Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hi all.
I am already thinking about US Thanksgiving. If I were Canadian, I would have posted this last month. I am planning on doing the Canadian version as Thanksgiving: Part 1 because I just love the savo(u)ry delights of that holiday.

I definitely want to make my own tofurky again. (DrDalek is me in the comments for more ideas on that.) And I think I want to make the double layer pumpkin cheesecake and a swiss cake.

I am not sure what to do for a bread product or if it is necessary to even have rolls. I make a good biscuit these days -- I might just do that.

What are you thinking? What did you do last year that you're thinking of carrying over to 2012?

Oh man, I'm glad I'm not alone. It is one of my greatest pet peeves to see stores carry decorations for holidays too early (I start ranting like a mad woman seeing things for Xmas before Halloween), but I was scanning pinterest today for ideas for Xmas and Thanksgiving dinner.

To be honest, I'm just ready to start cooking pumpkin in every dish.

I wanted to try pull-apart biscuits this year. And my roast came out really well last year, so I'd like to do it again with thinner "skin". I was thinking of going a pumpkin cheesecake route over pumpkin pie, and maybe trying something new with the cranberry sauce (since I'm the only one that seems to go after it).

I pretty much carry over the same things, homemade tofurkey, mac'n'chz, mashed potatoes, rolls, sweet potato casserole, and some green veggie. And some sort of dessert, I'm guessing this year something from VPITS will be having a place at the table. Oh, and usually a spiced cranberry sauce and some gravy.

In a way I think it's kind of boring to do the same thing every year, but I start looking forward to it during the summer and I like to have some sort of tradition for the kid.

Instead of regular rolls or biscuits, why don't you make some pumpkin or sweet potato pull apart rolls.

Yay for Thanksgiving, and all its related foods!

I really want to try and make some kind of roast en croute this year, but I’d rather not do seitan as my omni family and friends tend to be put off by fake meats. I was looking at recipes for lentil loaf, and thinking of trying to wrap something like that in puff pastry. Anyone have any insight or suggestions into whether or not that’ll work?

Cabbage rolls are pretty much the only necessary staple in my family that gets carried over from year to year. My grandma’s Ukrainian version is meat-free by tradition already, so they’re a bit of super-awesome holiday comfort food that I didn’t have to give up.

ooh, biscuits are a good idea! i might do a few test runs to see if i can get them up to snuff - i think i've only made biscuits once before, and they were not very successful.

i'll be cooking for my partner's British family, so obviously i'd like to give them a nice representation of good ol' down-home Merruhkin cookin'. last year i made V'con seitan cutlets which i breaded and pan-fried. they seemed to go down really well with most of the 10 or so omnivores at the table, but my pescetarian father-in-law wasn't too keen on the texture.

i wonder if he'd like the Thanksgiving roulade on the PPK blog? it's still seitan, but it's not totally made of gluten, so maybe? i'm also considering marinated & baked tofu, but then there's the whole making-omnis-eat-tofu thing. i may need to consult my spiritual advisor.

i made a mushroom & chestnut pate en croute from this book a few years ago, and it turned out great! if you can get the lentils to stick together well enough to make a good oblong lump, i see no reason it wouldn't work.

I am intrigued. Would you be willing to share the recipe?

Union Inn Rolls, please!!!

(also +1 yummy on the request for cabbage rolls, or even just a vague description if you don't want to give away hte family treasure)

I would, if I had it! I've never actually made them myself, just helped my grandma with the rolling, and in typical grandma fashion she doesn't have a recipe, just makes them the way she always has for 60 years. It's basically just rice and onion rolled in steamed cabbage, covered in tomatoes and baked to deliciousness. This recipe looks pretty similar, although we always use oil for frying the onions, and cans of stewed diced tomatoes instead of tomato juice. This year I'll pay better attention, write some things down, and report back.

And thanks for the pate suggestion, EmperorTomatoKetchup, I'll have to check that out. Sounds tasty!

I'll probably make chickpea cutlets and make sure to bring earth balance & almond milk for mashed potatoes (We go to a family friend's home and they're willing to set aside some potatoes for me). Probably chickpea cutlets & the maple pecan pie and some butter-rum pumpkin pull apart rolls that I veganized from a recipe I found on pinterest for christmas last year. SO GOOD. Not sure if anything else from me though.

I made chickpea cutlets at Christmas last year, and my mom's pork loin roast was ignored as people ate up all the cutlets. :D

I've decided my project for the day is going to be figuring out what I'm going to be making next Sunday to celebrate (early) Canadian Thanksgiving! That was a great idea, Sra. Nooch. It'll just be me and the Mr., since we actually live in Texas and will be celebrating US Thanksgiving with our families in November. This gives me a lot more freedom as to what'll be on the menu as well. Exciting!

I'll report back later with what I come up with!

Okay, so tentatively, here's our menu:

Appetizer:
Smoky Pimento Spread (Melomeals) with baguette and crudites

Main Course:
Stuffed seitan roast (PPK). Anyone made this before? I made the apricot glazed roast from 500 Vegan Recipes last year, but it just did not work out for me at all, which made me very sad. It ended up being like the worst, dry, rock-hard loaf of bread in the world and I had great difficulty even trying to slice it with a knife. I'm guessing it's because it dried out and/or maybe the vital wheat gluten to wheat flour ratio was off? If anyone could give me any tips about how to make this work, I'd appreciate it, since the ingredients tasted good before baking.

