Join our very Philly Friendsgiving
Sheryl Lee Ralph, the Phanatic, Emily Riddell and others share recipes and stories for Friendsgiving this year.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has been to a lot of Thanksgivings, roasted plenty of turkeys, and baked our share of pies. So this year, we’re “hosting” a Friendsgiving potluck.
There isn’t an exact origin for the gathering that mashes friends and Thanksgiving — Merriam-Webster dictionary found its earliest print use dating back to 2007 — but it has become a sibling holiday, where like-minded people gather in lieu of (or in addition to) Thanksgiving.
We invited six of our favorite Philly friends to join us for our hypothetical Friendsgiving, and we asked them to share a dish and tell who they’d bring as a plus-one.
You’ll find turkey prepared by Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, who stars in Abbott Elementary, and mac and cheese from Joyce Abbott, the teacher who inspired the hit TV show. The Phillie Phanatic, beloved mascot of our National League champs, Nardeep Khurmi, award-winning director featured at the 2022 Philly Film Festival, and Philadelphia Orchestra’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin are all bringing starters and sides. Emily Riddell, who was recently named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine, has dessert covered, and drink maestro Jamaar Julal is making a party punch.
Get your pots, pans, and Dutch ovens ready for A Very Philly Friendsgiving! If you make any of the recipes, post a picture and tag us on social @phillyinquirer.
The Starter
Who is the Phanatic bringing to the party? His mother, Phoebe Phanatic, of course.
“She used to host a lot of great Thanksgivings when the Phanatic was on the Galápagos Islands,” said Tom Burgoyne, the literal beating heart of the mascot.
Friendsgiving is a fun time for the Phanatic and his friends, the Galapagos Gang — Iggy the Land Iguana, Bessie the Blue-Footed Booby, Sid the Sea Lion, and Calvin the Turtle, Burgoyne said.
“One year, they were all together and Iggy ate a 40-pound turkey in one gulp.”
The Phanatic whips up a dip to pair with all your Thanksgiving munching.
The recipe was passed down to the Phanatic by his mother and “it’s his phavorite.”
Ingredients
- 2½ cups shredded chicken (store-bought rotisserie)
- 8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Buffalo sauce (such as Franks Red Hot) or to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine chicken and Buffalo sauce. (The more buffalo sauce the hotter your dip will be.)
Coat the bottom of a 13-inch-by-9-inch baking pan with the cream cheese.
Spread the chicken mixture on top of the cream cheese.
Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top of the chicken mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the dip is bubbling. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
The Sides
Thanksgiving is particularly special for Abbott, the teacher who inspired ABC’s hit show Abbott Elementary.
“Growing up I can recall my father putting out the best china for our gathering,” Abbott said. “We were not wealthy by any means but having a five-star experience with family, even in the midst of struggle, was important to my father. After my father passed, the yearly Thanksgiving gathering continued at the Parks residence. My sister Bonita and husband Leonard Parks hosted a beautiful, loving Thanksgiving gathering. Family uniting was very important to them.”
During the holiday, Abbott hosts her own version of Family Feud.
“The competition was as if we were in front of Steve Harvey himself,” Abbott said. “It brought so much laughter and joy! When I was asked to join the Abbott Elementary Cast on Family Feud, I was ecstatic. I reflected on my Thanksgiving moments with my loved ones.”
Abbott’s special Friendsgiving guest is her daughter, Janeé Latrice, “my heart, and love of my life, my only child.” And she’s got her go-to dish from Philly’s very own Patti LaBelle.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound elbow macaroni or other shaped pasta
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1⁄2 cup Muenster, shredded
- 1⁄2 cup mild Cheddar, shredded
- 1⁄2 cup sharp Cheddar, shredded
- 1⁄2 cup Monterey Jack, shredded
- 2 cups half and half
- 8 ounces Velveeta, cubed
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1⁄4 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a deep 2 ½ quart baking dish.
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rapid boil. Add the macaroni and 1 tablespoon of oil.
Cook for 7 minutes, or until somewhat tender. Drain well, and return to the pot.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt 8 tablespoons of butter. Stir into macaroni.
In a large bowl, combine all of the shredded cheeses. To the macaroni, add 1 ½ cups of shredded cheeses, half and half, the cubed cheese, and the eggs, and the seasoning salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining ½ cup shredded cheese.
Dot with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and bubbly. Serve hot. Serves eight people.
— Recipe adapted from Patti LaBelle’s cookbook LaBelle Cuisine.
» READ MORE: Thanksgiving prep, cooking and hosting tips from a Philly expert
On the first Thanksgiving the award-winning director and his family celebrated, they decided turkey wasn’t for the main dish for their feasting.
“It was a modest gathering, just the immediate (family), and we had never cooked a turkey before,” he said. “My mother, the world-famous cook she is, took it upon herself to fashion up a turkey that would delight. But as we sat down, we all had the same thought: ‘It’s so dry! Why do people like turkey so much?’”
His mother, ever the planner, anticipated this outcome, so she “mischievously” brought out a rotisserie chicken.
“Our palates saved, it became our tradition to have a rotisserie chicken along with Indian food (aloo gobi, saag, samosas, chaat) in our Thanksgiving lineup — to balance, or maybe circumvent, some of those traditional Thanksgiving flavors.”
Khurmi’s dish of choice is palak paneer.
Recipe from Khurmi, via from his mother, Baljit.
“The tricks of learning from a mother — it’s never the same twice and there’s no measuring.”
Note: I tend to like my palak a bit more raw, but if you’d prefer more of a restaurant style, take this cooked mixture to a blender and blend it into more of a puree. Then bring back to the pan. You can also add other greens to the spinach, if you want. I often add kale or mustard greens.
Ingredients
- 1 white onion, large
- 3 green chilies (or 2 jalapeño — use 1 for less spice)
- 3 garlic cloves garlic
- 1 inch of ginger
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 12-ounce package frozen chopped spinach or 2 bunches of fresh spinach
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon or less garam masala
Directions
Process and finely chop up onion, chillies, ginger, and garlic.
Using a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in pan with cumin seed until fragrant.
Add onion mixture into pan Add salt, then cook until the onions become soft.
Stir in tomatoes and spinach. Taste and add more salt as needed. Cook for 20 minutes on low heat.
Add paneer (store bought). Cook for roughly 15 minutes on low heat, until paneer is soft.
Add garam masala. Stir in and cook for a few more minutes. Serve.
Optional: Garnish with fresh coriander leaves or haldee (turmeric) if desired.
Note: To make it vegan, use tofu in place of paneer.
As a Canadian, Nézet-Séguin has never celebrated an American Thanksgiving. His celebrations take place on the second Monday of October, which is Canadian Thanksgiving. On the holiday, his mother fills the table with turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, and homemade cranberry jam.
He’s excited to see how American traditions differ from the ones in Canada, so Nézet-Séguin happily takes on a classic side dish. With his husband, Pierre, by his side, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s music director comes to Friendsgiving with cranberry jam, using the recipe that his mother follows each year for their festivities — her tip: add fresh ginger to taste.
Ingredients
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) water
- 125 ml (½ cup) sugar
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) honey
- 500 ml (2 cups) fresh cranberries
Directions
In a saucepan, bring the water, sugar, and honey to a boil. Add the cranberries and bring to a boil again. Let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes.
Serve warm or cold as an accompaniment to turkey or pork.
Note: Refrigerate any leftovers.
— Recipe adapted from Ricardo.
