Pass the Tofurky?

Recipe: Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu

Ok. I have to be honest. I probably will have a little turkey on Thanksgiving. In fact I will probably be the one cooking it. But, my plate will be about 10% turkey and 90% delicious veggies and vegetarian. Honest! I have been doing a lot of thinking about what dishes I can cook for my family that doesn't involve meat. I know Thanksgiving is all about gluttony (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and that eating a ton of meat is what American gluttony is all about, but I think I can convince them that there is happiness to be found in veggies too.

The New York Time's Well Blog has a great article on Vegetarian Thanksgivings. They will be adding new recipes every day until Thanksgiving, and they have beautiful photographs. Using that site as inspiration, I have a few menu ideas of my own to bring to the table (so to speak). I have a lot of links and recipes in this post, s

o I'll keep my thoughts short and let the food speak for its self.

The Menu

Snacks:

Curried Cashews

1 pound unsalted raw cashews

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Mix spices together. Heat canola oil in a small skillet. Add spices to pan and toast for one to two minutes until fragrant.

3. Toss spice mixture over cashews. Spread evenly on a sheet pan and toast nuts in oven for ten to fifteen minutes until nuts are golden brown.

Spiced Walnuts

Salads and Sides:

Fall Beet Salad

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Parker House Rolls

Simple Mixed Green Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1 bag spring mix

1 red onion, julienned

3 ripe bosc pears, thinly sliced

1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled

For Vinaigrette:

1/2 gallon apple cider, reduced to 1 cup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons honey

3 cups olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk reduced cider, vinegar, honey, and mustard together. Slowly whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Toss salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Dress salad with 1/4 cup vinaigrette just before serving. Reserve the rest of the vinaigrette for later.

Green Beans with Almonds and Lemon (VEGAN)

2 pounds green beans

1 cup almonds, lightly toasted

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch green beans for 6-7 minutes until just tender. Drain and shock beans in ice water.

2. Heat oil in a large saute pan. Add garlic and saute one to two minutes. Add green beans almonds. Finish with a good squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Main Dishes:

Vegetarian Shepard's Pie

Goat Cheese Macaroni Gratin

1 pound macaroni

5 cups whole milk

5 oz flour

5 oz butter

1 cup creamy goat cheese (try Capriole's Fresh or if you're in the Chicago area Prairie Fruits Farm has some great goat cheeses)

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cayenne

1/2 baguette, small diced and toasted

1 bunch parsley, minced

1/2 cup parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni until al dente about 7-8 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Bring milk to a boil. In the meantime, melt butter in a large pot. Add flour to make a roux and cook for three to four minutes stirring constantly. Carefully whisk in hot milk. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add nutmeg and cayenne and cook for twenty minutes stirring occasionally. When stirring, be sure to get the sides and the bottoms of the pot, as this sauce is prone to burning.

3. Whisk in goat cheese and season sauce with salt and pepper. Add noodles to sauce and put in a large casserole dish.

4. Mix together baguette toast bits, parsley, and parmesan. Sprinkle on top

of macaroni mixture and bake in oven for 30 - 40 minutes until dish is golden on top.

Desserts:

Vegan Apple Pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Shepherd's Pie...without the Shepherd

Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Ok. The thought of eating a stew without meat makes me shudder. What's the point of beef stew, without the beef? Saving a cow's life, lowering my risk of heart disease, blah blah blah. Give me some Beef Bourgogne and a fork! Then my conscience (or was it my wallet?) got the best of me, and I thought a stew might be the true test of how successful my vegetarian cooking is. I mean the meat really makes the stew, so tender, so delicious, but maybe I could make vegetables satisfy just as well as the meat does.

Generally speaking, the toughest part of the animal (shoulder, leg) is the best part to be stewed. Braising it in some sort of sauce for long hours on end tenderizes the meat and turns the sinewy bits into pure velvet. Not literally of course. What I mean is the meat has the soft luxurious melty qualities that float over your taste buds the way velvet floats over your skin. Smooth. In any case, I picked out the toughest vegetables to substitute for the tough cuts of meat: ROOT VEGETABLES.

Carrots, parsnips, celery root, potatoes...virtually any vegetable you can think of that grows underground is a root vegetable. They are great for braising because their texture is a lot harder than many other vegetables. Of course they aren't nearly as tough as say pork shoulder might be, so you don't have to cook them as long. Shorter cooking time is another bonus in vegetarian cooking.

For my stew experiment, I decided I wanted to try a vegetarian spin on Shepherd's Pie. (Technically Shepherd's Pie is a casserole, but I treated my vegetarian version like a stew.) A traditional Irish Shepherd's Pie calls for lamb or mutton, while many American versions use ground beef. Vegetables, such as peas, carrots, and onions, are mixed in with the meat and all of it is stewed together in some sort of sauce and baked with mashed potatoes on top.

For my vegetarian version I've used a variety of root vegetables, including carrots, turnips, and parsnips along with some other vegetables with a longer cooking time, cooked them in a red wine sauce, and spiced up the mashed potatoes with parsnips. I chose to use a flavorful red wine, something smoky and spicy to give the illusion that the stew contains meat. Ask the wine guy (or girl) at your local grocery store for a good recommendation. I used 2008 Bodegas Castano Monastrell Yecla Tinto which according to the internets is a relatively inexpensive Spanish wine that has a leathery and peppery taste. According to me, it had a medium intensity and was delicious to cook with and to drink.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

For the Mashed Potatoes:

3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, scrubbed well and skins on

1 pound Parsnips, medium diced

2 tablespoons Butter

1 cup Heavy Cream

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

For the Stew:

2 Onions, medium diced

1 bunch Celery, medium diced

3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, stems removed and quartered

2 Turnips, medium diced

2 tablespoons Ginger, minced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tablespoons Dried Rosemary

2 tablespoons Dried Thyme

1 cup Red Wine, full bodied (such as a Shiraz or a Tempranillo)

3 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock

3 tablespoons Butter

3 tablespoons Flour

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Procedure:

For the Mashed Potatoes:

1. Fill a large pot with water and the potatoes. Place the potatoes in the water and slowly bring to a simmer. Cook the potatoes until tender. While potatoes are cooking, you can work on the rest of the stew.

2. Meanwhile, cook the parsnips in a pot of salted water until soft. Puree in a food processor.

3. Once the potatoes are done cooking, peel the skin off and mash with a ricer, potato masher, or fork. Mix with parsnip puree.

4. Melt the cream, butter, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon together and add to the potatoes and the parsnip mixture. Potatoes should be thick and fluffy enough to sit on top of the stew.

For the Stew:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.

2. Blanch Brussels sprouts in a pot of salted boiling water just long enough to par-cook them, about 2 to 3 minutes.

3. In a large pot, melt the butter and caramelize onions, carrots, celery, and turnips over high heat, about 4 - 5 minutes. Add minced ginger and garlic, and sauté one minute longer. This should be done in small batches so that an even color can develop on all of your veggies.

4. Place all vegetables, including Brussels sprouts in a large cast iron pot or casserole dish. Add dried thyme, rosemary, and red wine. Reduce the wine down until it has almost all evaporated.

5. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add vegetable stock and let cook until liquid has reduced slightly.

6. Spread mashed potatoes on top of the stew and place in the oven. cook for 30 minutes or until the potatoes have browned and the liquid has thickened.

7. Eat and Enjoy!