're all set when company arrives.

Every cook has performance anxiety at some point in time. Whether you are cooking a special holiday meal, have a big crowd over, or cooking with expensive ingredients - we have all had visions of smoke pouring from the oven door or cutting into a raw turkey at one point or another.