[photopress:images_1_2_3.jpg,thumb,alignright]My clients ask me all kinds of questions. Like, “How do I cook my very first Thanksgiving dinner in my little apartment, with my boyfriend’s Mom coming into town!?”
I overdo it myself, cooking two turkeys instead of just one, for example. I promised the real estate forum that I would brine one of them first, and do a brined vs. not brined taste test. Yeah, agent forums do go “off topic” from time to time.
I have a question for you out there. Do I come up with a vegetarian entre for those guests? Or do I leave them to eat everything except the turkey? We have salmon for those who can eat fish but not turkey. We have plenty of other stuff. But is it insulting not to have a main entre that is not fish or meat? My soup has little meatballs. My gravy is made from turkey stock…so that rules out mashed potatoes and gravy. What is an appropriate “meal” to serve a vegetarian coming to Thanksgiving dinner so that they feel like you paid some adequate attention?
Your thoughts appreciated.
It’s not insulting to leave out the main meal, we’re used to it, especially for the holidays. But, it’s best if the veggie doesn’t have to scrounge, either. Having to ask if the gravy or soup has meat can makes one feel rude or ‘picky’.
I suggest serving a starch (potatoes), a veggie or two (green beans w/o bacon), and a protein (cheese, baked tofu, etc).
There are a bunch of alternative meat products out there if you feel compelled to serve an alternative main course…or even for a side protein…Trader Joes is a great place to look. Try serving this without fanfare and see if your meat eaters get adventurous!
Whatever you do…don’t do Tofurky. If you only have one or two vegetarians, a stuffed acorn squash is nice, and if you are stuffing a turkey you can just put some of the same in a squash (pack it really full). That plus a few veggie side dishes (mashed potatoes/no chicken stock, cranberry sauce, whatever vegetable/salad you’re serving) and dessert should make any vegetarian at a non-veg Thanksgiving happy!
Do you happen to have a “baked tofu” recipe? What would I be looking for at Trader Joe’s? One of the main guests is a vegetarian and I’d really like her to know I care enough to really provide something for her…not just oh, there’s some dry mashed potatoes and candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, and salmon…hmmmm not bad choices now that I think about it.
I have no clue what to do with tofu. I could look up recipes, of course. But what is your favorite as to really tasting good? I was thinking my grandmother used to add pasta dishes to our Thanksgiving, out of habit. I could do cheese ravioli with meatless sauce or gnocchi (potaoto pasta). At least I know how to make that well.
Would you think it odd if I had a pasta side for Thanksgiving. Maybe ravioli and gnocchi with tofu sauce…hmmm. Getting inspired…
Seattle Veggie,
I definitely will NOT be doing “Tofurky” LOL. I usually do some of the stuffing separately in a pan. I can be careful not to put any meat stuff, like stock, in the stuffing. It doesn’t need it, but sometimes I do it just to be sure it isn’t dry. Thanks for bringing up the stuffing. I’ll be sure not to “taint” it.
I wouldn’t have thought of that without your comment…so thanks for that one.
Another veggie question. Does it gross out a vegetarian to see the turkey on the table? I don’t mean the food on people’s plates, but the whole thing?
I usually cook two turkeys and use one as a centerpiece.
You have it easy! One friend is vegie and another is gluten-free! We’re all getting together at a house we rented on Whidbey so everyone is contributing. I picked stuffing! Found a gluten free bakery that has a stuffing mix, so I’m planning to do a dried fruit stuffing so it has some texture, and it’s easy to sub vegie stock for chicken (Kitchen Basics is a good one). Throw some wine, eggs and cream in there and it’s all good (I’m hoping). Sauteed mushrooms would be a good side with the texture/flavor of meat, and pick up a good vegie gravy at Whole Paycheck.
Like Adrianna says, it’s easy to get a veggie stock to use instead, maybe just for the stuffing. Imagine Foods (I think) makes a “no-chicken” veggie stock that doesn’t taste as much like carrots as a lot of the “vegetable” stocks do. Or just use more butter! Mmm, more butter.
For gravy, if you don’t want to make a separate batch without turkey drippings, you could get some at the PCC or Whole Foods deli (ah, I see Adrianna covered that).
As for the turkey on the table, that depends on your vegetarian. If the centerpiece is your holiday tradition, I would say don’t change it on account of one person, unless you know they are very sensitive. Most of us are around meat enough that we can deal with it just fine. That said, no vegetarian is going to object if you don’t have it.
More butter it is! LOL My gravy is my once a year master piece, and the main reason I cook two turkeys, to get the drippings from the first one to make the gravy. Not messing with the gravy and not chancing the non veggies will find the wrong one and think I don’t know how to make gravy 😉 I’m willing to compromise, but not with my gravy.
The “main” vegetarian is Kim’s daughter, whom I adore and think of as one of my own daughters…new centerpiece it is!
We’re making progress. Where’s that really great tasting tofu recipe?
Also in Real Simple this month there’s a great sounding Baked Polenta with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola. You can do it in individual ramekins and just reheat as needed.That’d be a great main course.
Adrianna,
That’s IT!! That’s a definite IT suggestion. I had some baked polenta at Seattle’s Italian Festival about a month ago, and loved it. We didn’t bake our polenta when I was a kid…but this is definitely right up my alley!
Given the veggie girl is a real part of my life, and not just a guest, any and all good veggie recipes that are tried, tasted, and really good are appreciated. Not just for Thanksgiving…I need to get better at cooking veggie.
I’m more like the people you see in “My big fat Greek Wedding” who look at people who don’t eat meat like they have two heads and try to feed them things where they can’t see the meat. Sorry, just being honest. I’m trying really hard to “get it”. I now know that if I strain the meat out of the pasta sauce for them…that doesn’t cut it 🙂
And who doesn’t like gorgonzola? My vegie friend would eat it on ice cream if she could. I’ll fax you the recipe tomorrow if you want or I’d be willing to bet you can wing it.
Hey…I’ve already got IT! And now so does everyone else!
Heh. God love the internet.
Hi Ardell,
Ask the vegetarian or vegan guest to bring his or her favorite Thanksgiving recipe to contribute to the meal. That way everyone can try something veggie if they’d like, and the guest is assured not to go hungry.
I think if I saw baked polenta with mushrooms on the table this Thursday next to the turkey, I’d hurl.
Ardell,
I think the baked polenta sounds great, FWIW. My favorite vegetarian cookbook is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. It’s a cooking-bible/Joy of Cooking type of book, just with no meat. Good luck branching out!
can you give me 1,000 questions to ask my boyfriend? to get to know him better is what i want.
You don’t need to ask him 1,000 questions. Just watch the way he treats OTHER people and not YOU. Other women especially. Waitresses, his mother, his sisters.
Watch what kind of women he likes on TV. Does he admire strong women on TV or only the Sweetie Peaties?
Does he have friends. Do other people who have known him longer admire him. Are people glad to see him when you and he “run into people” he kows, or do they duck around a corner and hope he doesn’t notice?
Ask him who his favorite actors and actresses are. Many people like actors and actreses they can identify with. Tells you something about his character.
But here’s the big test. I call it “the pie test”.
Honey, if you were leaving for work and I said I’m going to make you an apple pie! But before you came home, our friends with their 4 kids stopped by and …
1) Would he expect you to not take out the pie and offer it to the guests because you made it for HIM?
2) Would he expect you to take a big hunk out of the pie and put it away for him and give the surprise guests each a small slice?
3) Would he be happy if you gave all of the pie to the guests so that his and your hospitality to them was the highest level you could give?
I made that on up years ago. There’s no wrong answer really. But it tells you something you need to know.