My Thanksgiving

I'll just say that I waited until everyone else had finished with the Thanksgiving posts so I could get more attention.  Yah.  So, now that I have your attention, my dinner.

Sorry about the picture quality.  I wish my kitchen had better lighting.  And yes, there is only the one picture.  Roomy and I got too engrossed in conversation and eating (and wine drinking) to remember to take more photos!  Oops!

We both got home and started the celebrating!  We had some beer, played some music, had some rum, danced around the kitchen, and started cooking at 1:00pm.  By the time we were all ready to eat it was around 6:30pm.  After dinner, and before a tasty dessert of pumpkin mousse, we digested with the company of Sex & The City.  Bedtime hit at 8:30!  It was a glorious evening and very low-key.

So what do we have here?  The top right is a pot of Very Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Roomy's specialty), below that is our Baby Bella Gravy; in the center is a hearty Vegan Shepherd's Pie, top right is the best Sourdough Stuffing I've ever made, and below that is some amazing Vegan Green Bean Casserole!  There was a jar of Trader Joe's cranberry sauce too.  We decided not to go crazy and make everything from scratch.  We also wanted to match some of these as closely as possible to the classics and indulge a bit!

We did start the meal with an artichoke appetizer with a lemon butter (Earth Balance) dipping sauce.  I poured the remaining lemon butter onto the stuffing and that really brought that dish to the next level.

Below are some of the recipes.  I wasn't happy with the Shepherd's Pie, so I'm gonna wait until it comes together before sharing anything.

Baby Bella Gravy

1/2 lb Baby Bella mushroom
1/2 white onion
1 Tbs Blackstrap molasses
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbs Cumin
1 cup Veggie Stock - add more after blending to consistency
2 Tbs Earth balance or olive oil
2 Tbs tapioca starch (or corn starch) mixed with water to make a slurry

Chop and saute the mushrooms and onion with some oil or Earth Balance.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the starch.  Once cooked through process in a blender or food processor.  Put back into the pan and heat to simmer.  Add the slurry of starch and stir vigorously and continually until the gravy thickens. Salt & pepper to taste

Sourdough Stuffing

1 Sourdough baguette left to dry for 2 days and cubed or cubed and dried in the oven on low
1 Cup chopped Brussels sprouts
1/2 onion - chopped
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 an apple - choose based on your sweetness preference
1/2 Tbs Chopped fresh or frozen sage & 1/2 Tbs oregano
1/4 Cup lemon butter
1/4 Cup veggie stock

Put all ingredients into a large pan and allow to cook over medium heat until everything is cooked through and bread is nice and soft. About 20 minutes depending on the size of your pan.

 

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Fresh or frozen green beans
Vegan french fried onions (we used Trader Joe's)
Vegan Cream of Mushroom (similar to the gravy but different proportions)

• 1.5 Cups soaked raw cashews
• 1/2 cup veggie stock - add for consistency if needed
• 1/2 a white onion - chopped and sauteed
• 1/2 lb baby bellas - chopped and sauteed
• 1-2 Tsp Cumin
• 2 Tbs Nutritional yeast
• 1-2 Tsp Molasses
• Salt & pepper to taste

Saute all the ingredients except the cashews and veggie stock.  Transfer to blender or food processor.  Add cashews and stock and process to desired consistency.   Return to pan and