Sides:
Chorizo, cranberry, and cornbread dressing (500 VR)
Curried apple sprouts (500 VR)
Creamed corn (500 VR), probably dressed up even more with a minced jalapeno thrown in to mimic a restaurant dish that's a fave of the Mr.
Fluffy mashed potatoes (PPK)
Savory mushroom gravy (PPK)
Can o' cranberry sauce
Possibly Unity Inn Rolls, if I'm not feeling overwhelmed. Otherwise, it'll just be leftover baguette from the appetizer.

Dessert:
Pumpkin cheesecake (VPITS)

We will also be watching Trailer Park Boys and maybe Canadian Bacon, since they're Canada-related... Haha.

I'm glad I'm not the only one dreaming of thanksgiving. My mother keeps telling me it's too early. But it's my first thanksgiving where I'm home (used to play in the band at the football game each year) so I'm really excited to finally get to contribute. And it's my first vegan thanksgiving, so I want it to be awesome.

There is no menu yet, but I'm doing a pumpkin pie with oreo crust. So delicious. I'm completely stumped on what to do for a roast, but I know I would like one. I have a kickass gravy recipe that will be making an appearance for sure. And rolls or biscuits! Or both!

This year I'm keeping it simple.

The PPK blog seitan roast with stuffing
Roasted brussel sprouts
Roasted butternut squash

For dessert I'm making the pb chocolate tart thingies from VPITS.

GymClassZero, Thanksgiving is next Monday in Canada. Maybe you could have an early, vegan-only, trial run.

This is an excellent idea. Hell, maybe I'll have a trial thanksgiving each week. Just to be sure the recipes are good.

Actually, I'm going to test drive a stuffing recipe tonight. And maybe some baked tofu.

I am going to make the ppk roast as well this year, with scalloped potatoes and roasted other vegetables. Dessert will be Fat Free Vegan's double layer pumpkin cheesecake (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/11/do ... ecake.html) and maybe plain old pumpkin pie as well.

I used to make crescent rolls but the recipe I used had two (or more) eggs so the last few years I was making plain or potato dinner buns. I think I will try crescent rolls again, sans eggs. Good thing to veganize for my blog :-)

Edited to add: Stuffing! Maybe I thought that went without saying but ti doesn't. Celery, sage and savoury stuffing, yum.

my family refuses to allow me to do a vegan thanksgiving. (I'm the only vegan). they hate every faux meat imaginable. but, I'm allergic to every faux meat anyway, (celiac disease = no seitan, no soy, no dairy, no peanuts) so it doesn't really matter anyway.
I offer to make as many side dishes as I can legally get away with, so that I can make them as "allergy friendly" as possible. My vegetarian daughter actually cooks the turkey (what the fizzle?!) and I truck all the sides to her house, where we all feast. I guess as long as the men in the family outnumber us, this is the way it will be.

BTW: Are any truly awesome vegan men hanging out at the PPK (around 50 years old?) Just kidding!

what are these chickpea cutlets that a couple of y'all mentioned above? are they like falafel patties??

is this recipe in VWaV?

It's in Veganomicon. They are more like seitan (it's a mix of chickpeas, breadcrumbs, and vital wheat gluten).

Hmm, so Mr. has specifically requested no seitan because he is severely averse to the seitan sausages that I've fed him in the past. He's also theoretically against "large hunks of tofu", so I'm thinking a marinated tofu dish is also probably not a good idea. I want something centerpiece-y. Stuffed acorn squash might be an option, too.

Now for the main course, I'm thinking the caramelized onion tart with sweet potato sage crust from 500 Vegan Recipes, but I'm not sure. I think it'd still be good with gravy and all that, but I'm not sure it's the show stopper I'm looking for. I was also considering this Homemade Tofurkey with Brown Rice Stuffing, but it seems like it might be a bit bland and I'm not sure if blending the tofu (5 packages!) with seasonings and then pressing it back into a shape would solve the "big hunks of tofu" problem.

What say ye, PPK? Stuffed acorn squash, caramelized onion tart, or adventurous and very Vegan-foodie homemade tofu tofurkey? Or Door Number 3???

I think I might celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving this year, in addition to my annual Friendsgiving and my family's dinner, so I can drag it out as long as possible and make more things.

I definitely want to try the stuffed seitan roast this year!

Also:
-lots and lots of stuffing - my fave!
-maple-dijon-balsamic roasted brussels sprouts
-roasted squash or maybe mixed roasted root veggies
-maybe some kind of autumnal salad with dried cranberries and nuts
-mac & cheeze
-potatoes with copious amounts of gravy
-maple pecan pie
-PUMPKIN PIE

I have to revisit my past holiday meals and see what was gluten free. This is my first gluten free holiday! Last year I think I made chickpea cutlets, the savory mushroom gravy from ppk, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato casserole from fat free vegan, and the pumpkin cheesecake from ppk.

Past years I have made stuffing and a tofurky or ordered from Whole Foods catering. No idea what to make this year!

My mother in law always makes a cranberry chutney that we can eat. So at least I don't have to worry about that.