Two Cranberries

I grew up with the canned cranberry jelly making its appearance at our Thanksgiving table, sliced in little rounds.  I had no idea what a real cranberry looked or tasted like until I was an adult.  Then my Mother made this recipe:

Cranberry Relish

1 package fresh cranberries (but stick them in the freezer at least the day before making this dish)
1 medium naval orange
1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp brandy (optional - brandy is not something I have on hand and it's too expensive to buy for a tablespoon, so I leave it out or either add a little bit of brandy or rum extract)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (also optional - we don't like it with nuts - we're nutty enough)

Coarsely chop cranberries in a food processor. Remove to a bowl. Take ends off the orange, cut into eighths, remove seeds, and process until chopped fine. Add to cranberries. Stir in remaining ingredients. This tastes better if made at least one day before serving.

My daughters love this, especially Brooke (my middle child) - she will eat it with a spoon!  My mother-in-law also adores this one.

The second one is my favorite.  When my Mother first made it, I was a little put off.  Apples and ONIONS?  Raisins and CELERY?  Are you feeling well, Mother Dear?  But I decided to try it.  And it is SO good.  Very different, but in an awesome way.  So now we have TWO cranberry dishes on our Thanksgiving and Christmas table - and neither one is shaped like a can.

Cranberry Chutney

4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups sugar (or less)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 large apple, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped celery

Place cranberries, raisins, sugar, spices, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce and simmer, 15 minutes or until berries pop. Add onion, apple, and celery; simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. SO good and very different.

Cranberry Chutney on the left, Cranberry Relish on the right.  

Grilled Green Beans with Golden Almonds

I found this recipe online for Pan Roasted Green Beans with Golden Almonds.  It looked really good (and their picture is DEFINITELY better than mine), but I thought I could add more flavor to the recipe and I wanted to grill the green beans.  They also barely cooked their shallots and I caramelized and crisped mine.  Delicious!  

8 ounces green beans, trimmed

about 1 tbsp Pampered Chef Citrus Basil Rub or lemon pepper seasoning

1/4 cup blanched whole almonds, coarsely chopped

3 tbsp olive oil + more for marinating the green beans

1 large shallot, sliced thin

zest from 1 lemon

Add the cleaned, trimmed green beans to a shallow container (or even a Ziploc bag) with olive oil and Citrus Basil seasoning - I didn't measure the olive oil - it was probably somewhere around 1/2 cup.  Do this earlier in the day or even the day before.  When you are ready to grill the beans, drain them from the seasoned oil and grill until just cooked through with slight char marks.  You want them to still have a little crispness to them.  Place on a serving platter and keep warm.  

Meanwhile, toast the almonds in 3 tbsp olive oil until golden brown.  Remove from the oil and set aside.  Add shallots to the oil and cook, stirring frequently, until they are caramelized and slightly crispy.  Add almonds back to the pan and toss until heated through again.  Top green beans with the almond/shallot mixture.  Add lemon zest to the top.  

Vegan Apple and Sage "Sausage" Dressing

This is SOOO good!  I made it last year using Field Roast brand Italian sausage and my SIL (not vegan) immediately commented on how good it was, "...and I don't even usually LIKE Italian sausage!"  I knew I had a keeper on my hands!  I've adapted it to suit our tastes (as usual) and this is the result.

1 small loaf of fresh bread (this year I used a rustic Italian bread from Whole Foods), cubed and dried in the oven
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
1/4 cup diced celery
1 large onion, diced
2-3 links of Field Roast brand sausage (this year I used the sage variety), broken apart with your hands rather than in neat slices
1 large crisp apple, peeled, cored, and diced in larger chunks - you don't want it to be as small as the onions and celery
2/3 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts
2 cups vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray or use an empty wrapper from your Earth Balance margarine.

In a large bowl, melt margarine over medium heat.  Add celery and saute' for a minute or two.  Add the onions and saute' until soft.  Add the sausage, apple, and nuts.  Continue sauteing until the onions are translucent, the apples are barely cooked, and the hazelnuts are lightly toasted.

Remove from heat and pour over the bread mixture.  Toss together.

Add about half of the broth and stir.  Keep adding broth until the whole mixture is moistened to the consistency you like.  I prefer mine a little on the drier side as opposed to mushy.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes, basting during the last 10 minutes with a little more broth to ensure a crispy top.

