Happy Monday, everyone!!
Can you believe it’s already November?! Craziness, right?! And with Thanksgiving just weeks (!!) away, I figure you guys are probably starting to make your holiday eating plans. But before you finalize them, let me and the folks at CorningWare try to convince you to host a Friendsgiving Party like I did!
If you’re like me, your friends are just as important as your family and sometimes, you just want an informal Thanksgiving meal without all the fuss of dodging ancient Aunt Helga’s questions about your love life. I don’t blame you! A Friendsgiving is a modern, fun and updated Thanksgiving that’s far less fussy than your traditional dinner. The food can be a potluck style, Chinese takeout, a spin on the traditional fare, Italian food bar… really, whatever your preference! And it just gives you a chance to reconnect during the craziness of the holidays and enjoy one another’s company. Preferably with wine 🙂
So to celebrate their awesome CW Color by CorningWare collection of dishes (which are gorgeous, by the way!) I hosted my very own Friendsgiving and invited some of my favorite peeps over. I went with a more traditional fare-route, but honestly, I kind of wished I’d thrown an Italian food bar because how awesome, right? At least there’s time for a second Friendsgiving before the big meal!
Since I love to cook as well as bake, I took over the food and insisted my pals bring the booze and good conversation. Plus, it gave me a chance to try out and display my CW by CorningWare Color Collection of dish wares! The CW Color line features bright, vibrant colored dishware that nests together easily for compact storage, have a modern, contemporary design and come in a variety of sizes and shapes for both cooking and displaying. Made of durable stoneware, they’re oven, microwave and dishwasher safe and are sturdy enough for every day use or great to break out for entertaining. And they were a fab conversation piece at my Friendsgiving table!
Did I mention the CW by CorningWare collection reaaaally made my Deep Dish Salted Caramel Apple Pie stand out? I mean, look at the caramel! It totally popped against the gorgeous sea-blue color of their larger dish.
If you’d like to WIN a four-piece collection of CW by CorningWare, just fill out the rafflecopter prompt below! I’ll randomly choose a winner on 11/10 so you’ll have plenty of time to cook up something fun and fanciful for your very own Friendsgiving!
Now, let’s talk PIE. I’m a huuuuuge fan of pie and always make room for not one, but two slices (or more… let’s be honest). And deep dish pie? Ermahgerd, I’m all about it! This recipe couldn’t be simpler and features a phenomenal crumble on top, giving this pie some more texture, chew, and deliciousness. Then the whole thing is topped with a luscious salted caramel sauce. Really, if we’re being completely honest… I’m most thankful that I had leftovers of this 🙂
*slightly adapted from Taste of Home
- 1 pkg (2 count) refrigerated pie crusts, at room temperature
- 10 cups (about 6 large) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into pieces
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1 & ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- FOR CRUMBLE:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Salted Caramel Sauce (prepared from your favorite brand; I used Smuckers Simple Delights)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Liberally grease a 13x9" baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Meanwhile, on a large, clean work surface, lay the pie crusts on top of one another and roll them out to help press them together and to make them about the size of the baking dish. Press the pie crust layer into the baking dish evenly along the bottom and up the sides; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, white sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and gently toss to coat. Spread the apple mixture evenly into the pie crust; top with HALF of the salted caramel sauce. Then, in a smaller bowl, combine the crumble ingredients (brown sugar, flour, butter, oats and cinnamon) until coarse and crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble on top until it covers the apples completely, or as close to it as possible.
- Bake for approx. 40-50 minutes or until the top is golden and the mixture is bubbly. Check on the pie at about the 30 minute mark to see if you need to tent the crumble to prevent it from burning. Allow the pie to cool completely before cutting into squares, then top with the remaining salted caramel sauce.
Buttery, crumbly, sweet, tart and loaded with luscious salted caramel — no, I’m not describing myself but rather this fantastic, foolproof apple pie! You will never want to bake a traditional pie again once you’ve had a bite of this monstrous deep dish version, swimming in salted caramel. It’s a total showstopper!
In case you were wondering about my other Friendsgiving meal items, here’s where I found those recipes!
Slow Cooker Turkey from Six Sister’s Stuff
Bacon Brussels Sprouts from Food Network
Green Bean Casserole from the back of the French’s Fried Onion can
Stuffing made from Mrs. Cubbison’s Cornbread Stuffing mix
Panera-Copycat Mac & Cheese from Rachel Cooks
Be sure to connect with CorningWare! Give them a follow & like on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM & PINTEREST, and be sure to follow along with the #friendsgiving or #CWColor hashtags to see other people’s Friendsgiving meals & recipes!
Have a fantastical day!!
xo, Hayley
In the interest of full disclosure, I was generously provided with a set of CW by CorningWare dishes to review and cook with, along with compensation to create a Friendsgiving meal. All opinions and ideas expressed are 100% my own.
Turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, and all the fixins!
Sweet potato casserole and mac n cheese
Lasagna. Of.course. It’s my fave casserole dish recipe.
