Friendsgiving 2023

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Come to the Governor’s mansion on Monday, November 20, 2023 and join Governor Gatito Lindo for RhyDin’s first annual Friendsgiving Potluck! The festivities start at 7 pm RT, but will run late into the evening, so there’s sure to be plenty of food and fun to enjoy, regardless of when one arrives.

As the name suggests, the evening’s central feature is the potluck-style dinner. It will be held in the mansion’s ballroom, which has been adorned with charming fall decorations. All guests are encouraged to bring their favorite and most cherished dishes to add to the table. With everyone’s help, dinner will be a culinary adventure that showcases a wide variety of unique tastes and traditions. Maybe some guests will even find new favorites amongst the selections.

In addition to the diverse array of dishes, there will be a decadent spread of desserts in the form of a “Best Pie” contest. All bakers, whether amateur or professional, are encouraged to show off their skills and bring their favorite homemade pie to the gathering. Traditional or innovative, any flavor goes!

After dinner, guests are invited to stay a while and enjoy the cozy atmosphere of the party and the company of friends. A variety of board, card, and conversational games have been placed here and there in the mansion’s living rooms to encourage chatter, laughter, and friendly competition. The billiards room is also open this evening, and guests are invited to enjoy a game of pool, darts, or air hockey.

For those seeking a quieter experience, the manicured grounds have been beautifully lit with the colors of the season. Guests are invited to take a stroll through the gardens or venture down one of the pathways between the property’s abundant trees. Additionally, an outdoor fire pit provides a space for more intimate conversations and adds a little warmth to the crisp night air.

However guests choose to enjoy themselves, Friendsgiving at the Governor’s mansion promises to be a celebration of friendship, gratitude, the joy of coming together, and the pleasure of sharing great food with friends.

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(( This is a hybrid forum and live event, and everyone is welcome and invited to participate. The live portion of the event will take place on 11/20 at 7 pm ET in the #streets-of-rhydin channel. And since the holiday season is upon us and things are hectic for us all, the forum portion of the event will run through the end of the month to ensure that everyone who wants to participate gets a chance to do so. ))

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MENU

Turkey Roulade
with cranberry stuffing & gravy

Potatoes Dauphinoise

Parker House Rolls
with salted honey butter

Escalivada

Beef Fricandó
with mushrooms

Saffron Rice

Harvest Vegetables
with maple glaze

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Lasagna

Lobster Mac ’n’ Cheese

Green Beans
with lemon & hazelnuts

Roasted Figs & Persimmons
with maple glaze

Turkey Bread Centerpiece

Pumpkin Roll Cake

Vatrushka
sweet buns with cranberries

Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Iced Cut-Out Cookies

Cinnamon Rolls



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COCKTAILS & MOCKTAILS




Spiced Pear Martini
pear vodka, amaretto, lemon juice, honey syrup
& cardamom bitters

Pecan Old Fashioned
bourbon, pecan liqueur, brown sugar syrup & pecan bitters

Smoky Cider Margarita
mezcal, triple sec, apple cider, lime juice & maple syrup





Harvest Highball
Seedlip Spice 94, apple juice, lime juice & ginger ale
(non-alcoholic)

Pom & Pentire Spritz
Pentire Coastal Spritz, pomegranate juice, lemon juice,
wildflower honey syrup & sparkling water
(non-alcoholic)

Autumn Punch
black tea, blood orange juice, cranberry juice, lemon juice,
spiced syrup, fresh sliced orange & whole spices
(non-alcoholic)



In addition to the above cocktail and mocktail menus, there will be an open bar, featuring locally-made spirits, wines, and beers, and a diverse selection of non-alcoholic options for guests to enjoy, including fresh cider, iced tea, locally-made lemonade and juices, and sodas.


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(( As people add posts to the thread, I will update the potluck menu to reflect what has been brought. ))

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ENTRIES

1. Croustade (apple pie with phyllo crust)
2. Apple-cheddar pie
3. Cranberry-apple pie
4. Pumpkin slab pie
5. Traditional pecan pie
6. Apple galette
7. Chocolate pecan pie
8. Classic cherry pie



Please note: for the sake of this contest, open-faced pies and tarts count as pies, but cheesecake does not.


