Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hello,

I heard great things about Isa's books. I am checking them out t the library tomorrow.

I am hosting thanksgiving and I need recommendations on what recipes to make. I will have omnis coming but they will bring dishes too. I need to make a main course and a stuffing. What do you suggest????? This is driving me crazy! I am not a good cook and I need to impress omnis LOL. Your inpuit is greatly appreciated!

thanks!!!

I make a cornbread and sourdough stuffing that is really good--its veganized based on an omni recipe...I can PM it to you if you would like it. Otherwise, I like to look at issues of food mags (I have a Thanksgiving stash I always refer to) and just veganize what I want to make...other than turkey, everything for Tday is SUPER easy to veganize!

I have never used any veg mag or any other veg cookbook for Tday recipes--nothing against them--I use them most other times of the year...I just like very very traditional foods for the holiday and prefer to just veganize family faves! :)

There's a recipe for Country "Meatloaf" with Golden Gravy in Chloe's Kitchen that would make a really nice main for Thanksgiving. I just made it this last week from the cookbook, but it looks like the recipe is online on the NYT blog! Pretty easy to make and delicious!

ETA: In the cookbook itself, she recommends breaking the tempeh into four "squares" and steaming it for 20 minutes before crumbling into the pan. The extra step is really easy and will help remove any bitterness from the tempeh.

Here's an old thread with lots of ideas:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1013&hilit=thanksgiving+menu

I usually do celebration roast and a bunch of sides but this year I'm ordering from the Cinnamon Snail.
http://fs11.formsite.com/thecinnamonsna ... iving2012/

Gardein isn't my favorite but I saw their roast in the store so I bought it. I'll be taking that to my inlays.

I found this which has a lot of good tips:
http://www.vegfamily.com/holidays/very- ... giving.htm

Bryanna Clark Grogan used to have a page of Thanksgiving recipes, but I can no longer find it. I used to use it as reference every year. I suppose I should've saved it.

there is a recipe in a book called the Vegan Table for roasted brussel sprouts, apples, and red onions i think. i forget the name of the recipe but it's really good and i made it at the last two thanksgivings and everyone really loved it.

for the "meat" part i love the Field Roast Celebration Roast. it's so good! only thing is it's very small. i would say it's only enough for 2 people but since im usually the only one eating it it's a perfect size.
they have a bigger one that comes in a box with more stuff. i forget what it's called other than it has the words "en croute" in the title. i may try that one this year as i think a couple other vegs might be at thanksgiving this year.

If they're omnis you may want to steer clear of faux meat or at least have an alternative entree. Shepherd's pie, stuffed squash, or a lentil/nut loaf might all go over well.

If you go the faux meat route... I find that omnis do better with tofu and fake meat when it's fried, so you might also consider breading (or pecan encrusting) and frying some tofu, gardein, or seitan and serving it with cranberry sauce.

That said, my 70+ father-in-law loves the celebration roast... he says it tastes like sausage.

How about a lasagna? I heard Isa's lasagna was really good, the one from appetite for reduction? What else?

I think the one from Veganomicon is better than the one from AFR.

There are a lot of recipes fordressing up a tofurkey if you don't like to cook but want to stay traditional. If you do, Isa posted a seitan recipelast year.

This is my go-to Thanksgiving main. It's really easy to make and very impressive. My usually skeptical mother loved it. http://justthefood.blogspot.com/2009/10/truth-is.html

This looks really good. Anything in pastry looks impressive.

My mum makes a vegan nut roast (heh), and I make the gravy. It pleases all the omnis because there is no "fake-y" stuff in it but it is sublimely rich and really filling. We do a filling with toasted hazelnuts, almonds, and cashews, whatever veggies we choose, Thanksgiving-y herbs, etc...and wrap the whole log in puff pastry and bake it. Or sometimes we skip the pastry. I make a really nice gravy with marmite and red wine.

It's so rich that you only need small portions, which is great because we usually fill the rest of the spread up with a myriad of vegetable dishes.

do you the link to the recipe? thanks!

We kind of just wing it...but something like this: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8969/cas ... roast.aspx That's kind of close. Nut roasts seem to be way more popular in the UK, so the ingredients are always measured by weight in most of the recipes.

I made a lentil-mushroom-nut roast "en croute" a while ago that makes an awesome holiday entree. It's nice to have something that has that big-item presence of a turkey or ham, can be carved at table, etc. Don't have a recipe for the whole thing, unfortunately - I basically made this lentil burger recipe into a loaf shape, then wrapped it in store-bought puff pastry and baked it until the pastry was done. Worked awesome.

I always buy the Vegan Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute by Field Roast. This year I ordered 2 of them because after Thanksgiving my husband (omni) asks for it and I don't want to order it again...

I also wanted to make stuffed acorn squash, but does anyone have any ideas for the stuffing? I don't like to stick a bunch of loose corn/beans/etc. in there and call it a stuffing. I want something that sticks together, I guess..

The original Moosewood cookbook has a nice stuffed acorn squash. There's probably butter in there, but that's easy enough to deal with. I haven't made it for years so I don't remember what's in it, but I could dig the recipe up if you're interested.

If I'm ccoking for my family, I just do the Field Roast hazelnut cranberry en croute roast, but if I was hosting omnis as well, I'd add another main dish in case they were iffy about fake meat. (Although I think Field Roast is too good to write it off as fake meat...) I did the Vcon pumpkin baked ziti one year and that was a hit.

I would love that recipe, if you have the time to dig it up. I have a couple of the Moosewood cookbooks, but not the original one. Thank you!

does anyone know if the Vegan Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute by Field Roast has apples anywhere in it?
we were talking about various roasts on fb the other day and a friend said she couldnt do the Field Roast cause it had apples in it and she's super allergic. im guessing she meant the Celebration Roast as i think it might have apples in the stuffing.

So glad you posted this! I was thinking of splurging and buying that field roast--cooking for omni for Tday, so Im veganizing a lot of stuff, but I would like to try the roast as well as show the doubters that vegan food is yummy.

:)

There are non-sulphered dried apples in the stuffing.

thanks! i guess i wont suggest she try that one then!

lucky for me i can eat apples!

"Comprehensively Stuffed Squash"

2 medium-sized winter squash, sliced lengthwise and prebaked (350, face down on an oiled tray for 30 minutes)

2 Tbsp [suitable substitute for] butter
1 c minced onion
1/2 lb minced mushrooms
1 large clove minced garlic
1 stalk minced celery
1/2 tsp salt
lots of black pepper
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c minced walnuts
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c raisins (optional)
2 c good bread crumbs
6-8 dried apricots

Melt [suitable substitute for] butter in a large skillet. Add onion and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms, garlic, celery and seasonings, and saute another 10 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste to correct seasonings.

Fill prebaked squash and bake in a 350 oven, covered, for 20-30 minutes until heated through.


I am not a lover of fungus, so I have always just left out the mushrooms. And the optional raisins. But that's just me.

Thank you so much! I am a big time fungus lover, but not so much a raisins fiend. That sounds really good.

I made a whole vegan Thanksgiving dinner this year for the first time with more traditional foods! We made roasted veggies, stuffing, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, and an apple crisp. I have all of the recipes / photos in my blog (in my sig!)