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!

Double Layer Pumpkin-Cheesecake from The Fat Free Vegan Blog w a Gingersnap Crust.

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!

Gordelicious Pie!

This is a fun, savory pie that can be made with any squash, potato or pumpkin.  It's GOURDelicious!

This is one I made this week with fresh sweet potatoes.  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the crust:
Blind bake a home made or pre-made crust (I use Wholly Wholesome crusts, they are delicious and vegan!) for about 8-10 minutes.  Make sure to prick crust with a fork so it doesn't bubble up, then lightly cover with a double layer of tin foil to prevent over-baking (though I forgot to cover it this time and it was fine :-) Once you are done blind baking the crust, turn oven down to 375.

For the filling:

In a food processor combine the following and process until well combined.

1 package 12 oz aseptic firm, silken tofu (regular or light is fine)
1 can organic pumpkin or sweet potato, OR, about 2 cups freshly cooked sweet potato, pumpkin, squash, etc. If you use fresh pumpkin or squash, you'll need to drain it well or add more dry ingredients (or maybe some breadcrumbs, etc.) to balance the moisture.
1/4 cup cornstarch or 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 tsp Adobo
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
juice of one organic lime
1 tablespoon (or more or less depending on your tastes) of Cholula hot sauce
1 tsp sea salt or Kosher salt

Turn out mixture into a large bowl and add:
One can of rinsed and drained organic black beans
One cup of frozen organic corn
1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped

Stir the mixture well to combine.  Taste for salt and spices and adjust as desired.  Fill pie crust with filling.

For topping, mix together the following and sprinkle on top of pie:
1/2 cup of chopped, raw organic walnuts
1/2 cup Daiya cheddar style cheese
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (or you can add more walnuts!)

Bake pie at 375 for 45 to 55 minutes or until pie is set and edges of crust are just turning golden brown.  Let cool about 15 minutes before slicing.

Serve with hot sauce, vegan sour cream (I love Tofutti brand), chopped cilantro, and fresh guacamole if you've got it!

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Trial Run: "Impossible" Pumpkin Pie

Susan from the FatFreeVegan blog created a crustless, "impossible" pumpkin pie that is totally fat free and easy.  All you need is a blender and a pie pan and you are good to go.  For this, I was able to use my sweet rice flour from my pantry, which has made a long-time home in my baking drawer.

Doing the impossible. 

It is custardy with an Asian dessert taste (from the rice flour).  I served it with Soyatoo whipped cream.

All in all, it was good, but sort of tasted too much like the filling of an Asian bakery good and not enough like a pie for me. I used arrowroot, though and didn't reduce the quantity.  Next time I would reduce it to 2 tsps rather than the tablespoon, it is a stronger binder than cornstarch and the full tablespoon affected the consistency.  I also used canned pumpkin, which I'm sure affected the consistency also.  

Give Susan's impossible pie a try! It is really fun to make (and so easy!).  Don't use too much arrowroot and you should be fine :-)

What recipes are you guys thinking about making for the holidays? What's on your "to try" list?