If pictures are worth a thousand words, then I’ve got about 9,000 words worth for you. Here’s what we had for Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday. At top is a newcomer to our Thanksgiving table: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios and Capers. It was soooo good — I think it will be a regular from now on. Other side dishes included my vegan re-do of Jon’s family favorite, Green Bean Casserole:
The Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Chives from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker:
Roasted Sweet Potato Mash with a ring Pistachio Struesel Topping:
Lime-Enhanced Cranberry Sauce and Chunky Applesauce:
We also had a trio of desserts. This is the Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple-Rum Glaze garnished with Pecans and Cranberries:
Here’s Jon’s Apple Pie and Pumpkin-Chocolate Pudding-Cakes with chopped maple- rum-glazed pecans:
For the main event, I departed from my usual Seitan Wellington. I took the opportunity to address two of the most common problems people seem to have with Tofurky: 1) it’s not big enough to serve a crowd, and 2) there’s not enough stuffing (and it’s not very good stuffing at that). To solve both problems, I slice a Tofurky in half lengwise, scooped out the stuffing and re-stuffed it with my homemade stuffing, then pressed the two halves together again. I then packed more stuffing onto both ends of the re-stuffed Tofurky, essentially doubling its size. I then wrapped it in two sheets of yuba (bean curd skin) and seared it in a skillet to seal it up and lightly brown it and then put it in the oven, lightly tented with foil so it didn’t brown too much. After baking, it rested for a few minutes. I then used a serrated knife to slice it in half, and then cut the other half into slices. The end slices were basically yuba-wrapped stuffing, but to this stuffing-crazed crowd, that was the best part! (Of course I also made an extra casserole of stuffing — there’s never enough!)
Here’s what half of the “Double-Your-Tofurky” Roast looked like with a couple of the slices and my rich brown gravy:
And finally, here’s what Jon’s plate looked like:
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’d like to thank all of you for your good wishes and kinds words about my work — I’m so thankful for all of you! It’s also been so fun to see all your photos of dishes you made from my cookbooks for Thanksgiving. Keep ’em coming!
In the meantime, be sure to check back soon to see what I do with all the Thanksgiving leftovers! 🙂
REMINDER: There’s still time to enter my “Thanks-Giveaway” to win a copy of 1,000 Vegan Recipes.
{ 27 comments… add one }
Such fun to see your thanksgiving feast, Robin!
Thank you, Sandra!
It’s Rusty’s Mother. OBVIOUSLY, food fit for a king!!!! Fabulous spread.
Thanks!
Every bit as nice a plate as a non-vegan’s! My partial solution for The Tofurky Issue is to buy Field Roast’s “Celebration Roast”. I took one, at our host’s request, to yesterday’s Thanksgiving meal with relatives. It’s on the small side, and doesn’t feed a crowd…but our host thought it was delicious (especially the stuffing), and in no way a “second best” to turkey. I think I may have converted someone!
Thanks, Carole. I’m partial to Field Roast too, but some people can only find Tofurky in their area — plus I do like Tofurky, so it was fun to see if I could make it taste even better AND stretch it for a crowd!
awesome looking pics and food. thanks for sharing.
Thanks Gloria!
Do you have a recipe for the green bean casserole?
Tamy, I used the basic recipe in my Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole, but re-constructed (that is, I combined the sauce and the green beans in a casserole. I left out the shallots in favor of a container of the classic fried onions — I mixed half of the onions in with the green beans and sauce, and used the rest as topping. Here’s the link to the Decon Green Bean Cassserole: http://robinrobertson.com/deconstructed-green-bean-casserole-2/
That’s a mor-bdleaker. Great thinking!
Now I feel stupid. That’s cleared it up for me
Just great. Love these awesome pictures.
I’m not a vegan but love your recipes.
Thanks, Micky
Thanks Micky!
I am no able to access your brussel sprouts recipe with pistachios and capers for whatever reason, can you send it to me, thanks
Maggie in Michigan
Here it is Maggie:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios and Capers
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup pistachios
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons capers
Preheat the oven to 425° F. In a bowl, combine the Brussels sprouts with 3 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste . Spread the Brussels sprouts on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until tender and slightly caramelized.
About 5 minutes before the Brussels sprouts are done roasting, sprinkle them with the pistachios.
In a small bowl, blend the lemon juice and agave with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and salt and pepper to taste . Stir in the capers.
Transfer the hot Brussels sprouts and pistachios to a serving bowl, pour on the caper mixture and toss to combine.
thank you so much Robin, I am a brussels fanatic and found out recently my son now loves them too, especially pan roasted, seared, whatever with garlic and some cayenne, rock on brussel sprouts!!!
Maggie
You’re very welcome. I love them too!
I also can’t access your brussels sprout recipe. Could you send it to me as well? Thanks!
Sure, Beth. Here it is:
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios and Capers
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup pistachios
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons capers
Preheat the oven to 425° F. In a bowl, combine the Brussels sprouts with 3 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste . Spread the Brussels sprouts on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice, until tender and slightly caramelized.
About 5 minutes before the Brussels sprouts are done roasting, sprinkle them with the pistachios.
In a small bowl, blend the lemon juice and agave with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and salt and pepper to taste . Stir in the capers.
Transfer the hot Brussels sprouts and pistachios to a serving bowl, pour on the caper mixture and toss to combine.
Your thanksgiving dinner looks awesome.
I would love to get the recipes to all of it!
I live in Sweden, and we usually don’t celebrate thanksgiving, but I want to do it this year, so I’ll need all the inspiration i can get!
Hi! How did you make your mashed potatoes? They look creamy and delicious!!
I use a hand-help potato masher and mash them with some Earth Balance and a little unsweetened almond milk (and salt and pepper).
Great post! Everything looks delicious 🙂 Would you please share your recipes for the following:
apple pie, sweet potatoes, garlic chive potatoes, and the seitan that you’ve said you have been making forever. Thanksgiving is over but these dishes would be great for a family gathering I have soon. Thanks!
Janet, You can use this pie recipe, just make it a 2-crust pie instead of the topping: http://robinrobertson.com/an-apple-pie-is-an-apple-pie-2/
The other recipes can be found here:
http://www.vegan.com/recipes/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes-robin-robertson/roasted-wheatmeat/
here:
http://www.vegan.com/recipes/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes-2009-a-feast-by-robin-robertson/rum-spiked-sweet-potatoes-with-pomegranate-pecans/
and here: (just add snipped chives before serving)
http://www.vegan.com/recipes/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes-2009-a-feast-by-robin-robertson/garlic-smashers/
Thank you so much for sharing, Robin! I’m now transitioning from mostly vegetarian to complete vegan diet and slowly adding new recipes. I’m going to check out all your books on Amazon later this evening. 🙂