I am a foodie....but at least I come by it honestly. My mother was a dietician, my father was a food scientist. Neither of them were very adventurous in their approach to food, but they knew what was *good*. Like the time Dad came home from the Godiva chocolate plant with several bags of rejects from their manufacturing line. And nobody could beat Mom making a pie crust...light, delicate, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth.
We had an excellent Thanksgiving meal yesterday. This year we stayed home and had a little feast on our own. The menu had a traditional theme to it:
- Fake turkey "roast"
- Mashed potatoes
- Stuffing
- Roasted green beans
- Gravy
- Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie
We tried two different "roasts" this year. Ordinarily we'll get a Tofurky, but the Vegetarian Times reviewed the Quorn Turk'y Roast and the Celebration Roast. We tried them both. Both were good in different ways. The quorn was drier and had the "squeaky" texture of poultry (at least, as I think I remember). It was very low in fat. The Celebration Roast had a distinctly herbal taste, simulating a marinade or basting sauce. It was richer, higher in fat, and it had stuffing in the middle. Both were good and we'll probably get them again when the mood strikes us.
The mashed potatoes came out excellent - I used Idaho potatoes, fat free half-and-half, and butter. Butter? Yes, butter. I lighten the recipe when and where I can. For a holiday, butter is warranted.
Stuffing was simply Stove Top brand. Interestingly, the only meat-free variety is the pork stuffing. Weird.
Roasted green beans were fairly new for me this year. I don't like green beans, much. I think I OD'd on them as a child, since they were one of Mom's favorites. Recently I read about roasting them and how different they come out. It's true. They still taste vegetable-y, but not so green bean-y. To make them, you trim the ends, give them a good spray of oil and stick them in a 425 or 450 degree oven until they begin to brown. It takes about 20 minutes. It's useful to stir them once or twice during the cooking process.
For gravy, I used Hain's Vegetarian "Chicken Flavor" gravy. We've used this brand before - brown and "chicken" flavors are available. The "chicken" flavor is OK. It's a little on the sweet side...we usually get the brown gravy for general use. It's good on potatoes.
Dessert was a treat. I found the recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The picture in the November issue looked so good, we had to give it a try. And it's heavenly! I made the crust from scratch, which turned out wonderfully. I inherited the pie crust gene, you see. After reading the nutrition information, though, we just couldn't follow the recipe to the letter. I mean, 35 grams of fat in one serving? Horrifying! I lightened it up as follows:
- Cream Cheese -> Neufchatel (or "lite") cream cheese
- Eggs -> partially replaced with egg whites (instead of 5 yolks, used 2)
- Half and Half -> Fat free half and half.
Again, it didn't make it great, but it did improve the nutritional value. We also have been eating tiny little slivers of pieces. No topping. It was still luscious: spicy, sweet, creamy, with a little bitter from the chocolate.
All this with a little wine, and it was a great meal. Great enough that I'm actually writing a blog post on it. I am looking forward to several days of left overs, too. Mmm. Life is good, even for the turkey we didn't kill and eat.
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