Friends-Giving Fun

Shane and I moved to Corpus Christi, Texas on November 1, 2014. We knew that picking up and moving across the country from our native Wisconsin at the beginning of the holiday season was going to put a gaping hole in our usual holiday plans. We assumed that the gaps that our traditions and the absence of family would leave would be filled with new adventures and friends. However, we underestimated exactly how hard those holidays would be and how big the gaps in our lives would be. That first year was painful.

We also realized that our intentions of getting home for holidays on a regular basis was not going to happen due to other financial responsibilities.

By the time the next set of holidays rolled around, I was desperate to celebrate. To have some sense of family and community around me during the holidays. A Friendsgiving Potluck seemed like a really great way to celebrate, so a new tradition was born in our household. We have since moved to Houston, TX but we have kept our tradition of Friends-Giving and this year we celebrated our 8th annual Friendsgiving Potluck.

What exactly is Friendsgiving you ask? According to the Meriem-Webster Dictionary it is "a celebration or meal shared among friends on or near Thanksgiving Day", and while this specific holiday tradition dates back a scant 16 years, this fun fall meal has become increasingly popular with friends and family groups alike. Many people, including my family, celebrate both Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving!

So, what does a Friendsgiving meal look like? Well, it can honestly be as formal or informal, traditional or non-traditional as you like. That's the beauty of it. No pressure to produce a ten-course meal complete with the perfect place settings. Unless you want to of course, then by all means, go for it!

The first year we celebrated Friendsgiving, we did a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our Friends-Giving Potluck. I made the turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pies and our guests brought the assorted traditional sides. As time went on, we continued on with the traditional turkey and sides, but things started getting more creative. One year instead of traditional corn, we had southwest style cream corn. The year before that, we had so many guests that all the "traditional" was covered, so our neighbor brought home made picadillo and tortillas, his mother's recipe straight from Mexico. It was amazing!

Over the years our guest list has varied a here and there, but there has been a core group that usually joins us for the festivities. This year the gathering was quite small, so we decided to keep the whole event very low key and to go way outside the traditional meal box. We said goodbye to the turkey, dressing, cranberries and mashed potatoes. There was no green bean casserole, dinner rolls or my personal favorite, sweet potato casserole.

Instead, we gave a nod to our adopted southern home state of Texas, and we prepared a shrimp boil! Yup, you read that right. A good ol' fashioned low country/Cajun spicy shrimp boil.

Seafood boils are as popular in and around the gulf coast and up the east coast, as a Friday night fish fry or a cookout with brats and sour kraut are in Wisconsin. The style of preparation is different in each region. Along the east coast the spices used tend to be milder (think Old Bay Seasoning) while here in the Gulf Coast, specifically Louisiana and the neighboring states (hello Texas!) the spices used in the boils are bolder and spicier thanks to our Cajun neighbors!

What is put into a seafood boil can vary as well but for the most part you will find seafood such as shrimp, crab, crawfish and muscles, assorted vegetables such as corn, potatoes and mushrooms, along with sausage such as spicy andouille or kielbasa.

For our Friends-Giving Potluck our boil included fresh gulf shrimp, fresh corn on the cob, red potatoes, mushrooms and hot dogs. Why hot dogs you ask? We have a 3-year-old and we thought it would be fun for him, but honestly, he would have been just as happy with a kielbasa. We also used spicy seasoning for the boil and a spicy butter dipping sauce for the food after the boil. If you are curious, you can find our recipe for our Low Country Shrimp Boil in the "Feed the Soul" section of my blog.

The assorted sides for our potluck were very nontraditional also. One guest brought chips and queso while another brought potato salad. There was also dirty rice and charro beans.

As for the deserts, I will admit I cheated. I usually bake my pies from scratch, something which I take pride in and enjoy, but I was just too tired this year and had too many other things going on to take the time to bake the pies.

So, we picked up some Marie Callender's pies in the freezer section at the local Kroger. Honestly, if I'm not making them from scratch, Marie Callender's are the next best thing in my husbands (and my) opinion. Not to mention it was easy, just thaw and enjoy, so a big plus for a busy mom and dad.

This year our Friends-Giving Potluck was laid back and easy. Paper plates were used along with disposable cutlery so clean up was painless. This completely nontraditional meal has made me re-think my approach to Friends-Giving. I loved that I wasn't stuck in the kitchen and that I could interact and relax with our guests more. Maybe next year we will return to traditional. Then again, maybe a whole new tradition has been born in our home!