Welcome To Dinner – Provided by My Blogger Friends!

Saturday night good friends Debbie and Dennis were coming for dinner.  What better way to plan a dinner than use recipes from blogger friends! 

My table and sideboard were decorated with fall colors.  Some of these decorations we’ve used through the years!

It was difficult to choose from the many and varied recipes that are offered each day in the blogging world.  But I narrowed my choices to three. 

Our pre-dinner drink was Cranberry Almond Fizz by Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide.  Cranberry juice, ginger ale and amaretto gave this drink a great flavor.  Whole cranberries frozen in ice cubes gave it a festive look!  Check out Rufus’ Food and Spirts Guide for this and many more great recipes!

With cashews, Debbie’s favorite, and roasted garlic and black bean tortilla chips these drinks were definitely a hit!

From the Bartolini Kitchens supplied the recipe for our appetizer!  John’s Gorgonzola and Honey Bruschette was amazing!  I had blue cheese instead of gorgonzola, which I used.  John said that was a perfectly good substitute!  The flavors of the blue cheese and honey – just out of this world!  Thank you John for a fabulous recipe!  Please check out From the Bartolini Kitchens – you’ll be glad you did!  And his blog will put a smile on your face!

Let’s just say the bruschette was a tremendous success!

Dennis made a Macaroni and Green Bean Salad from Twelve Months of Monastery Salads by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila Latourrette.  In addition to macaroni and green beans, there are halved cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and red onion with a vinaigrette dressing.  Yummy!

 Preparations for the Corn Chowder with Roasted Pumpkin began earlier in the day.  Linda at Savoring Every Bite posted this recipe last Tuesday as part of her Thanksgiving countdown.  Her directions are clear and easy to follow – and the result is magnificent.  This is now my very favorite soup, chowder, chili, stew recipe!

Roasting the pumpkin was super easy!  Instead of peeling, cut it into quarters or slices, drizzel with olive oil and roast!  After allowing to cool, the pumpkin easily slides off the skin!  I had a large pumpkin – enough leftover from the chowder to freeze for pies or other uses!

This is before using the immersion blender to thicken the chowder – and before adding cream!

All four of us loved this chowder dearly!  The pancetta, thyme – and corn from my sister’s garden that I had frozen – the roasted pumpkin, onion and green pepper.  Such a deep flavor palette!

By this point everyone was stuffed!  Such good food shared with such good friends!  My Apricot and Almond Cookies and Chocolate-Orange Biscotti was dessert – with a pot of Butter Rum Coffee.  Thanks to Greg and Katherine, John and Linda for such delightful recipes!  I hope you will try them, too!  As you can see by the picture below we enjoyed everything to the very end!  And the last piece of bruschette Ritchey polished off before we went to bed!