To work through this Thanksgiving feast conundrum I think I have to dissect it. It helps to think about what I like, need, love about the Thanksgiving feast occasions.
Here is my early dissection list: the flavors and textures I love, the things that scream Thanksgiving meal.
Rolls. This is no issue. I’ve got a French bread recipe from the red gingham cookbook that is virtually Vegan. It calls for egg whites which I’m just going to skip since they just help make the bread crusty. And the suggestion was to use water if you want extra crusty. Win. Win. I’m going to make a batch of bread, as rolls, and with whole grain flour and some extra fun added. I'm thinking garlic rolls, some rosemary onion rolls, and maybe some herb with parsley, sage, and thyme.
I love the taste and texture of cranberry relish, but it has gelatin in it. I could use agar but I have an idea that will take a cranberries relish type dish another step into deliciousness. Stay tuned.
I’ve never been a die-hard turkey fan and I’ve always LOATHED dressing. This may be because early on I discovered my mom used giblet juice (and possibly little bits of giblets themselves sliced and diced but this is usually denied in an attempt to get me to eat it.) I always put gravy on my turkey and usually just ate one serving, calling it good. This year I’m going to make the Chickpea Cutlets. I think I might make smaller ones and bake them in the gravy. I’ll add sage and celery to the gravy to give it that Thanksgiving taste. More on this later, too.
Potatoes. That’s easy. We don’t need to make them, but I may do a batch anyway. Cut and boil potatoes (about 5 pounds) leave skin on for texture, a few peeled cloves of garlic and salt to taste, toss in a bag of frozen or fresh chopped cauliflower, when all tender, drain most of the water. Save some if needed. Add a container of Vegan Cream “Cheese” (Trader Joe’s has one.) Mash to consistency you like, add more potato water if needed. Make a few wells, add a TBSP or so of Earth Balance to each well.
My aunt has made a fudge pecan pie for years. That sucker is delicious. And full of dairy. So. I’m thinking that what I love best is the fudginess and the pecan. The flavors can be Veganized, No problem there, either. Not sure how yet, but it's on my list. Stay tuned.
Pumpkin. & has produced two different, delicious caramelized pumpkin nut “cheese”cakes. And she just needs to tweak her recipe to pull off the perfect Vegan pumpkin pie, traditional style.
& also keeps mentioning a Vegan stuffing recipe she found somewhere.
All of these sound delicious and I'm pretty sure they will scratch the itch and fill the "meat and dairy" void. I'll keep you posted.
