Friendsgiving is a mashup of the word “friend” and “Thanksgiving” that refers to friends sharing a meal during the Thanksgiving season. We Americans love our holidays and so much that we squeeze in informal replacements. The word first appeared back in 2007 and was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in January 2020. I even have a book on it giving how-tos, simple menus, ideas, and so on.

In 2013 the food-fashion magazine Cherry Bombe was founded by Christine Wu and Kerry Diamond. It’s mission is to support women in the world of food by sharing their stories, and to build a community of people making the world a better place through food. Kerry is the host of Radio Cherry Bombe, the #1 podcast about women and food in the U.S.  A biannual magazine is published featuring chefs such as Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Chrissy Tiegen and a lot of new and upcoming stars. They host the annual Cherry Bombe Jubilee for women in food to meet, share and connect. They now have a you tube channel so check this group out. They encourage everyone to cook for themselves and their loved ones; to be confident, curious and creative in the kitchen; and to sit down for meals with others whenever possible.

I have been “zooming” with cherrybombe.com since November 18th as part of their Friendsgiving Fun events.  The first event I watched was with Melissa Clark and Susan Spungen who gave an hour long discussion on what they were doing for Thanksgiving this year, hints and recipes. Many may know Melissa as the cookbook queen and New York Times columnist. Susan is a culinary consultant and food stylist behind some of our favorite films such as Julie and Julia and Eat, Pray, Love.

Did you know that Libby’s (their favorite) pumpkin puree is actually butternut squash? I need to find a cheese pumpkin, an heirloom originating in 1807 in Long Island.  I’ve grown many pumpkins but never heard of this variety. How about using a pumpkin as a vessel for your stuffing – Susan uses a cheese pumpkin. Just oil and pre-bake it, then add the stuffing and cook as directed. Cool idea! Adding vodka to pie crust is a gimmick, more important is technique and temperature.  Doesn’t matter as putting alcohol in a pie crust doesn’t interest me. Pickled rye bread – say what! Too expensive to order…

Pieometry was just stunning by Lauren Ko where she demonstrated her unbelievable talent in pie design with an apple wavy layer design on top of a tart. Her art is stunning and I may not attempt any of her designs but it’s a beautiful book and a nice addition to my library.

Another event was a 5 member panel on pies. I think most of them owned bakeries and a few have cookbooks (I have two of them – Sister Pie is a bakery near me). I learned so much from all of them… Here is the you tube link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi5pgkGbSso&mc_cid=1e6b9d5698&mc_eid=56a05c05e5

The hour long events were free thanks to three very generous sponsors and I for one was very appreciative. I am a member of Cherry Bombe, I used to get the magazine, have the Cherry Bombe Cookbook, a pretty pink apron and also bought a few cookbooks by participants thanks to these events.

One of my favorite demonstrations was the Kimchi Mac and Cheese by Dzung Lewis. This is one of her special sides and I would certainly agree and it is in her “The Honeysuckle Cookbook”. I will be posting this recipe shortly once the recipe is finalized. Family would have probably frowned on this but since social distancing is the norm  I decided to make it. I’ve always been curious about kimchi as I use to grow my own cabbages to make sauerkraut and kimchi is another means of fermentation.