Serve with Mushroom Gravy.

Butternut Squash Bisque

My middle child and oldest daughter is definitely a foodie and has been since she was tiny.  About six years ago when she was just 11 years old, Whole Foods opened up in a city near us.  We loved going, especially when they had samples.  One day we tasted a Butternut Squash and Crab bisque and Brooke instantly fell in love.  She decided that she wanted to make that for the family for Thanksgiving.  She had cooked before, but never something this "fancy" and with so many steps and definitely never for people outside our immediate family.  But she was excited.  We found this recipe online, which she followed to the letter, and the results turned out deliciously!  For many Thanksgivings, she has repeated this delicious soup.

This year, I asked if she'd make a vegan version for me.  She did and it was probably even better (to my memory) than the original.  So, here is (as much as we can figure) her adaptations.

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 cup dry sherry
1 cup Silk soy creamer
2 tbsp vegan margarine
3 shallots, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
cayenne pepper to taste (we used about a heaping 1/4 tsp)
salt to taste

Add margarine to a large stock pot and melt over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook, stirring, until soft.  Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.  Do not let the shallots or garlic brown.  Add the sherry and cook on high until almost all of the liquid is reduced.  Add the butternut squash and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook on a fairly high heat until the butternut squash is soft, stirring often so it does not stick and adding more water if needed to keep the squash covered.

Puree in batches, being careful not to fill the blender too full or you will have a hot mess on your hands - literally.  Don't ask me how I know this.  Wash out the stock pot and return the puree to the now pristine pot. Add soy creamer, salt, and pepper and cook on low until heated through.  If your squash is not very sweet, you may need to add a little sugar, but we have never needed to do this.

Enjoy!

The Recipe Thief

I must admit, there are a few recipes I make and don't mess with at all.  The first is Susan from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping.  It is to die for!  This actually could be a dessert! I absolutely love it.  I made it for the first time last year along with the traditional marshmallow topped one that was my Mama's holiday standby.  This one disappeared before Mama's!  I even had to reluctantly admit I liked it better!  So I highly recommend you go to her blog and check it out.  You will NOT be sorry!

The second recipe is Sunny Anderson's Crunchy Sweet Brussels Sprouts Salad.  I saw this recipe on TV while cleaning in the kitchen a few days before Thanksgiving last year and thought it would be a nice, fresh addition.  And I was right.  It is delicious!

A Vegan Cajun Thanksgiving

Okay, so the title is a bit misleading.  Our Thanksgiving table was not totally vegan, simply because I'm the only non-meat eater out of my husband's large family.  I do have one sister who is pescetarian, one who is vegan, and my dad is vegan.  That's out of two parents and nine siblings.  (Yes, I said nine.)  However, none of my family was at MY Thanksgiving :'^(  since they are all scattered from Oregon to Louisiana and many spots in between.  All of my in-laws are meat eaters.  However, since I host Thanksgiving, much of our dinner was vegan.  There was a turkey and a ham, but guess what was left over and not eaten?  Hmm...you guessed it.  All the vegan sides and desserts were gobbled up.  Here's our menu:  

Turkey and Ham

Butternut Squash and Crab Bisque (with a portion made vegan for me - my daughter made this)

Vegan Mushroom Gravy

Mashed Potatoes (SIL)

Cornbread Dressing (MIL)

Vegan Apple and Sage "Sausage" Dressing

Carrots (SIL - vegan)

Grilled Green Beans with Golden Almonds (vegan)

Corn (duh - vegan) 

Vegan Sweet Crunchy Brussels Sprouts Salad

Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

Cranberry Chutney and Raw Cranberry Relish (vegan)

French Bread (BIL - vegan)

Vegan Apple-Cranberry-Ginger Pie 

Vegan Pecan Pie Truffles

Turtle Cheesecake (I purposely didn't want to veganize this - I didn't want it to tempt me!)

Pecan Pie (MIL)

Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

I don't have a ton of photos because it's hard to take pictures with a pack of ravenous wolves lot of hungry guests who are ready to eat.  I do have a few and will include them with the recipes.  Otherwise, just trust us. It was delicious!  

We had a lovely Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for all my enormous family - in-laws included!