(This was supposed to be) Nov. 15 Link Round-Up: Vegetarian Turkey Day

I really had the best intentions to write out something more thoughtful about being vegetarian or veg-aquarian come Turkey Day time and post it last Thursday for one of the Thursday Link Round-ups.  My friend Sarah – who is both vegetarian and an excellent hostess with mostest – actually took the time to give me some of her tips on vegetarian Thanksgiving.  But the time got away from me, so now here I am with many potential far-too-late links.  Oh well, let’s just say I’m pre-organized for next year.  

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Meal Planning Ideas

Eating Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu – which, I must admit, underwhelms me.  Their version doesn’t even attempt to follow tradition, which is one style, I guess.  (I’m also not excited by the inclusion in their menu of both squash AND beets, two foodstuffs that make me break out in a cold sweat.  One of the possible options Sunday’s apple tasters were discussing for our next was a squash tasting.  I probably went pale at the mention of it. HOWEVER, I agreed that I would give it my best shot would that tasting come to be.  I’m lobbying for the cheese tasting instead.)

Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast via The Splendid Table – Another squash lasagna main course.  And, wow, okay, even MORE challenging for me.  No beets, but squash, sweet potatoes AND Brussels sprouts.  It’s a trifecta of shudder-inducing vegetables for me.  But I can’t argue with a mushroom pate.  

My friend Sarah’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving – Sarah has done both the “I’m not going to bother pretending there’s usually meat at the center of this meal” and the “What the hey, let’s play with Tofurkey” route.  

For the former, she’s used things like mushroom tarts as the main course.  At her recent wedding, she had a mushroom Wellington that was to-die-for.  I think this can be a very satisfying way to go.

For the latter (which, I must admit, I think I like best mainly because there is some element of both risk and Middle School Science Project to the whole thing), she’s found the Celebration Roast OR Quorn to be the most successful.  The main idea with the Tofurkey-type one seems to be to choose the type with some kind of stuffing because otherwise it’s just too much Tofurkey.

Quorn, both Sarah and I agree, really has one of – if not – the most satisfying texture of all fake meat products.  It also most lends itself to leftover sandwiches the next day, which can make a vegetarian feel like part of the Great American Tapestry and whatnot.  My first taste of Quorn was at Sarah’s Thanksgiving last year. I was mildly apprehensive because I had read an article on Slate about where Quorn comes from (spoiler: um, like science? And a vat?), and, as we’ve established from my reactions to beets, squash and Brussels sprouts, I can be a little irrationally squeamish.

But honestly the taste and texture of Quorn were appealing enough that I happily set aside my concerns to eat FAR too many of Quorn’s Gruyere-stuffed breaded cutlets for the next three to four months after that holiday. I can no longer find them in the supermarket, for which my arteries yelp in relief.

My Vegetarian Thanksgiving – I’m not cooking this year, but if I were…I think, although I am eating seafood right now, I probably would not make it the centerpiece of the meal, and rather go the traditional route with sides and maybe also do a To-Quorn-key main dish or something.  Actually, to be frank, I’m so carb-centric that so long as I get mashed potatoes (PLAIN NOT SWEET potatoes thank you very much – shudder), and a savory stuffing, I’m good to go.  And if you feel like giving your arteries something to think about, you can also try Tom Douglas’s Etta’s Cornbread Pudding.  Plan to eat a LOT of oat bran for the next month, though.

Desserts 

And once I’ve had my mashed potatoes and stuffing, all I really care about at that point are desserts.  The first three are devil-may-care, but the remainder are from Eating Well, which means you can kid yourself that they are not as unhealthy.

Chocolate Pecan Pie from Molly Katzen (Sarah generally makes this one and it is quite tasty – as with many desserts, reduce the sugar a smidge for best flavor)
Cranberry Pear Tart with Gingerbread Crust
Cranberry Walnut Tart
Squash Cheesecake (I might be able to eat squash in this form)
Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake
Maple-Pumpkin Custards with Crystallized Ginger
Riesling Baked Pears
Pear Crumble
Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie (this, actually, despite what it sounds like is a lot healthier than traditional Pumpkin Pie in that it has about half the calories, one-seventh of the fat, and one gram of saturated fat to Pumpkin Pie’s 20g per slice)

And since, unless you go the mildly-scary Quorn route, you might not have the same leftover capabilities as the meat-eating, you can maybe make this Cranberry and Pumpkin Pie Spice Tea Cake for yourself to have the next day.  Your sugar coma will be indistinguishable from the turkey-eaters tryptophan nap.