Here at the Junior League of Boston, when we aren’t promoting health and wellness in our neighborhoods, there are two things that we do well – create community and throw a great party! That’s why we love the idea of Friendsgiving.

If you’ve never heard of Friendsgiving, it’s a newly-minted Thanksgiving-style dinner party spent with friends rather than family. It can help people experience the holiday vibe when they are too far away to travel for family celebrations.  It can also serve as an expression of thanks to your chosen, rather than given, family around Thanksgiving.

Many members of the Junior League are new to the Boston area or transferred here from other Leagues (remember our recent blog post  from Shannon?) making the League’s focus on building strong community a valuable asset to our members. We hope to hear about the Friendsgiving celebrations shared by our members and encourage non-members to celebrate as well.  Gather a group of friends to give thanks for the communities that form around you.

To inspire this year’s Friendsgiving celebration (or maybe just your next autumn dinner party), we would like to share with you a delicious recipe from our cookbook, Boston UnCommon.  You may purchase a copy in the JL Boston Boutique (proceeds go to our community projects!) for other impressive recipes for entertaining. The first one is on us!

HAPPY FRIENDSGIVING!

Pumpkin Cider Soup

A festival of fall flavors, this soup is both savory and sweet.  Serves 8.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 Large onion, sliced
• 1 Large Granny Smith apple, peeled, sliced
• 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ¼ cups apple cider
• 4 cups (32 oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup sour cream for garnish
• ¼ cup snipped fresh chives for garnish

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan
2. Add the onion and the apple, sautéing until tender
3. Puree ½ of the onion mixture in a food processor
4. Add ½ of the broth and ½ of the cider gradually, processing constantly until smooth
5. Pour mixture in to a saucepan
6. Repeat with the remaining onion mixture, broth and cider
7. Stir in the pumpkin, half-and-half, curry powder, salt, coriander, and pepper
8. Cook over medium heat until heated through

Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Thin the soup with additional cider, if necessary.  Ladle in to soup bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of chives.

Have you ever celebrated Friendsgiving?  Do you have a favorite recipe you use during the holidays?  Tell us about it in the comments!