Before you go home for Thanksgiving to see your (hopefully not bickering) family, the best way to pre-celebrate is by having Friendsgiving with your (again, hopefully not bickering) friend family in your dorm. I mean, you’ve probably seen these people naked in those (awful) communal showers. The least you can do is share a dinner.
When I was a freshman, we gathered in the dorm’s communal kitchen and forged our own makeshift Thanksgiving dinner. Food overflowed from the small plasterboard table that was pushed into the cramped corners, and we feasted like kings (queens).
The best way to organize a Friendsgiving is to first figure out who brings what. But to do that, you need to know which foods are plausible to make in a communal kitchen. However good your mom’s made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls with orange glaze are, the other people in your hall are going to hate you for taking up the entire counter and covering everything in butter and flour.
And do you really need to roast a 15-pound turkey in the dorm?
I’m sure you’ve already figured this out, but most food made in a microwave can turn out just as well as if it were made on a stove or in an oven. And that’s exactly how you’re going to make this dinner happen.
Protein
I can’t stress this enough: Buy your meats from somewhere that will prepare them for you. For the vegetarian/vegan, you can grab protein alternates from the grocery store and bake them. But it is a huge hassle to prepare all that meat in the dorm. Do you really need another excuse to buy Publix fried chicken? I don’t think so.
Green Bean Casserole
This was a personal preference, but we decided to bake a full green bean casserole. There are just some home-cooked foods that you can’t skimp out on, man.
Stuffing
Buy a box of pre-made stuffing. Seriously. Kraft-brand Stove Top is $2 at Wal-Mart, and you don’t have to cook it on the stove (there are microwave directions on the box).
Veggies
There are two ways to do this one: You can either buy those “steam-in-bag” veggies that are usually on sale at Publix, or you can roast some in the oven. With either option, I suggest tossing the veggies in a little olive oil or butter and adding salt/pepper before cooking.
Mashed Potatoes
Start by cutting your potatoes into eighths and putting them in a bowl with enough water to completely submerge them. Microwave for around 6 minutes, then strain them, toss them in a pot with some butter and milk and mash them/cook them on low heat until they are at the perfect consistency.
Dessert
There’s always a baking guru in every hall, for some reason. Either let this person handle the insanity that goes with making a palatable pie crust, or go ahead and buy that pie. What on earth is Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie and Cool Whip?
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 11/20/2014]
