This year, Twinspirational has a lot for which to be thankful! We recently crossed 50K social media followers and collaborated with several marquee brands. We couldn’t achieve all this success without the support of our amazing family and friends. We kicked off our holiday season with a Friendsgiving earlier this month. We have so many wonderful friends that we hosted a second Friendsgiving over the weekend. In the past, our Friendsgiving menus featured Thanksgiving classics or modern takes on Thanksgiving favorites. This year, we worked with Hyde Estate Winery to create a unique Orange Ingredient menu with wine pairings. We are excited to share our Thankful Friendsgiving with you.
Friendsgiving has evolved in recent years from an ad hoc Thanksgiving replacement to a holiday in its own right. Many young adults start with a Friendsgiving the weekend before the official day, followed by a traditional Thanksgiving with their family. Cooking Friendsgiving for twelve can be daunting, so we highly recommend a potluck style meal.
We worked with Shannon Hyde of Hyde Estate Winery to create the wine pairings. Larry Hyde founded this family owned vineyard in the heart of Carneros Napa Valley in 1979. The Vineyard consists of 192 acres.
Each course featured an “orange colored ingredient.” This was a fun way to keep the menu fresh and different from our prior Friendsgivings. We created our beautiful menu with Must Have Menus.
Our three course menu paired with Hyde’s Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Viognier.
Our beautiful Fall tablescape featured shades of burnt orange, vibrant green, silky ivory, soft peach and rustic brown. We created our whimsical, color-fall backdrop using garlands from Devra Party. This backdrop was incredibly easy to style. We recommend starting from the middle and then making your way to the ends. Next we strung up gold Thankful Instaballoons. We completed the backdrop with ivory and chocolate pumpkins. The backdrop coordinated perfectly with our table decorations. We used Williams Sonoma’s Botanical Pumpkin linens and napkins. We set the table with pumpkin plates, pumpkin bowls, pumpkin serving bowls and pumpkin serving dishes. International Garden created our gorgeous floral arrangements with auburn calla lilies, golden ranunculus, caramel chrysanthemums and white baby’s breath. We dressed the wines with adorable turkey and pumpkin wine toppers from Pottery Barn.
We kicked off the meal with an orange pepper soup and butternut squash tart. We paired the appetizers with the Hyde Chardonnay. The tart’s flakey, buttery crust paired nicely with the wine. This Chardonnay had notes of ripe apple, pear, and meyer lemon. This wine was medium rich and well balanced with bright acidity.
Next, we feasted on stuffed turkey with sweet potato puree, an orange salad and roasted carrots. We paired this course with the Hyde Pinot Noir, which features notes of red berry, touches of anise, cedar and red plum, accented by hints of mocha.
For dessert, we devoured a pumpkin brownie and festive Citarella sugar cookies. We paired the sweet treats with the Hyde Viognier. The Viognier has intense flavors of apricot, nectarine and honeysuckle. The wine also offers bright minerality with refreshing acidity.
Our holiday season is off to a wonderful start. We are especially thankful for these amazing friends and we are excited to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family tomorrow.
I may not be where I want to be but I’m thankful for not being where I used to be – Habeeb Akande
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Ummmm where do I get an invite though? This Friendsgiving looks like THE BEST TIME! Those little turkey cookies are cracking me up – so cute!
This Friendsgiving looks like it was an amazing time! The fall table decor is so festive and perfect, and the food looks delicious! I love that you perfectly paired wines to each course, and those cutout cookies are the cutest!
That all looks so lovely, and delicious. We love wine in this house as well. We do live within driving distance of multiple local wineries.
So good to hear about your success stories. Wish you and your blog even more success in the days to come ?
Congrats on everything this year! It looks like you guys had an AMAZING Friendsgiving! It definitely has become it’s own holiday for sure!
First of all I want to congratulate you on your success. It’s feel good to celebrate each milestone. The decoration, the menu is everything.
This looks like an amazing meal to share with friends. Such a perfect way to celebrate a year filled with so many amazing accomplishments.
I love the design of everything! That table is a dream! Why don’t you invite me to your next party?! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Your Friendsgiving celebration looks amazing! I love the fall themed place settings and the menu sounds absolutely delicious!
Your celebration looks amazing, I love the setting and the photos. Sounds like you had a lovely time.
What a fabulous gathering such a great moment together.
That looks like such a fun friendsgiving gathering! I am loving all the pumpkin inspired menu!
Looks like an amazing friendsgiving! Love the pictures <3
Wow, sounds like you have a wonderful Friendsgiving celebration and those food looks really delicious!
That was a busy Friendsgiving. It’s wonderful that you were able to celebrate a special time with your family and friends.