I would serve homemade pizza at my Friendsgiving meal.
I would like to serve turkey, southern macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, french bread,cornbread stuffing,vegetable pasta, whipped sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes.
Turkey, Ham, cornbread dressing, corn casserole, roasted Brussel sprouts, sweet potato casserole, rolls and of course this fab recipe may become a new family tradition! Hosting my first Thanksgiving this year and super excited!
I would like to serve a chocolate silk pie 🙂
On my Friendsgiving menu, inside out ravioli, chicken parm, meatballs, and crusty garlic bread. Mangia!
What a great way to serve pie to a crowd!
Turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, yams, collard greens, peach cobbler
Everything looks DELICIOUS!!!
I would service this pie (because OMG) and mashed potatoes and turkey and rolls and corn and applesauce…..:D
Stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, all the fixings…would love to try your pie recipe too. Yum!
We have a Friendsgiving every year with my college buddies (actually named Wesgiving because his name is Wes and it’s at his house), and I am bringing roasted veggies and a pumpkin pecan pie! Maaaaybe I win a fancy dish to take it in!
I’m all about the green bean casserole!
These would be great to serve a full Thanksgiving dinner…turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, etc.
I would serve my family’s favorite enchiladas… memories of Southern Colorado and my mother’s kitchen!
I’d have to serve chicken and dressing with mash potatoes, green beans and this awesome pie.
I would serve turkey.
I would serve homemade mac and cheese…. yummy!
You have me so pumped. I mean turkey, mac and cheese and apple pie? I’m ready to kick back and eat my heart out!
Those bright colored serving dishes look like the perfect thing to use for Mexican food, my favorite. Even my Thanksgiving dressing has green chiles in it.
I would love to serve lasagna, Caesar salad and homemade garlic cheese bread. For dessert, probably cheesecake, because YUM. And of course there’d have to be some cocktails!
Definitely some pie!
I would make stuffing
Oh my gosh this looks amaaaazing! And I’m so glad you made my mac & cheese! xo
Everyone says I make the best desserts so I would make a variety of different pies, cakes and cookies to please everyone’s tastes.
Mexican food bar.
I would serve turkey, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes & gravy with a Pecan Pie!
andysavi.mom@gmail.com
My Orange/Pineapple Jello Salad.
dessert and wine that’s what I would like to serve
I’ve never had a Friendsgiving! For my first one I would definitely do the whole shebang! Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, smoked turkey… and CHEESECAKE!
I’d serve shoyu chicken, peanut noodle salad & peanut butter/chocolate trifle.
I’d serve chicken, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and deep dish apple pie!
Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, pecan pie – The classics!
Crockpot turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, and pie.
I would like to serve turkey, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato pie
I would love to serve turkey, mash potatoes and gravy, and cheesecake.
These colors are so perfect for everything from fall casseroles to spring veggies and summer potlucks. I’d be worried about not getting them back!
Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn bread and sausage stuffing , apple crisp <3
I recently made French Macarons for a party and can’t wait to make them again 🙂
Yummy layered yam and apple bake with walnuts and cranberries with crumb topping
I like to prepare my family’s recipe of Baked Corn for Thanksgiving, long-standing tradition.
I am always asked to bring pistachio poke cake to gatherings!
Spinach/Kale and Cream Cheese Wonton, Hasselback Potatoes and other wonderful appetizers and small portions.
Hmmm if I win can your food come IN them? it all looks SO GOOD as usual!! 😉
I love that you make good wholesome foods. We can do our own substitutions, we’re grownups now, to meet our nutritional needs. The flavors you combine are out of the world, so I follow you religiously. Thank you
Everything in this blog looked wonderful. Of course, I should not be reading this at this particular time since I am hungry and these wonderful dishes are increasing my hunger pains. I have apples at home right now, so I will probably try the pie first. Thanks for sharing
I can’t decide on the main course yet but whatever it is will come with deviled eggs and caramel pecan black-bottom pie!
Lasagna! My families favorite!
baked chicken, mashed potates with spinach and tomatoes, and lemon pound cake.
Mashed potatoes, cheesy corn!
Thanksgiving Ham with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
I would make a roast chicken
I’d like to serve enchiladas, rice and beans.
I would love to serve potato casserole
I would like to serve a meal similar to the one my parents always served on the holiday. One addition I’d make is adding my cranberry salad (my Mom served cranberry jelly–whole berry and jellied–and a fruit salad). Your recipe sounds delicious!
Ham with an orange cranberry sauce, green bean with bacon and onions, mashed potatoes with gravy, cucumber salad, baked beans and a pumpkin custard.
Everything pictured looks delicious and and I’d love to make this dessert (Deep Dish Salted Caramel Apple Pie). The one thing I look forward to making/eating each Thanksgiving is cornbread dressing with pecans and sage.
New to your website….looking forward to trying several of your recipes because they look amazing!! Thank you for sharing them with us!!