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(( As people post to the thread, I’ll update the entries list. The evening’s favorite will be determined by RNG. ))

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Governor Lindo was going for a cozier vibe rather than a formal one, so he dressed in a comfy outfit of jeans, boots, and layered sweaters.

Given the time of year and what he had read about other Friendsgiving celebrations, he decided that this potluck definitely needed at least one turkey dish. He chose an elegant turkey roulade with cranberry-hazelnut stuffing and a light gravy.

To go with it, he prepared a lifelong favorite dish, potatoes dauphinoise, using his mother’s recipe. He also made a few batches of Parker House rolls and homemade salted honey butter.

For his entry into the pie contest, he chose a recipe that married French tradition with echoes of the Middle East: croustade, a French apple pie with a phyllo crust and sweet, spiced phyllo roses on top.

[Delahada]

Salvador Delahada attended in support of his companion the Governor, and because it was a little known fact that he very much enjoyed cooking. He dressed for comfort as he always did in jeans, boots, a t-shirt, and his usual leather jacket. Most of his time was spent tucked away in a quiet corner with a chess board on a table beside him. He was not much for socializing; he never was.

Baking was not one his specialties at all, so he did not prepare a pie. However, Salvador brought three dishes for the potluck. The first was his signature and favorite Catalan dish, Escalivada. In addition to this, he brought a pot of beef fricandó with mushrooms. Both of these dishes could be paired with the large bowl of saffron rice that he added to the table as well.

Though he was perfectly content to watch the Governor socialize, and people watch in general, Salvador was not entirely unapproachable. Any friends or family who might want to play a casual game of chess with him or just attempt conversation with him were definitely welcomed into his orbit. He likely did not have much to say himself, but he welcomed the company.

[Rachael Blackthorne]

Rachael decided to take a break from the Gobble Day preparations at Number Six Willow Way to attend Friendsgiving at the Governor's Mansion. She brought a sampling of pies for the contest as well as a savory side dish that was a favourite at the Blackthorne Household to add to the feast.

Apple cheddar pie, cranberry apple pie, a pumpkin slab pie, and traditional pecan pie.

Maple glazed harvest vegetables.

[Amaris]

Along her way to the festivities Amaris saw Ambrosia who looked a bit flustered. By the end of the conversation Amaris aquired a basket filled with all kinds of things to share. She added her bread and cookies to the basket and headed off to the party

[Rhys Germain]

Rhys would never consider himself a great cook, but he did feel like he had come a long way with his kitchen skills in recent years. Having loved ones to cook for had a habit of doing that. With recipe help from his friend Hettie, and with the promise of kitchen help from his loving partner Dris, he decided to bring three dishes to share with everyone: lobster mac ’n’ cheese, green beans with lemon and hazelnuts, and maple-roasted figs and persimmons.

For the pie contest, he chose to make a fudgy chocolate pecan pie.

And since Gatito had told him there was no dress code for the event, Rhys went casual, cozy, and warm with his outfit for the evening.

Rhys remained in Dris’ orbit through much of the evening while they conversed with friends and family. He made sure to sample all of the vegetarian or seafood-based dishes, and worked his way through the night’s specialty cocktail menu, too. After dinner, he spent some time in the billiards room, playing pool with anyone who was amenable. And much later in the evening, he found a place by the fire to relax and play some games.

[BardGallant]

"Kitchen help" mostly consisted of Dris showering his loving life partner with enthusiastic praise while he worked. It was a well known fact that Dris was a hazard in the kitchen, and so mostly he assisted Rhys by handing him the things he needed and keeping his glass full. There had been plenty of kisses to encourage him, too. As for himself, the bard had cheated and stopped by his mother's bakery earlier in the day, and brought along a box of world famous cinnamon rolls from Ariana's Divine Delights Bakery. He also brought along a cherry pie, which admittedly Rhys had done most if not all of the work for, so he wasn't sure it counted, but boy did he know it was delicious!

Casual, for Dris, meant donning a pair of jeans instead of slacks. For the colder weather, he donned a pullover atop his usual button-down style, with a wool jacket over it all. He spent the evening mostly attached to Rhys' side, as usual, but had a warm and friendly smile with plenty of conversation to share with everyone else in attendance, as was typical for the social butterfly bard.