Holiday Party

For the past year or so I've belonged to a cooking board. It's a national board so many of the members are spread throughout the country. I've connected with tons of wonderful people and participated in fun gift exchanges, but the best part of the board is the get-togethers. A few of us live in the same area and have become very good friends off the boards, so we decided to do a holiday potluck yesterday afternoon. We each brought a dish so Brooke, the host, didn't have to do all the cooking. It was a leisurely lunch with lots of great conversations. I can't wait to do it again!

We started the lunch off with pizza pockets made by Colleen:


The little pockets of dough are stuffed with sausage, spinach and cream cheese. She served them with pizza sauce for dipping.


These were so good I'm pretty sure I had a few too many. I stopped counting after four. Absolutely delicious and the perfect start to the meal.


Jenn was in charge of the main course and she brought chicken marsala:


The chicken was incredibly moist and look at all those delicious mushrooms. So, so good! Lauren decided to stick with the marsala theme with a wonderfully creamy baked orzo:


... that was a great way to use orzo, which is one of my favorite pastas. I love that it could be made ahead like a casserole. Initially I was planning to make green bean casserole but the beans have been a little lackluster at the store, so I went with the zesty broccoli casserole instead:


This time I added the water chestnuts and used plenty of broccoli and it was delicious. I loved the crunch from the water chestnuts and onion and the broccoli still had a little bite to it. Here's my plate with some of everything:


A close-up of the delicious chicken marsala:


... the broccoli casserole:


... and the yummy baked orzo:


After we were stuffed silly Brooke served us some delicious hot apple toddies:


... before she brought out the dessert, a gorgeous pumpkin trifle:


Just look at those layers of cake, pudding and whipped cream:


It was nice and light, with great flavors:


I had a fantastic time hanging out, eating good food and laughing with everyone. I can't wait to do it again. I hope this becomes a regular thing. Thanks again for a fantastic time!