Hosting Friendsgiving is all about connection, tradition

Eric Allen and his high school friends were ahead of the curve on the Friendsgiving trend.

Of course, they didn’t call it Friendsgiving back in 2010.

“It was dubbed ‘Classy Thanksgiving,’ ” the Cherry Hill resident said. That is, until “Everybody got drunk and forgot to put the turkey in and we didn’t eat until midnight. Then we named it ‘Sloppy Thanksgiving.’ ”

Though the second name stuck, the group — older and wiser — now gets the turkey on the table at a reasonable hour.

Chances are, you’ve been invited to a Friendsgiving, or seen mentions of it floating around social media.

The Thanksgiving dinner classic you might have missed

“It’s been cropping up in the last couple of years as a thing people are buzzing about,” said “EatingWell” magazine Editor-in-Chief Jessie Price.

However, the idea of celebrating the holiday with friends is nothing new, Price said. Growing up, she said, her family’s Thanksgivings also included the neighbors.

And young people who live far from home might not see the point in flying a long way just for Thanksgiving dinner, she pointed out, instead celebrating with friends.

New traditions

Maureen Buckley White of Collingswood began to invite friends for the holiday in 2014, after her husband died.

“My sister always joined my husband and I for Thanksgiving dinner, and after he died, I said to her, ‘Oh, it’s a little grim just the two of us,’ ” she said.

But while some might dine with friends on Thanksgiving Day, many Friendsgivings are events separate from the traditional family dinner.

Jason Verdone of Woodbury began hosting Friendsgivings last year with his partner as a way for everyone to get together and celebrate the holidays in early November, before things got hectic.

“I figured, everyone has family commitments on Thanksgiving,” Verdone said.

Julie Robinson, of Cherry Hill, and her husband got the idea from watching “Friends”; on the show, the characters regularly celebrated Thanksgiving together.

Robinson began to have 10 to 20 friends over for a casual, buffet-style meal. They hold it a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, figuring nobody wants turkey two weeks in a row.

“When we started, it was more of an opportunity to eat and play drinking games,” she said, but as they moved into their 30s and had kids, the celebration became more family-oriented.

“I think Thanksgiving has always been about family, but it’s also about being thankful for everything you have and that includes friends,” Robinson said.

'G' Boys brings Christmas display back to SJ

Family Thanksgivings often comes with stress and pressure, Price said, but celebrating with friends is fun, with less stress and lower expectations.

“You can break traditions and make your own traditions,” she said.

For David Simms of Eatible Delights Catering in Philadelphia, a Friendsgiving is a good opportunity to be adventurous with the menu, ditching traditional sides for dishes like roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic fig glaze.

“I think people love their Thanksgiving traditions and it’s about doing a mix.” Price said. “I don’t see the turkey going away. It’s so symbolic. But hey, let’s make a molé sauce for the turkey.”

Allen attributes the growing popularity of Friendsgiving events to Facebook, as it keeps friends in touch and triggers nostalgia.

He is one Friendgiving down, with one to go for the year. The other event has been going on for four years, he said, and some of those friends now have kids.

“It’s like we’ve built families among our friends,” Allen said.

Hosting 

“I think it’s kind of cool to make sure there is one staple cocktail,” Allen said. And, “I always say, the first key to any successful house party is a good meat and cheese platter.”

Price concurred. A cheese platter is easy to put together but gives guests something to nosh on until dinner, she said.

“The most important thing is the host is the person that should be responsible for the main items,” Simms said, “but encourage everyone to bring a different dish.”

Having guests bring their favorite dishes allows them to really feel a part of the event, Simms said, and also divides up the responsibilities. Just be sure to coordinate so everyone brings something different.

The spread

Allen and Robinson are having smoked turkeys at their meals this year, a popular cooking method because it is easy, Price said.

Simms recommends Martha Stewart’s trick of cooking the turkey in butter and spice-soaked cheesecloth, while one of Allen’s chef friends deboned the turkey and rolled it around the stuffing to bake.

“Brining is not new, but it’s certainly still strong as a trend home cooks want to try,” Price added.

Just don’t let the turkey intimidate you, she said.

“Don’t stress about the turkey, it’s really not a big deal,” Price said. “Find a recipe you trust and follow the recipe.”

