Friendsgiving

The Official Guide to Hosting, Roasting, and Celebrating with Friends

Contributors

By Shoshana Stopek

Formats and Prices

Price

$20.00

Price

$26.00 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $20.00 $26.00 CAD
  2. ebook $11.99 $15.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around October 27, 2020. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

Let Friends be your guide to hosting unforgettable year-round celebrations. This one-of-a-kind handbook is filled with recipes, entertaining tips, and group activities inspired by the feasts and fun of everyone’s favorite sitcom squad.

In part one of Friendsgiving you’ll find recipes like Righteous Mac ‘n’ Cheese and Neslé Toulouse Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Part two is filled with Friends-style entertaining tips, such as creating the ultimate Friendsgiving playlist and DIY-ing party decorations. Part three keeps the fun going with Pin the Tail on Ugly Naked Guy, Unagi Pictionary, and many more activities.

Filled with full-color photos, quotes, and highlighting memorable moments from the show throughout, Friendsgiving is a delightful compendium of ideas for celebrating holidays, special occasions, or anytime festivities with your favorite people.

Excerpt

The gang gathers around the table for a Thanksgiving meal in “The One With the Late Thanksgiving.”

MONICA: Hey, what are you doing?

You gotta save room. You’ve got almost an entire turkey to eat.

JOEY: Let me explain to you how the human body works.

I have to warm up my stomach first. Eating chips is like stretching. Don’t worry, Tribbianis never get full.




PART ONE

RECIPES

ONE OF THE greatest joys of Friendsgiving is sharing an intimate potluck feast with your closest friends. The beauty of cooking for Friendsgiving is that you can make the menu whatever you want it to be. Whether you have a friend who is anti-Thanksgiving like Chandler, vegetarian like Phoebe, a foodie like Monica, an eater like Joey, nostalgic like Ross, or a bad cook like Rachel, you can successfully host an event that will please everyone. All you need is a little creativity, some variety (think foods that the Pilgrims didn’t eat, for friends like Chandler), and coordination with your besties. We’ve got you covered from warm-up to dessert, and we promise you won’t be serving a trifle that includes beef sautéed with peas and onions or a cheesecake off the floor. But you just might have your friends begging for seconds of all your treats. So get ready to slay in the kitchen like Monica would!







The Cheeses

A good rule of thumb is to offer three different kinds of cheeses, each one ideally served in a block or wedge (the exception is if it’s spreadable):

One creamy: Brie or a spreadable cheese

One hard or aged: Manchego or aged cheddar

One mild, medium-soft, or stinky cheese: Gouda or Gorgonzola

Make sure to serve each cheese with its own knife.

“Cheese, it’s milk that you chew.”

—Chandler Bing, “The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work”

The Crunchy

Freshly cut slices of baguette

Some crackers or chips, in the spirit of Joey Tribbiani

An assortment of nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pistachios (kept separate in case any of your guests have nut allergies)

“Remember when you were a kid and your mom would drop you off at the movies with a jar of jam and a little spoon?”

—Joey Tribbiani, “The One With the Jam”

The Sweet

A nice jam such as seeded raspberry, strawberry preserves, or fig

Some grapes or apple slices

Dried fruit such as apricots, cranberries, or apples

The Savory, Salty, and Sour

Some charcuterie (cured meats): prosciutto, salami, soppressata, chorizo, or mortadella

Kalamata olives

Mini gherkins




Wine and Beer

Rationale: The gang drinks wine at just about every major occasion and party. The rule of thumb is often estimated at one bottle of wine for every two people. Yes, that might sound like a lot, but one bottle serves about four large glasses and when you factor in warm-up time, dinnertime, and post-dinner activities over a period of a few hours, it makes a whole lot of sense. Understandably, you might not want to purchase such a hefty lot of alcohol, so during your planning phase, you can always ask your guests to bring one dish and one bottle. It’s also a good idea to have some red and some white, some dry and some sweet, to satisfy all the most common palates.

“Hello, Vegas? Yeah, we would like some more alcohol, and you know what else? We would like some more beers.”

—Rachel Green, “The One in Vegas—Part 1”

For beer, it’s best to stick with classic lagers and ales and nothing too heavy. If you can find out beforehand which guests will drink wine and which will drink beer, it will help in determining quantities.

Big-Batch Cocktails

Instead of serving individual drinks, why not make one jumbo punch bowl or pitcher of something special. Both of the following recipes can be prepared with or without alcohol and are a surefire way to win over your crowd.




SPIKED

4¼ ounces lime juice

8 ounces frozen strawberries

16 ounces frozen pineapple chunks

2½ tablespoons granulated sugar

5½ ounces black rum

5½ ounces gold rum

5½ ounces light rum

VIRGIN

8 ounces store-bought lemonade

8 ounces water

4¼ ounces lime juice

8 ounces frozen strawberries

16 ounces frozen pineapple chunks

2½ tablespoons granulated sugar

FOR BOTH:

Mix all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Serve straight from a blender or from a pitcher into juice glasses or mason jars and garnish with a lime wedge or strawberry.

