darn it..a carnivore has to do the vegan entree for thanksgiving...help!!!

[redhead]

can anyone suggest a recipe that vegans, omnivores and carnivores alike will enjoy this Thanksgiving? I am open to any and all suggestions...my only instruction is: "must be vegan"

[atomic]

Another idea is a roasted or grilled vegetable terrine. You could put some sort of cashew-chickpea spread (soaked + ground cashews, chickpeas, lemon, garlic...) in between layers. If you can get a variety of colors (eggplant, red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms) it can be very visually appealing.

[yayadave]

This is a wonderful idea. Probably could make two or three! You might have to watch out for meat derivatives in the aspic or gelatin. May have to hit the library for some books on terrines.

[JennyHunter]

There is a recipe in the first Barefoot Contessa Cookbook for a roasted vegetable torte that is beautiful and delicious. You serve it on a cake stand - great presentation. I have made if for my veggie sister in law for holiday meals. I think there is a little sprinkled cheese in between the layers, but it could probably be left out. Let me know if you need the recipe.

[ginnyhw]

Try to avoid honey- it's made by bees and is definitely not vegan. It was a sub ingredient in some pretzels at a Thanksgiving dinner with a vegan daughter and almost brought the house down. As the father noted "beer is vegan".

[jules127]

Agave nectar makes a good substitue for honey and is vegan. (It also makes a delicious sweetener for margaritas.)

[amyrose44]

There are lots of vegan holiday entrees here: http://www.vegcooking.com/f-thanks05.... that sound really good. Rosemary and hazelnut encrusted seitan, and "chicken" and mushroom duxelle en croute, just to name a couple.

There are also lots of app's, desserts, soups and sides too.

[jules127]

Staying in a traditional autumn theme, how about inidividual vegetable pot pies filled with veggies, squash, potatoes, whatever. Crust can be made with Crisco, and gravy with veggie broth.

[weezycom]

how about marinated grilled portobellos with a wine sauce over polenta? Nice, hearty, good flavors for a fall feast.

[chef chicklet]

Stuffed portebello using mashed potatoes and veggies. and or colorful squash.

[FrankJBN]

a recipe that vegans, omnivores and carnivores alike will enjoy this Thanksgiving?

At Thanksgiving?

No.

I'd like to know: Did the meat-eating guests agree to this abomination?

It makes me curious. Plainly, the vegans never agree to eat dinners with meat etc. I see all the time though that they expect meat-eaters to agree to their dietary strictures.

[nissenpa]

I agree. I would un-invite the vegan.

But if that's not an option here is a recipe for a great ratatouille:

Ratatouille Confite au Four

- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 eggplant (if you want to make the traditional ratatouille from Nice, hold the eggplant)
- 1 zucchini
- 2 green peppers
- 8 small tomatoes
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- olive oil
- salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Peel and slice the onion and garlic. Rinse the remaining vegetables, trim and slice them. Rinse the herbs. Combine everything in an oven-proof dish. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil (about two tablespoons). Toss a little more to ensure even coating.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. At this point the vegetables should be cooked but not colored, and there should be cooking juices at the bottom of the pan.

Remove the foil and bake for another 30 to 45 minutes, keeping an eye on the progress, until the cooking juices have evaporated and the vegetables have taken on a nice roasted aspect.

Remove the sprigs of herb, and serve immediately, or at room temperature, or cold. It gets even better the next day and the day after that.

Here is a picture:

http://fluentfood.blogspot.com/

[missfunkysoul]

i like to make ratatouille for vegan guests. with a big bowl of rice and a nice salad, it's always been very well-received. definitely vegan.

[jfood]

This made me smile as I am always the one who gets that sorta request.

If it were me, I would go for either a vegetabole lasagne (as others have suggested) or a eggplant parmesan. Thanksgiving dinners are normally followed by Thanksgiving naps and i think both of these would cause that effect.

http://jfoodonfood.blogspot.com

[amanda3571]

Ah, but it would have to be tofu & eggless noodles to be considered vegan.

[jfood]

i'll officiallytake a pass if there are true vegans. i'm not up to speed on the various subsets of vegetarianisms. Way too confuding to this bacon-cheeseburger lover.

Sorry.

[amanda3571]

I concur, jfood. I only know this because my brother used to date a vegan. I couldn't - for the life of me - understand it (no offense vegan readers!). Always a problem when the family would go out to eat. But to each their own.

[othervoice]

Hey red,

How about a nice squash dish. Baked stuffed acorn is an easy and pretty dish. I just stuff with chopped apples, walnuts and brown sugar with butter/oil drizzled over the top.

[david sprague]

i second the squash notion -- which i resorted to several times while living with a vegetarian girlfriend who came equipped with many vegan friends. stuffing with a veggie protein product (yves ground "beef" worked pretty well) and spiced with thanksgiving-redolent spices made everyone happy....

[LNG212]

You can also use the roasted squash (acorn, butternut, whatever) to make either a) gnocchi, or b) ravioli.

Edited to add: I was just thinking how strange this is. I'm a vegetarian and Thanksgiving is usually the one holiday where I never have problems with the food to eat. It is, after all, a *harvest* festival. Aren't there enough side dishes at this event? In my family, there are so many vegetables (and various forms of potatoes and sweet potatoes) that I don't even bother bringing a "vegetarian protein" anymore.

[yayadave]

Another couple of threads got me thinking about this. Lasagna. One of the Silver Palate cookbooks has a recipe for vegeterian lasagna with egg plant, for instance.

[weezycom]

Vegetarian and vegan are two different philosophies, however. I don't know if you could make a good lasagna without any milk-based cheese.

[yayadave]

I think you're right about making lasagna without cheese or as someone else mentioned, eggs. I'm not up on the criteria. I should not have opened my trap.

[Jel212]

My mom makes a lasagna w/vegan cheese and fake-meat crumbles - even we carnivores like it. My best friend, not a vegan, just told me of a great soy cheese that she says tastes like the real thing and melts A-Ok: SOYA KAAS

[fistalee]

Note, apparently soy cheese (or at least some soy cheese) is NOT vegan because it has some milk protein in it? at least, that's what i was told by a vegan friend lamenting the lack of edible vegan cheese...

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Quite correct. The magic word on the ingredient list is casein (or sodium caseinate, same thing). Both are dairy derived.

[pikawicca]

Wild mushroom strudel. What's not to like about this dish? The carnivores will be fighting the vegans for this one. I've also had a nutloaf with mushroom gravy that was as good as any turkey and gravy that I've ever had.

[piccola]

I agree. Make sure you use oil for the strudel - not butter.

These savoury tarts taste and look great, too: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[Janine]

I did a google and got this http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php...
Lots of choices here.