Saturday, November 24, 2012

Food and Fun: Thanksgiving 2012

Here it is, Thanksgiving 2012: the food, the fun, the foils!

First, the food.
Baked Tofu with Mushroom Gravy, Steamed CSA Cauliflower & Romanesco (didn't make it into a gratin, but it was still good!), Isa's Roasted Fennel & Hazelnut Salad with Shallot Dressing (dressing not applied yet!), Mashed Yukon Golds and Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

 Baked Tofu! So easy, so delicious.  

Susan's recipe reminded me that it could easily be served as a vegan main course for T-day, so bake it and serve it I did!  

Doesn't Romanesco look like little Christmas trees? 

Roasting Fennel, Shallots and Garlic for the Salad:
 
It was fun shaking the hazelnuts in a towel to get the skins off!


 Shallot Dressing for the Roasted Fennel and Hazelnut Salad 
(recipe was from Veganomicon).

 Cranberry Sauce! (Hubby's secret recipe)

Oh, and for appetizers, we had a vegan cheese plate!
Homemade, Soft "Gruyere" Style Cashew Cheese from Artisan Vegan Cheese, Castelvetrano Olives and Red Seedless Grapes.
Note: The cheese was sliceable after sitting in the fridge for about ten days.  It tasted incredible!  

And, the fun...
We got presents from Grandma Margie! 
 Grandma Margie loves to draw little cartoons.
I love that little turkey! 

Emory got those cool "magic" worms from the 70's now marketed as "Squirmels." 
They are really really fun.

Ollie enjoyed the presents, too.  
As any good cat should, she loved the wrapping paper and bags.


Is that one of those worms on a string from the 70's?

She also really loved the squirmels.  Emory is playing with it there in the background and she is just captivated.  She can't quite tell if it's real or not...

I got really pretty autumnal dinner napkins for my hostess gift.
 Here they are with Lydia, our Thanksgiving Turkey 
(She's named after Lydia Bastianich!)

The foil...
Pa brought a present for Emory, too:
 An awesome homemade Magic Sword, kinda He-Man in the style department.

Pa raked and Emory attacked!




What to do now?

Pie, of course!
Use whatever crust you like or need to use, they all work.  I love Susan! 

Dawn's Gingersnap Crust Recipe:
Put all but six cookies from a 10 ounce bag of Mi-Del Swedish Style Gingersnaps (they are awesome and they are vegan!) into your food processor and pulse until fine crumbs are achieved.  With the machine on, add three tablespoons of melted butter (EB) or neutral oil (canola, etc.) and blend until combined.  Press into pie pan and blind bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

Fill it with the cream cheese mixture first:
Then add the pumpkin mixture and bake!

Oh. My. Goodness.  This pie is so amazing.

We are already making leftovers, too:
 Mini Thanksgiving Pot Pies!
Hubby's Recipe: 
Layer and/or mix whatever you like for this pie! The bottom is best with something firm like packed stuffing, middle layer is your veggies and/or main course mixed with gravy + extra pepper, cover with mashed potatoes, sprinkle with smoked paprika and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. YUM-O.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  BTW, I didn't make the Thanksgiving Pizza yet, but it's on the to-do list, maybe tomorrow.

Right now, I should really check on this...
I haven't looked in on it since Wednesday, I think.

Onward!




8 comments:

  1. It looks like you had such a fantastic Thanksgiving! I'm so glad you liked the idea of the baked tofu and gravy. I really find that with making everything else, the last thing I need to do is make an elaborate main dish. And basically I just need something to put gravy on! And I love those ginger snaps, so I'm sure your crust was incredible. I wish I still had leftovers so I could make your husband's pot pies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks to both of your recipes, my dear, we did! That baked tofu is a lifesaver for time and effort, and really delicious with or without gravy. I did leftover sandwiches using the tofu like turkey, with tofu, cranberry sauce and Vegenaise on white toast. YES.

      And THAT PIE. Don't get me started thinking about it since I still have about 1/4 of it left (not for long, not for long!).

      XOXO!

      Delete
  2. Everything looks fantastic! I really want to try to make that pumpkin cheesecake, wow. And the mini pot pies are so cute! It sounds like a lot less work than a normal sized shepherd's pie. Roasted fennel and shallots sounds super classy.
    I love the cat pictures...never heard of the sqiurmels but it looks pretty wild. Great stuff all around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!! You should try that pumpkin cheesecake, it is amazing and not hard at all! It's always a bit of a pain to make a cookie crust, if you use a premade graham cracker crust it will be REALLY fast! The little pot pies are also REALLY easy and super tasty, too, and taste surprisingly different enough to qualify as a reinvention of leftovers.

      I should have taken a picture of the squirmels but cat + kid were too fast for me!

      XOXO!

      Delete
  3. Beautiful and, oh, so festive. Thanks for sharing, Dawn! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like you had a lovely Thanksgiving. You really went all out!

    Love grandman's drawing of the lucky turkey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to blog more of Grandma Margie's little cartoons!

      Hoping to see your out-to-dinner T-day photos, meanwhile, still coveting those cinnamon buns. Seriously going to make them soon!

      XOXO

      Delete