Reusable straws optional.

MONICA: Hey, Rach. How would you like some Tiki Death Punch?

RACHEL: What’s that?

MONICA: Well, it’s rum, and…

RACHEL: Okay!




1 gallon fresh apple cider or unfiltered apple juice

5–6 cinnamon sticks, plus additional for garnishes

10 cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 orange, cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds, plus additional for garnishes

1½ cups Captain Morgan Spiced Rum (optional)

In a large stockpot on the stovetop, warm the apple cider on high heat until it starts to bubble, 8 to 10 minutes.

Once the cider begins to bubble, turn the temperature down to low and add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, and orange slices.

Cover and simmer on low for 1½ hours or more to allow the flavors to meld, creating a smooth, balanced drink.

If adding alcohol to the mixture, add the rum and continue to cook on low for another 30 minutes. Alternatively, let your friends stir the rum into their own mugs.

Ladle into mugs while hot. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or orange slice.

“Okay, cider’s mulling, turkey’s turkeying, yams are yamming.”

—Monica Geller







1 (12- to 14-pound) frozen turkey, thawed

1 tablespoon salt, plus more for seasoning the turkey

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning the turkey

4 ribs celery

2 medium carrots

1 yellow onion

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried sage

1 teaspoon paprika

1 bunch fresh thyme

1 bunch fresh sage

1–2 cups chicken stock or water, plus more if needed

Friendsgiving Gravy (see here)

The first order of business when roasting a turkey is to clean and dry it thoroughly. To save time, do this the day before you plan to cook it. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey cavity and save them for later if you’re going to use them; otherwise, discard. Then, place the turkey in a roasting pan and season it on all sides with the salt and pepper. For crispier skin, chef Ina Garten recommends leaving the turkey uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. As she explains in her recipe for Make-Ahead Roast Turkey, this will allow the skin to dry out and turn a little translucent.

When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350°F and set the turkey in the pan on the counter. The turkey will be moist after being in the fridge, so dry it completely by blotting it with paper towels, top, bottom, inside, and outside.

Slice the celery crosswise into half-moons. Peel the carrots and cut them into chunks. Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Set the vegetables aside.

In a small bowl, stir the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, sage, and paprika to make a paste.

Put the turkey on a work surface and, using your hands, rub the paste over the turkey to completely coat that baby! This is important—you want to slather the paste over and under the skin thoroughly, but without ripping it.

Gently place the fresh thyme and sage inside the cavity, along with the quartered onion. Don’t stuff them!

Add the stock or water and the chopped veggies to the bottom of the roasting pan.

Put a wire rack in the roasting pan and set the turkey on the rack, so no part of the turkey touches the bottom of the pan. This will allow the turkey to crisp on both the top and bottom. If you’re feeling confident in the kitchen like Monica, tie the legs together with butcher’s twine and tuck the wings under the breasts.

Roast, uncovered, for about 2 and a half hours or more, basting every 30 minutes. (If your bird is larger or smaller, figure about 13 minutes per pound.) Whenever you baste, make sure there is always some liquid left in the bottom of the pan so the vegetables don’t burn. Add more stock or water if needed.

Start checking for doneness during the last 45 minutes of roasting. The turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted mid-thigh reads 165°F, per Ina Garten (and Mark Bittman). Place the pan on top of your stove and carefully tilt the turkey, still on the rack in the pan, to let the juices run out of the cavity and mix in with the vegetables.

Transfer the turkey to a platter but don’t carve it until it has rested for at least 15 minutes to allow the juices to set. Serve with Friendsgiving Gravy.

MONICA: You’re telling me you can eat almost an entire turkey in one sitting?

JOEY: That’s right, ’cause I’m a Tribbiani, and this is what we do. We may not be great thinkers or world leaders, we don’t read a lot or run very fast, but damn it we can eat!




12–15 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little for drizzling

1½ pounds ground beef

4 teaspoons garlic powder, divided

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Freshly ground black pepper

1½–2 cups marinara sauce

2 cups whole milk ricotta

1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan, divided

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spray a 13 × 9-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

Genre:

On Sale
Oct 27, 2020
Page Count
176 pages
Publisher
Running Press
ISBN-13
9780762499304

Shoshana Stopek

About the Author

Shoshana Stopek is the author of numerous pop culture-themed books, including Friendsgiving: A Guide to Hosting, Roasting, and Celebrating with FriendsFriends: Lessons on Life, Love, and Friendship, and Friends: The One About You (A Fill-in Book), as well as titles that feature Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo, and Tom and Jerry. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter—who are, by far, her two favorite characters.

Learn more about this author