Also, she added, make sure you have a meat thermometer.

As for side dishes, vegetables are in, but not the mushy casseroles of yesteryear. Vegetables are crisp and fresh. Salads are big.

Simms likes to prepare innovative sides, like candied yams with Grand Marnier and butternut squash ravioli with Fireball whiskey sauce.

“I would say go bold with the stuffing,” Simms said. “You can do golden raisins. Apples in stuffing is always really good. Sometimes we even do caramelized onions.”

For “EatingWell,” there has been an emphasis on publishing recipes that are either vegetarian or gluten-free, to make sure there are different types of food to suit all guests.

“We know today, especially with millennials, there are a lot of different needs in terms of what people are eating or not eating,” Price said.

Entertainment

Robinson’s guests do beer swaps, bringing six packs of different seasonal beers and exchanging to send everyone home with a mix.

Allen’s tradition with his high school friends is to rent a house on the shore for the weekend and play football on the beach while the turkey is in the oven.

In between dinner and dessert, Verdone’s friends played Cards Against Humanity. Allen’s friends also played this and another game, Pie Face, which lobs whipped cream at players.

“It was such a hit,” he said.

Décor

“We’ve made it very festive,” Simms said of the Friendsgivings his company planned. “We’ll do the fall colors of burgundy and olive and gold.”

Cornucopias and gourds are also in Simm’s decorating suggestions, along with fall floral arrangements accented by pumpkins.

Allen’s wife creates elaborate centerpieces, like Pinterest come to life, he said. But for the size of his group, “Place settings are not a thing, you have to go with paper and plastic.”

Verdone takes the opposite approach, with a collection of china and a traditional sit-down dinner around his big dining room table.

The Christmas tree was already up last year, Verdone said, and he used wooden ornaments with everyone’s names for place settings and favors.

“I like to entertain,” he said. “It’s not work for me, I really enjoy it. It’s a labor of love.”

Brussel Sprouts with Fig Balsamic Glaze

1 pound of Brussels sprouts, sliced

1 cup olive or canola oil

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 Tablespoon parsley

1 spring fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 shake Himalayan pink salt or kosher salt

2 Tablespoons fig balsamic glaze

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk olive oil, Italian seasoning and dry parsley. Cover the sliced Brussels sprouts and sprinkle with kosher or pink salt. Bake Brussels sprouts for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet. Remove from oven and add fresh parsley. Bake for another 5 minutes. Lay on a white porcelain tray, and drizzle with fig balsamic glaze.

David Simms, chef/owner, Eatible Delights Catering, Philadelphia

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Fireball Sauce

2 pounds butternut squash ravioli

1 Granny smith, or red delicious apple

1 medium red onion

1 cup Fireball whiskey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups of heavy cream

2 sticks butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Handful of fresh spinach

Bring a medium-sized pot of water to almost a boil but not quite.

Remove heavy cream from refrigerator and let stand for 15 minutes.

Drop the ravioli in the water and cook until they float. Do not overcook. Don't let the pasta break. (Takes about five minutes). Drain ravioli and set aside.

In separate sauce pan, melt butter on a medium heat. Once it's dissolved, add onions and apples, and turn up the heat. When the butter, apples and onions begin to cook, stir as the ingredients brown and add Fireball whiskey. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and begin adding in heavy cream slowly. Return to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour onto pasta and sprinkle with cinnamon, and add in the fresh spinach.

David Simms, chef/owner, Eatible Delights Catering, Philadelphia

Candied Yams with Grand Marnier Sauce 

6 large yams

One pound butter

Two cups sugar

One Tablespoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons vanilla

1 cup Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Boil yams in large pot of water for about 45 minutes. Remove and cool for 15 minutes, after running under cold water for 2 minutes. Peel all the cooked yams.

Cut yams in slices the long way and set aside. Use a Pyrex dish or disposable aluminum pan and add first layer of yam slices. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut butter into pats, and put on top of sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with vanilla, and continue the next layer.

When all the layers in the pan are complete, pour the cup of Grand Marnier on the top layer.

Bake in oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until golden brown on the top.

David Simms, chef/owner, Eatible Delights Catering, Philadelphia

Eatible Delight Catering can be reached by calling (215) 236-3900 or visiting eatibledelightscatering.com.