Thanksgiving, with a twist
Ever hosted Friendsgiving? It’s easy: buy lots of booze, embrace the mess and make sure you have Mom — and an iPhone — at the ready
Looking around my Friendsgiving table on Friday, I was filled with joy.
Even though the whole thing was a bit of a mess.
Nine of us were sitting around a plastic table, relocated from my backyard and draped with a new white tablecloth that was covered in creases after coming straight from its packaging. Each guest’s place setting contained the odds and ends of different cutlery sets and a few mismatched plates. I spent the day frantically texting my Thanksgiving-expert mother. Why does the turkey look brown already? How long should I leave it in the oven? Why aren’t there more drippings? And finally: Here’s a photo of the bird — does this, uh, look right to you?
Once the turkey was (finally) ready, cutting it became a four-person fiasco with me reading directions off an iPhone, while others inspected the meat and helped tear off the seemingly superglued thighs. Two people were stuck sitting on a piano bench. I’m pretty sure the food was cold.
But who cares, right? We had plenty of wine, great conversation, and no one got food poisoning. It had all the magic of Thanksgiving, but with friends instead of family — a mix of my university friends, coworkers and the last-minute addition of my younger brother.
We discussed politics, vented about our jobs and clinked glasses in a toast to the season.
And that’s what Friendsgiving is all about. The food — which included garlic mashed potatoes and roasted carrots, in my case — is just a bonus.
In recent years, this holiday of sorts has grown in popularity. Thirtysomethings are driving the trend, according to a survey from the social app Skout, which found18 per cent of people between 30 and 39 plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends this year — along with 11 per cent of people 18 to 29.
For some, it’s a nice addition to the traditional celebration. For others, including those who can’t get home for the holidays or who don’t have a tight-knit family, it’s the real deal.
When I told my boyfriend we were hosting a Friendsgiving dinner — with two weeks’ notice — he didn’t skip a beat: “So that means we get to have turkey . . . twice?” he said.
It sure did. But it also meant a massive grocery trip and a hunt for a fresh turkey at multiple shops in the city. I wrongly assumed it was already turkey season, but with Thanksgiving still a week away, frozen was the only option at most grocery stores. (My boyfriend called a butcher shop in Kensington Market and it kindly put a whole fresh turkey it was going to chop into separate parts aside. Crisis averted.)
In the end, it also meant a solid six hours in the kitchen, with this turkey rookie at the helm. At one point, after texting my mother a picture of the bird because it browned early, things took a turn. My mom wrote back:
“Not to alarm you, but that bird doesn’t look done to me.”
Back in she went, with a meat thermometer in the thigh, until the temperature hit the magic number:180 F.
When we finally carved open the stuffing-filled bird, I felt a wave of relief. The dark meat looked dark, and the white meat looked white. The potatoes were adequately mashed. The vegetables were roasted.
All was right in the world — and it was finally time to eat.
“That was the best Friendsgiving ever,” one friend said later. And you know what? Even with the turkey troubles, cobbled-together place settings and around 50 plates, bowls and utensils to clean the next day — it really was.