The table. It’s such a huge part of what I do & what Local Milk is and always has been. It’s the place where we get sustenance of every kind: physical, emotional, spiritual. Gathering with loved ones, be they blood or bond, nourishes us just as much as the food we eat. That’s why I love the idea of doing Friendsgiving *and* Thanksgiving. I don’t carry the torch for Thanksgiving yet, so Friendsgiving is an opportunity for me to share my traditions (namely my favorite stuffing and simple turkey) & create my own new ones. Also, frans are fun.
It’s pretty common knowledge for people who know me that I don’t get out much. I’m not a social butterfly, and because of the nature of my work most of the friends I do have are scattered to the four corners of the globe from New York to Australia to Italy. I always joke that you can find me one of two places: home or an international terminal. It’s one or the other extreme. When I do socialize, it’s almost always around my own dining table. We ended up lingering long after the meal was over with wine, kitten cuddles, and drive way hangs. Which reminds me to recommend my two favorite affordable wines for holiday tables this year (when you have to keep it flowing and don’t want to break the bank): Boom Boom Syrah for your red and Kung Fu Girl Riesling for your white. Both Charles Smith Wines, incidentally. Which I didn’t even know until I went to grab the links! I don’t buy anything else, currently, for parties.
I partnered with Simon to style this table. If you see it, you can get it from them. They supplied me with my pick of everything I needed to lay my Friendsgiving table this year from their endless list of retailers. It was like Christmas. Except where you don’t get to keep the gifts…I’m saving to buy half the things I used for this table! Most notably the black tableware & tall skinny wine glasses from Crate & Barrel (which are both imminently affordable), the copper pots & ivory Laguiole flatware from William Sonoma (less affordable but will be sooo worth it), and the Belgian linen from Restoration Hardware because linen.
Last but not least! The recipes. Over on Simon’s blog I share the recipe for my two favorite staples: a vegetarian take on my Grandmother’s Sage Cornbread & Buttermilk Biscuit dressing (aka stuffing) and a simple, easily done last minute brined turkey roasted with my not-so-secret secret glaze: a mix of moonshine & tamari (soy sauce). So if you’re looking for recipes head over to their blog and grab them. There wasn’t a single bit of stuffing leftover. It’s deceptively simple and seriously the one thing I can’t live without on my Friendsgiving OR Thanksgiving table.
Happy Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or at least a day off to you all (in the U.S, that is!) : )
