Simple Recipes for a Festive Friendsgiving
The Edge wants to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving by extending an invitation for you all to host your own Friendsgiving without the intimidation of the meal of the year. These recipes below feature my take on Thanksgiving favorites, with a step-by-step guide on how to do it all with minimal effort and maximum satisfaction.
Strong Disclaimer: As with all my recipes, follow your heart over the measurements and directions. Most of the time, when I cook, I start with a rough idea and end with something a bit different than expected but delicious nonetheless. A lot of what I wrote down below is from memory…So take it with a grain of salt :).
Before diving in, here’s a few tips I’d suggest keeping in mind:
Establish a good vibe before cooking. Turn on music, start with a clean workspace, maintain that space and pour a delicious bev.
Don’t be afraid of salt and butter! They make everything better, just trust me.
Taste, taste, taste. I love cooking because it’s easy to fix something that isn’t quite executed as desired. Just taste and adjust (most likely adding more butter, of course).
Mushroom & Bacon Sourdough Dressing (about 3-4 servings) *Southerners know it as dressing if it goes on top of the turkey and stuffing if it goes inside the turkey, but call it as you wish.*
Ingredients
Cubed sourdough: I would suggest about ⅓ a cup/serving.
One package of bacon
½ sweet onion
Five mushrooms
½ sprig of fresh rosemary
3-4 (small) sage leaves
2 sprigs thyme leaves
Sprinkle of nutmeg
1(ish) cup chicken/vegetable broth
Method
Bacon
Preheat the oven to 300℉. Lay out the whole package of bacon on a baking tray and bake in the oven until crispy. It’ll probably take around 20-25 minutes. Once cooled, chop up all the bacon.
Once complete, pour all the bacon fat into a dish and set aside. We will use it throughout the rest of the meal.
Bread
Slice your sourdough into cubes and place on a baking tray, baking until crisp and completely dry (30 minutes? I can’t remember to be honest…may have burnt a few of mine, woops).
Seasoning
Finely chop the rosemary and sage and set aside with some nutmeg.
Dice the onion and mushrooms.
Heat a pan on medium with a couple tablespoons of bacon grease and sauté the onion, mushrooms, herbs and nutmeg until the onions are soft. Add in the bacon bits.
Set aside about ¼ a cup of the mixture to top the stuffing with later on.
Assemble
Turn off. Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan and toss in the bread cubes until coated in the butter and incorporated with the mixture.
Pour into an oven safe dish, and pour the chicken broth until it fills up about ⅓ of the dish. Cover with tin foil.
Bake
Bake at 350℉ for 30 minutes covered. Then take off the foil, add the rest of the onion mixture and more herbs if desired, and bake uncovered for 10 minutes.
Herb Roast Chicken
Ingredients
1 stick softened salted
butter
2 tbsps fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped dill
2 sprigs thyme leaves
3-4 (small) sage leaves
2 skin-on chicken breasts
Method
Make the compound butter: Mix together the softened butter, herbs and a generous pinch of salt with a fork until incorporated.
Peel back the skin on the chicken breasts, keeping it attached on one side. Generously press on the compound butter and cover the skin back on the chicken breast.
Season the skin with salt and pepper and bake at 350℉ for about 25 to 30 minutes, basting the chicken in the juices throughout the process. Broil for about 10 minutes at the end for a crisp skin.
Honey Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
5 carrots
Honey
2 tbsps Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp of olive oil
Method
Cut up the carrots into thin sticks and marinate for 20-30 mins in apple cider vinegar, honey and oil.
Pour into a baking dish, leaving out most of the excess marinade. Drizzle with extra honey.
Bake at 350℉ until golden and soft, around 30 minutes.
Crispy Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients
1 bag Brussels sprouts
Bacon grease
Salt
Lemon
Dill
Method
Halve the Brussels sprouts, toss in bacon grease we saved from earlier and season with salt.
Bake face down at 350 until super crispy (30 mins).
Toss in lemon juice and garnish with fresh dill
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
½ bag of cranberries
2 clementines or 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
Nutmeg
4-5 cardamom pods (*optional)
¼ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
2 tbsps honey
Method
In a pot on medium-low heat, pour in the cranberries, juice of the clementine and half of the clementine (skin on). I just had cuties on hand but if you have an orange, feel free to add some of the zest!
Listen for the pop of the cranberries and add in the cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cardamom, sugar and honey.
Simmer on low for at least 15 mins, the longer the better.
Remove the cardamom pods, cinnamon and orange, and enjoy!
Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
2 Yukon gold potatoes
Lots of butter (compound butter if there’s some left!)
Heavy cream
Salt
Method
Peel, cube, and boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain and mash in the pot with butter, using whatever tool you have on hand.
Add in cream, more butter and salt. Mashed potatoes are something I can’t provide measurements for, you just gotta taste and adjust! Don’t be afraid of butter and cream here…. You’ll need a lot for the smoothest mash;)
Gravy
Ingredients
Baked chicken juices
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
⅓-⅔ ish cups of heavy cream
Chicken/veg broth
Salt
Method
Using the same pan that had the onion mix, add the chicken juice from the baking tray, butter and flour. Whisk the flour to create a roux, and then add equal parts of stock and heavy cream. Continue whisking on medium-low until the gravy is thick and smooth. Add more stock, heavy cream and salt as needed.
We hope these recipes inspire you to host your own Friendsgiving. So apron up, build up an appetite and embrace your culinary creativity!