gistfile1.aw

<?php
/* This part goes in your functions.php */

/** 
 *	Get Some Posts
 *
 *	Use get_posts to get an array of posts matching a set of criteria.
 *	The category_name is passed to the function. 
 *	get_posts uses the same parameters as WP_query. See the Codex for the full details..
 *	http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Tags/get_posts
 *
 *	@author		Nate Jacobs
 *	@link		https://gist.github.com/1263835
 */
function ngtj_get_some_posts( $category_name )
{
	// set the criteria 
	$args = array(
		'numberposts' => 10,
		'category_name' => $category_name
	);
	// return the object array of the posts.
	return get_posts( $args );
}
?>

<?php
/* This part goes where you would like the posts to display */

$posts_returned = ngtj_get_some_posts( 'CATEGORY_NAME' );

foreach ( $posts_returned as $post_returned )
{
      echo $post_returned->post_title.'<br>';
}
?>