Friendsgiving

Today was a great day:  My roommate's birthday AND the day of our Friendsgiving feast.

Eleven friends gathered together and each brought something for the feast.  Fall-scented candles burned while Christmas music played, and we all gathered and cooked together in the kitchen!

My dish, an appetizer: Gingersnap crostini topped with cream cheese and cranberry sauce.  Inspired by my coworker's November issue of Food Network Magazine.

Simple Cranberry Sauce
-1 cup water
-1 cup sugar
-4 cups fresh cranberries
Optional: Orange zest, cinnamon

First, bring the cup of water and the cup of sugar to a boil, then add in the cranberries.  They will start to burst right away, so watch out!  They'll getchya!

Reduce heat and gently boil for 10 minutes.

Beautiful jewels on the stove!  Bursting with antioxidants... literally.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Slice bread into appetizer-sized slices and toast in the oven, middle rack, at 350 degrees.  After 7 minutes, flip each slice of toast, and toast the other sides for another 7 minutes.  

Remove from oven and spread with cream cheese.  Top with cranberry sauce.

Not only beautiful to look at, but sooo good to eat!

Now, take a gander at some of the other goods...

Below, Sarah's cheesecake:  Pumpkin marbled cheesecake with gingersnap crust.  So gourmet... she did an awesome job.

Below, Chelsea's sweet potatoes with a brown sugar reduction sauce, pecans, and toasty warm marshmallows:

 

Apple cider with cinnamon sticks, heating on the stove:

The entire feast, complete with green bean casserole, freshly whipped mashed potatoes, creamy corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, fruit salad, and sweet potatoes:

It was a wonderful day being together with friends who felt like family.  We followed the feast with the movie Elf...

Above, Devin and his dog Murphy enjoying the movie and letting their food digest.