Thankful for my Friends (giving)

Eat, drink & be merry! That's my motto any time I get together with some of my closest friends. And last weekend was no exception. My dear friend, Erica (of Eating with Erica), hosted a holiday chic Friendsgiving at Einstein's!

I knew when I received the invite, that I had to bring my A-game! Rent the Runway always comes through and with all their options for this time of year, it was hard to choose. But I settled on this lovely Slate & Willow number. Perfection. As with any event (especially one that Erica is throwing), you know we had the #GlamSquad in full effect. Once hair and make-up was complete, it was time to make our "fashionably late" entrance at Einstein's!

Einstein's, located in the heart of Midtown, could not have been a more perfect venue for Erica's Friendsgiving. Upon our arrival we had mini bottles of champagne waiting for us! If you know Erica, it's the attention to detail and her love of life, that make everyone feel welcome. As we mixed and mingled, we were asked to find our seats as the evening of fellowship and food (mainly, food) was about to commence.

As we all nestled into our private room and found our seats, the procession of food begun to file out. To start, we were all served family style plates of tempura green beans with sriracha aioli, seared scallops with butternut spaghetti squash, crispy prosciutto, and red wine reduction, and a mushroom & brie flatbread with roasted garlic, house-pickled peppers, and arugula. If you follow me on Insta and/or Snapchat, you know about my love (er, obsession) with sriracha. Plus, anything fried is fine by me!

With each course served the ever gracious Goza Tequila, paired a craft cocktail with our scrumptious plates. I love tequila, so I was thrilled to have Goza have a hand in the evening! All apart of the "drink & be merry" mentality!

As we dove into our entree, I could hardly contain my excitement. Food tends to do that to me! Another blogger bestie of mine, Tierney (of Fashion to a T), and I opted to split each of our entrees. After all, sharing is caring! We went with the Coulotte steak over mushroom risotto, sautéed baby bok choy, au poivre and chipotle salmon with adobo mashed sweet potatoes, roasted corn salsa, and crispy avocado. I can officially say I can die a happy woman after indulging in both dishes. The mushroom risotto was out of this world! So creamy and the mushroom were cooked to perfection. I also loved the salmon dish! The crispy avocado and adobo mashed sweet potatoes complimented the chipotle flavoring nicely.

For the grand finale aka dessert aka my favorite part of any meal, Einstein's sent a couple of their favorites for us to try! Chocolate mousse cake with fresh raspberry sauce, chocolate ganache, strawberries, whipped cream and Griddled peach pound cake with vanilla ice cream, candied pecans, bourbon caramel. That peach pound cake was incredible! Such a "sweet" way to cap off such a enjoyable evening!

Erica did have one more trick up her sleeve (not literally, since she was looking like a Grecian goddess in her festive maxi gown), as we each departed she handed us a stocked swag bag! Have I mentioned she knows a thing or two about throwing an event?! From a Spa Sydell gift certificate to the most gorgeous tea set, I will putting all of my goodies to use this holiday season!

Thank you again to Erica for hosting a lovely Friendsgiving that I will remember for years to come! And thank you to all of the official sponsors for making it happen -- Einsteins, Spa Sydell , Goza Tequila, Cooks Warehouse, Woodbridge Wine, and Peters Brew!

Xo,
Kel