Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving menu, with vegan/wheat-free options

I think I have the Thanksgiving menu set now. I'd better, since both cars are out of the house without me and there's not much more grocery-shopping time left anyway. Here's what I'm planning; I'll report back tomorrow or Friday, with pictures if I think of it.

Maple-Glazed Turkey with Gravy: My most successful turkeys have been cooked quickly at high heat, like this one; I like the glaze idea and it looks pretty simple. I have a smallish (10 pound) turkey, so this may go even faster than two hours. Score!

I'm thinking of making a cornbread stuffing but I haven't actually dug up a recipe on the internet. Usually I make a version of an apple-chestnut stuffing recipe that a friend gave me years ago; she replaces the chestnuts with walnuts and I do, too. I think I can do that one with cornbread, so that will probably be it.

Mushroom, Lentil, and Wild Rice Timbales: Mariah is vegan and is currently avoiding wheat; this looks like a terrific entree for her (and I may steal some, too). I don't have ramekins so I'm baking it in a casserole dish.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts: I don't actually like brussels sprouts, but I keep hoping I will. This looks easy enough that I don't mind experimenting, and it looks good. If there's room in the oven, though, I might roast them instead.

Roasted potatoes, parsnips, leeks, and red pepper: (The link is a soup recipe but I will stop before they are soup...) Everyone loves roasted vegetables. This is the only form besides french fries in which Nick will eat potates. Go figure.

Sweet potato casserole: Because I might not make enough dessert... I'll have to vegan-ize this recipe with egg replacer, margarine, and almond milk. I'm thinking the sweet potatoes will mask any slight differences in flavor. We'll see.

Cranberry sauce: I will probably just make regular whole-berry sauce this year, no bells and whistles. I love the garlicky gingery chutney one, but I'm really the only one in my house who likes it, so it's easier just to stop at step one.

If the brussels sprouts don't look good, or I go a little mad, I may also add some green beans or a salad. Though, really, there are enough vegetables here already, right? Then for dessert:

Wheat free vegan pumpkin "pie": Pie without crust? I am skeptical, but I love my daughter, and she loves pumpkin desserts, so we will try.

I may also make an apple crisp, which is a safe and sound vegan, wheat-free dessert as long as you sub oat bran for wheat germ, gluten free flour for regular, and margarine for butter.

Yes, this is a ridiculous amount of food for five people (Mark's dad is with us). But I love Thanksgiving, and we all love Thanksgiving leftovers, so nothing will go to waste.

2 comments:

kate said...

Ooooh, this all sounds heavenly! I'm jealous! We had a pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner with my family a couple of weekends ago, but the turkey we ordered ended up small and lean-- actually, it was enough meat for us but produced almost no gravy. Oh well. I am enjoying reading recipes online and imagining the results!

Magpie said...

Mmm, sounds nice.

I have a splendid brussels sprouts recipe that will convert anyone. Really. I will either email it to you or post it. (Not for today, but tuck it away for another time.)