When the question, “What are we going to make for Thanksgiving dinner?” comes up, I hear the distant chorus of “Tradition” from the 1971 movie musical Fiddler on the Roof. The main character, Tevye, played by Chaim Topol, extols tradition and the benefits it serves for the community and our families. (If you haven’t seen it, add it to your list of winter movies.) Tevye realizes that tradition is not the boundary that we live our lives within, rather the starting place of our life’s trajectory.
If this is motivating enough to break from tradition this year, à la Fiddler on the Roof, consider hosting Steaksgiving.
Thankful for friendship
Steaksgiving is my friend group’s take on the concept of Friendsgiving, which has grown in popularity over the years to the point that Merriam-Webster officially added it to the dictionary in 2020. Friendsgiving can include just about anything that works for your friend group. It honours the holiday’s traditions without the rigidity. It doesn’t need to happen on a specific day of the Thanksgiving long weekend, or feature yams, or end in pumpkin pie.
“There is none of the typical pressure of a holiday. It’s about appreciating those who are in your life because they want to be there,” my friend Taysia MacMillan says. “The conversation is lighter, the laughter is deeper.” Taysia and her partner are hosting their third annual Steaksgiving in Edmonton this year.
I asked her to describe her approach.
Keep the prep and stress to a minimum
“We keep the guest list broad, supply the steaks and pre-batch a cocktail or two,” Taysia says. “The goal is to make it low-key and accessible. Bringing a potluck item isn’t a requirement, and we always end up with more than enough food.”
Steaks are a scalable main course. Fewer guests coming this year? Vacuum seal those extra portions for another time. Steaks are great paired with the variety of sides you might serve for Thanksgiving, but also work with simple salads, a green vegetable — think green beans or broccoli — and roast potatoes.
