How To Plan An Epic Sistergiving

Yes, we made up the term "Sistergiving". Sistergiving encompasses gathering all of your sisters and sitting down over a meal to express how much you are thankful for each other! November is the month that we have unofficially dawned Sistergiving and it is best to be done right before Thanksgiving. Below are all of the things you need in order to plan a Sistergiving for the books!

1. Create your guest list. Try not to leave a single sorority sister or real sister/friend out. Creating a guest list will help you plan everything from the space to be reserved right down to how many plates and other utensils will be needed.
2. Find a space. For sorority women, your chapter room or kitchen would probably be best. For anyone else, try a good friend's home or a venue that can rent the space to you.
3. Invite your sisters via the app "Invitd". Download it here! In the notes, make sure to specify that it is a potluck style dinner so they know to bring something.
4. Start a group chat via GroupMe, text, or shared list via Wunderlist so each person can explain what they're going to bring.
5. Buy or rent the table decor. Rent tables, table cloths, and chairs through a local rental facility (do it early so you don't run the risk of not having enough seating and tableware for everyone). If you want to buy and save the decor for your next Friendsgiving, shop at Michael's for fun DIY stuff that you can turn into a sisterhood event before. Party City and Target are also safe bets too!
6. Make name cards. Now that you've got your guest list and decor, personalize the table by making name cards. People love to see their name written out!
7. At the Friendsgiving, have everyone write down on a piece of paper when they enter what sister that they're thankful for or something that they're thankful for. It will be shared aloud at the dinner table.
8. Be sure to have a fun playlist!

That's it! Send us pictures of your Sistergiving for a repost on our Instagram! We can't wait to see how it turns out for you!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe

If you're like us, then you probably stuffed yourself to the brim this Thanksgiving leaving no room for thirds or fourths (be honest, you went for seconds!). Well, there is no point in throwing away your leftovers so we stumbled across an awesome Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe from one of our favorite food blogs, Hot Dog It's a Food Blog. It's called the Cheddar Mashed Potato Waffle Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich and well, our mouths are watering just typing that. Get the recipe below and try making it yourself. It's pretty simple! Thanks for letting us share, HDFB!

Cheddar Mashed Potato Waffle Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwiches
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup freshly grated white cheddar
• your Thanksgiving leftovers, reheated if needed

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes and milk until smooth. Add in the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well in between additions. Fold in the chopped herbs.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and add into the mashed potato mixture. Mix well until combined. Fold in the cheeses and mix well once more.

Preheat your waffle maker and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook about 1/4-1/2 cup of batter at a time, depending on how big your waffle maker is, until nice and golden brown.

Place the reheated leftovers between two waffle slices and enjoy.

Thanksgiving Dresses Under $100 From Nordstrom

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Can you tell we have a thing for Nordstrom? While we were taking advantage of Nordstrom's awesome sale {which ends TODAY, 11-11-14!} we decided to do some shopping for Thanksgiving attire. It's all about the dresses that can hide the turkey size stomach you're going to have after you eat everything on the table on Thanksgiving! We want to sit fashionably at the table while we experience food coma {haha!}. Check out some of our favorite dresses from Nordstrom above. Keep in mind, online orders have free shipping and be sure to order ahead of time in case you need to make a return or exchange--Nordstrom is pretty generous about returns and exchanges!

Stuffed Acorn Squash from South Fork & Spoon + Ango

Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here so we wanted to start collecting some recipes to make this Thanksgiving's dinner one for the books. We are at the age where we can no longer hide from the kitchen; it's our turn to contribute with a delicious dish! South Fork & Spoon + Ango shared with us a dish that is sure to make some mouths water: Stuffed Acorn Squash. One of the key ingredients for this meal is grapeseed oil which we have been hearing a lot about as it is apparently better to use than olive oil. Find the Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe below and share with us any of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes in the comments below. 

Stuffed Acorn Squash from South Fork & Spoon + Ango 
Yields: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 Acorn Squash, ideally 1-2 lbs each, halved lengthwise and seeds removed

5 teaspoons or more to taste, Salt

2 teaspoons, Ground Black Pepper

2 cups wild rice

3 oz Grapeseed oil

1 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

1 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (stems removed)

4 cups cleaned and rough chopped kale

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

2 Tablespoons chiffonade ( cut like ribbons) mint leaves

Equipment

• Medium sized pot
• Fine meshed strainer
• Baking sheet
• Pepper mill
• Sauté pan
• Spatula
• Large Bowl

Directions

1) Pre heat the oven to 475 degrees

2) In the fine meshed strainer, place rice and run under cold water until clean.

