c/o Jordan Scott-Weiner

The Friday before Thanksgiving break, we, along with our wonderful housemate Emma Kendall ’24, hosted a Friendsgiving dinner. Celebrating Thanksgiving is one of our favorite parts of the year, yet we had never done so together. We invited our friends and encouraged them to bring either food or something to drink. There were key parts of the meal that we decided are integral to any kind of Thanksgiving celebration: stuffing, mashed potatoes, greens of some sort, and pie. You might be wondering why turkey is missing. We were intimidated by the idea of taking on the bird in its entirety, but Milly came up with a solution that worked perfectly (more on that later). 

Jordan: I volunteered to take on the stuffing, since I think it is the superior turkey day dish. In my family, my mom had been the one to make stuffing, and I wanted to follow the tradition by making her recipe. Crusty sourdough, artichoke, parmesan, garlic, onion, celery, and mushrooms are the key ingredients, and assembly really only involves some chopping, sauteing, and mixing before popping it in the oven. Because mushrooms can be quite controversial, I wanted to make an alternative for those who are anti-fungi. So, I went with Alison Roman’s leek and celery stuffing that is also sourdough bread based. (I’m from San Francisco, what can I say!) Planning the oven times and temperatures between my two stuffings, the rest of the dishes, and everything else that people brought over that needed to be warmed up was quite a challenge. I’ll be honest, the mushroom and artichoke stuffing turned out way better than the other one since I took a risk on the temperature and it dried out (sad). However, I feel good about my solid attempt at doubling up and am very satisfied with one out of two of my stuffings being successful.  

Milly: The truth is, there isn’t enough room in a Wesleyan fridge or oven for a whole turkey. This is a big problem if you’re planning an all-out Thanksgiving feast. There was some discussion of having chicken instead. I’m a vegetarian, so I wouldn’t eat it either way, but chicken at Thanksgiving is where I drew the line. My first move was to buy a bunch of turkey thighs and legs, as I knew that they would get less dry than turkey breasts would. I coated them in a dry brine first thing in the morning and left them for most of the day to soak up the flavor. Then I made an herby garlic butter and coated all the thighs and legs in it. I roasted them low and slow, adding a little bit of stock to the bottom of the pan every half hour to give it a sort of half-braise. When the turkey finished, I poured all that stock and drippings from the pan and made a gravy. I had made a last-minute run to Goodwill the day before and secured a matching set: a gravy boat and a serving dish, both shaped like cows. The gravy poured out of the cow’s mouth in a pretty disturbing way, but the dishes added the perfect touch of kitsch to our tablescape.

The second cow dish held sweet potatoes. I cubed the potatoes and tossed them in gochujang, honey, garlic, olive oil, and chili crisp. Then I roasted them alongside the stuffing until they got soft in the middle and golden brown on the outside. Once cooked, I tossed them in more honey, chopped pistachios, and crumbled feta. I knew it was good when one of our guests asked for the recipe. Then I knew it was really good when someone who wasn’t even at the dinner asked for the recipe. After the sweet potatoes, I threw together a quick cranberry sauce and we were ready to serve. We laid everything out on four folding tables we borrowed from friends and covered in lacy tablecloths. We lit a bunch of candles just as people started to trickle in. With the low lights, the amazing company, and the absolutely unbeatable menu, I must say it was the best Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever had.  

The Friendsgiving Menu:

• Sour cream and chive Parker house rolls (Sabrina Seltzer ’24)
• Arugula salad with goat cheese, apple pomegranate seeds, and a dijon-balsamic-shallot vinaigrette (Emma Kendall ’24)
• Koginut and kabocha squash tart with sage and parmesan (Sabrina Seltzer ’24)
• Roasted brussel sprouts with toasted pecans and dried cranberry (Anna Graziano ’24)
• Mashed potatoes with butter and cream (Emma Kendall ’24)
• Creamy, sturdy, and complex baked macaroni and cheese with sharp cheddar (Soren Tollis ’25)
• Gochujang sweet potatoes with feta and pistachios (Milly Berman ’24)
• Stuffing with sourdough, mushrooms, artichokes, garlic, onions, and celery (Jordan Scott-Weiner ’24)
• Stuffing with sourdough, leeks, and celery (Jordan Scott-Weiner ’24)
• Turkey with shallot gravy (Milly Berman ’24)
• Cranberry relish (Helen Townsend ’24) and cranberry sauce (Milly Berman ’24)
• Apple crumble pie (Sabrina Seltzer ’24)

Milly Berman can be reached at mgberman@wesleyan.edu.

Jordan Scott-Weiner can be reached at jscottweiner@wesleyan.edu.