Happy Thanksgiving Week! Its Monday but technically its Wednesday since its a 3 day work week! Bonus! This weekend I did some Thanksgiving prep by making cranberry sauce and getting some grocery shopping done. We also had a Friendsgiving feast on Saturday night. It was a non-traditional potluck style Thanksgiving with ham and beef tenderloin in place of turkey but with all the traditional sides and fixing!

Everyone brought their A game with favorite family recipes and cocktails including multiple varieties of sweet potato dishes, scalloped and classic potatoes, Brussels sprouts, squash gratin, mac & cheese, cranberry sauce and stuffing- it was quite a spread and everything was delicious! We had a big crew, 32 people to be exact! It was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season with great friends and food! For our friendsgiving feast I made sausage, apple and pecan stuffing and Cabernet Cranberry Kumquat Sauce. I used Pepperidge farm herb stuffing mix as a base and added maple breakfast sausage, crisp apples and crunchy pecans for a delicious salty-sweet mix. The Cabernet Cranberry-Kumquat Sauce is a great recipe to make a few days ahead and is a fun flavorful twist on your classic cranberry sauce. The tartness of the kumquats and the rich sweetness of the wine combine to make the perfect side that will please all your guests!

Cabernet Cranberry-Kumquat Sauce

• 2½ cups fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries (one 8-oz. bag)
• 1 cup dry red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup seeded sliced fresh kumquats

Directions:

1. Wash cranberries and pick through them, discarding any that are bruised or rotten.
2. Combine cranberries, wine, sugar and kumquats in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until cranberries burst and release juices, 15–20 minutes. Let cool.

DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Cabernet Cranberry-Kumquat Sauce from Bon Appetit, November 2013