3) In medium sized pot, add rice + 2 t of salt + 4 cups of cold water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat until rice is simmering. Simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the water and is cooked. (Note: rice can be cooked up to two days in advance)

4) On baking sheet, place squash flesh side up and rub with 1 oz grapeseed oil + 2 t of salt + fresh ground pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Use a fork to test for tenderness.

5) In a separate sauté pan heat 1 oz grapeseed oil on medium-high heat. Add shiitake mushrooms + garlic + 1/2 t of salt and sauté until mushrooms are cooked but not browned. Remove from heat and place in large bowl.

6) In the same sauté pan used for the mushrooms, heat 1 oz of grapeseed oil on medium-high heat. Add kale + 1/2 t of salt and cook quickly using tongs or a spatula. Keep the kale moving so it doesn’t brown. Once wilted, remove and place in bowl with shiitake mushrooms.

7) In bowl, add cooked wild rice + sesame seeds and mix together.

8) Taste rice mixture and season accordingly

9) Fill the cooked squash halves with the rice mixture. Garnish with mint

Gobble Gobble: A Turkey Cooking Guide

We love everything about Thanksgiving dinner... it's one of our favorite holidays!  But before you get ready to sit down with your loved ones to share a delicious meal, one thing must happen first:  someone's gotta cook that turkey.  That delicious bird isn't going to roast itself, and there are a few key steps to ensure that it's cooked to perfection.  Nobody likes a dry turkey, and nobody likes salmonella.  However, ranging from 14-20 lbs a bird, cooking a Thanksgiving masterpiece can be nothing short of intimidating.

Here's a few pointers that we found to be very helpful, to get that turkey in tip-top shape!  Not cooking the turkey yourself?  Share our turkey cooking knowledge with the one cooking your Thanksgiving dinner, and offer to lend a helping hand.  Now, let's talk turkey!

1. Thaw accordingly.
Depending on if your turkey is fresh or frozen, be sure to thaw it out accordingly.  Make sure that your turkey is at room temperature before popping it in the oven.

2. Add some kick.
Olive oil, butter with fresh herbs, aromatic vegetables... all of these help to add flavor.  Coat the outside of the turkey with one of these fats as well.  There are plenty of excellent turkey recipes available!

3. Foil is your friend.
Cover the breast of the turkey tightly with aluminum foil; just remember to remove it about 45 minutes before the turkey has finished cooking.  At this time when you take the foil off of the breast, you can also lay a piece of foil over any areas that you think might be getting too dark.  You don't want that baby to burn!  Do this while opening/closing the oven door quickly; no need to change the oven temperature.

4. Rack it up.
Cooking your turkey on a rack helps to make things cook evenly on all sides, to get that juicy tenderness throughout.  Bonus: you can use it anytime you cook poultry!

5. Don't stuff the stuffing.
Not stuffing your turkey means that it will take less time to cook- a plus!  It also becomes more risky for food safety, in case the stuffing inside the turkey is not cooked to proper temperatures.  Our advice: cook stuffing as a separate side dish.

6. Take the temperature.
We like to reference temperature guides when cooking, and always use a meat thermometer.  Each time you open and close the oven door, heat is lost, and your turkey will suffer by drying out as well.  Because of this (and because of the need to check the temp) we suggest a meat thermometer with an alarm built in.  Super handy!  Stick the thermometer into either the thick part of the thigh or thickest part of the breast, and you will be golden. 

7. Have a turkey nap.
Once removing from the oven, allow the turkey to rest for about 20-25 minutes before beginning to carve.  This allows the juices to absorb into the meat, and locks it all in.  Hey, if it helps to avoid a dry turkey, we're all for it!

8. Dinner is {almost} served.
Use a very sharp knife when you're ready to carve, or an electric knife if you have one.  Need to brush up on your carving skills?  We found a video to help with that! 

Gobble, Gobble... Happy Turkey Day, everyone!