Friendsgiving is taking over the Thanksgiving holiday this year! With that being said, I am here to equip you with some tips and tricks on how to make your Friendsgiving a memorable one. First things first, we must establish the type of meal youd like to provide for your dinner party. In todays blog post, I will be going over different types of Friendsgiving meal ideas that you and you friends can prepare for the event!
Typically, Friendsgiving is before the actual holiday, if you celebrate that. In the past, my friends and I have prepared a traditional dinner spread. What does that even mean? Since we dont actually have the time to cook a full-turkey, H-E-B or whatever grocery store is in your area sells rotisserie chickens. Its a cute (if cooked meat can be cute lol) alternative to a turkey and still delivers the same ~aesthetic~ as a turkey would. For sides, my friends prepared simple dishes like: French-style green beans, dinner rolls (Hawaiian rolls), mashed potatoes, and sweet potato casserole. Almost all of those dishes can be (figuratively) thrown in the oven and be forgotten about until the party begins. I will include some easy recipes below:
Now, if you are like me and are a little pressed for time then dont feel bad about ordering take-out or delivery for the occasion. With that being said, you and your friends can order a pizza if turkey isnt your thing. I believe one year, my friends and I ordered pizza but still enjoyed the holiday desserts (lol, priorities).
Thats right, I said desserts! I do not care what kind of main course my friends and I have planned, we are making a dessert. I have the biggest sweet tooth (There, I said it) so I, I personally take full-advantage of the desserts. The first year I participated in a Friendsgiving, I made us an amazing apple pie (again, will link the recipes below). This year, my mom and I stumbled upon an easy Pumpkin Pie recipe at World Market (of all places)! (https://www.worldmarket.com/product/world+market+sweet+potato+butter+set+of+2.do?sortby=ourPicksAscend&from=fn) I cant believe I am typing this out, but if youre not a pie person then brownies or cookies will suffice.
What better way to wash all of the food down than with some festive-themed dranksss?! It does not matter if the drinks are alcoholic or not, they still add a level of sophistication to the event. This year, I want to prepare Apple Cider Mimosas! I stumbled upon this super simple recipe online, and honestly I am so glad I did. If youre not a huge apple-lover, they have this great pumpkin beer option at my local grocery store (https://www.target.com/p/shiner-seasonal-12pk-12-fl-oz-bottles/-/A-47136771?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Grocery%2BShopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9028317&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gclid=CjwKCAiAws7uBRAkEiwAMlbZjuDEupgkpUP4kSIYzYHf-cO4v0oXNYsaO1YHyNMKdZqFrUPti7D_cBoCgoAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds).
Lets take a step back for a moment and chat about decor. I never set this high on my priority list, but did you even celebrate Friendsgiving if you didnt take a picture? I thought this was a little fun element to the dinner party to make things a little more special and/or festive! Its also a great excuse to take a picture of the food. So in order to make the spread aesthetically pleasing to the eye, I suggest putting out a table runner. You can find plenty of affordable options online, too! (https://www.target.com/p/macrame-table-runner-threshold-153/-/A-54003806?preselect=53927368#lnk=sametab). To make it more festive, you can purchase little pumpkins to scatter around the table as well! In addition, you can utilize the food and beverages as decor as well, like a potluck/buffet-style display. Greenery touches scattered throughout work as a great option for filling-up empty spaces and really bring the decor all together in the space. (https://www.target.com/p/72-x-6-artificial-magnolia-leaves-garland-green-threshold-8482/-/A-54546626)
Now that youve got your festive drinks, main course, and dessert you and your friends are ready to celebrate Friendsgiving! My friends and I will have a movie-marathon, all while playing games throughout the night. I recommend everyone participating in a Friendsgiving this year because it is a fun way to create memories and is a unique-spin on the holidays. So, drink up, put yourself in a food coma, and remember to BE KIND. Especially during this time of year. Anyways, thanks for reading my friends!!
RECIPES:
- Apple Pie:
Homemade Apple Pie Filling-
- 1/2 cupwhite sugar plus 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/4 cupall purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoonground cinnamon
- 6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples
Homemade Apple Crumble Topping-
- cup of flour
- cup of white sugar
- cup of brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of butter, room temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Peel and slice 6 cups of apples into a large bowl. Add sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well and place in prepared pie crust. (See note below.)
- Blend the crumble topping ingredients with a pastry blender is a separate bowl. Spread on top of apples, slightly pat to hold in place.
- Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Add pie crust shield bake 20-25 minutes longer or until golden
- Apple Cider Mimosas:
- Ingredients-
8 oz apple cider chilled
8 oz sparkling wine of your choice
1 pinch cinnamon powder
2 tsp sugar mixed with cinnamon powder optional, for the rim
- Instructions-
Take a wet paper towel and run it along the rim of the glasses. Take the cinnamon-sugar mix in a shallow plate and turn the rim of the glasses on it till the cinnamon sugar coats it.
Take the apple cider in a jar and add a pinch of cinnamon powder to it. Stir.
Pour the apple cider into the prepped glasses and top it off with the sparkling wine (youll do approximately a 50/50 mixture).
Serve immediately.
