It's the (second) most wonderful time of the year

This weekend marks the 20-something birthday of our favorite man-roommate, Rajiv! To celebrate our new friend, we threw him a Fall-themed party complete with tasty hors d'oeuvres, a little pumpkin carving, and of course, a living room dance session. Sanne baked his favorite: Black Forrest Cake. And Mandi baked some frozen Trader Joe's appetizers and mixed some apple cider cocktails. Yum!

cheesy fried rice balls, thanks Joe!

caramelized onion and feta cheese in puff pastry

Sometimes, I like to give myself a break and just serve frozen appetizers. They're cheap, fast and the work is done for you. During the holidays, I'll mix a few in with homemade appetizers (you can't let Joe take all the credit...) so that we can spend a little more time cleaning and getting ready and less time prepping in the kitchen.

pumpkin carving

We had intentions of all carving pumpkins together, but the cocktails and pumpkin beers were already being served, so we didn't think it wise to start passing our paring knives.

roasted pumpkin seeds: a must for October soirees

a happy party-goer

apple cider, rum, cinnamon, perfection.

dance party!

Black Forrest Cake done right. 

birthday boy

So ends another successful party, and a few new recipes added to our repertoire. Tomorrow we'll tell you some tricks to a really impressive Black Forrest Cake and... something else that we haven't decided on. Maybe an impromptu dinner?

Do you have any time-saving party tricks?