Before we get started today, a quick poll!
One of the key finding from our reader survey was that y’all (understandably!) need more clarity about what you get in the regular paid membership vs Extra Butter (our premium tier).
So we’re working on that now. Step one: Name the regular paid membership so you know which group you’re in! But what to name it so it both pairs well with Extra Butter yet also distinct? We need your votes!
Thanks so much, Burnt Toasties! (BTW, even without a cool name, paid subscriptions are awesome and you should join us.)
ICYMI, we’re devoting a big chunk of September to our continued conversation about hosting Friend Fridays — or your equivalent “deep casual hosting” experience. This series is directly inspired by the work of Katherine Goldstein, who coined the phrase DCH, and the advice you’ll find here is a mix of tips from you, me, and folks like Katherine who think and write about this stuff a lot! You can find all our Friend Friday content here.
What To Do About the Food Part
The genius of Friday Night Meatballs—the ritual that inspired my original idea— is that you’ve decided the menu. It’s always delicious and removes all decision-making labor—which is a big part of what makes hosting feel like so much work. Initially, I hesitated to commit to one menu for Friend Friday in part because the folks I tend to host include a range of vegetarians, gluten-free folks, kids who eat only pasta/kids who never eat pasta, etc, etc. It felt easier to make a game time decision based on whose coming—meaning if there are too many discrete dietary needs, we order takeout! But over the summer, I adopted a standing menu: Grilled chicken + pasta salad + ask everyone to bring whatever they’d like to add to the table. My plan now is to evolve this seasonally — so pasta and meatballs may very well be the menu come October!
I do always want to make sure whatever I’m serving is customizable for cautious kids and anyone with food allergies or another medical food need. What I don’t serve is diet culture—I pick menus based on what’s easy to make and will taste good, the end. This is one way Deep, Casual Hosting can support body liberation work. Because it’s a meal that’s about sharing food and also about so much more than the food.
Here are some meals that hit this criteria and work well for groups:
