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nonelvisA whole bunch of new recipes for Thanksgiving this year:
#46, potato bread. Another one from Baking With Julia, and another delicious success. The dough is very weird -- it starts off dry and sticky, but as you mix it, it loosens up and practically becomes liquid, to the point that it feels like surely you must have done something wrong. But after it rises, you can shape it easily despite how soft it still is, and it bakes up into a solid loaf with a tight crumb and a lovely potato aroma. Makes great toast.
#47, cranberry, apple, and crystallized ginger chutney. This one's from the most recent Cook's Illustrated. I usually make a spiced cranberry sauce with cinnamon and star anise, but I wanted to try something different this year. It's very good, but I find the shallot taste a bit weird in it and would leave those out next time.
#48, tandoori turkey. From the latest Bon Appetit, but found via a blog post linked from Tasteologie. Like the bloggers, I used premade garam masala; unlike the bloggers, I made my own tandoori seasoning, subbing thyme for the ajwain seeds I didn't have time to get. This was my first time cooking a turkey in an oven bag, a slighly freaky experience that nearly resulted in an explosion when even the steam vents I'd cut in the bag failed to prevent the bag from almost overinflating. But I may go the bag route again, because the turkey was incredibly moist (probably also due to an overnight soak in whole milk yogurt), and cleanup was a breeze compared to the usual soak/scrub/keep scrubbing routine involved in cleaning a post-Thanksgiving roasting pan.
#49, blackeyed pea/quinoa croquettes with mushroom sauce. From Vegan With a Vengeance, and the main course for the two vegetarians and one vegan joining us for Thanksgiving. I am not kidding when I tell you that one of the cats was begging for the uncooked batter. (Mind you, she also begged for the vegan cornbread -- and enjoyed it when I gave it to her -- so maybe she's just weird.) I'm not even a huge blackeyed pea or quinoa fan, but I liked these very much. Using panko for the coating made them even crispier, they reheated beautifully in the oven, and the mushroom gravy was good enough to use on everything.
#50, vegan "creamed" spinach. Creamed spinach is one of my favorite dishes, but it's not exactly a low-fat food. Nor is the vegan version, though at least it's zero-cholesterol. Next time I make this, I'm going to try to thicken the soy milk, and will probably add some nutritional yeast to give it that slight cheesy flavor I really like in my non-vegan version. Still, this one isn't bad, and there's good nutmeg flavor. (I left out the dill, though, because dill and nutmeg? Seriously?)
#51, vegan pumpkin pie brownies. It isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin of some kind, and better yet, pumpkin and chocolate. I should have had some of this for breakfast this morning ... in fact, I might go get some of it now. I'd have preferred a cakier and less fudgy brownie layer, but that's my only complaint.
#46, potato bread. Another one from Baking With Julia, and another delicious success. The dough is very weird -- it starts off dry and sticky, but as you mix it, it loosens up and practically becomes liquid, to the point that it feels like surely you must have done something wrong. But after it rises, you can shape it easily despite how soft it still is, and it bakes up into a solid loaf with a tight crumb and a lovely potato aroma. Makes great toast.
#47, cranberry, apple, and crystallized ginger chutney. This one's from the most recent Cook's Illustrated. I usually make a spiced cranberry sauce with cinnamon and star anise, but I wanted to try something different this year. It's very good, but I find the shallot taste a bit weird in it and would leave those out next time.
#48, tandoori turkey. From the latest Bon Appetit, but found via a blog post linked from Tasteologie. Like the bloggers, I used premade garam masala; unlike the bloggers, I made my own tandoori seasoning, subbing thyme for the ajwain seeds I didn't have time to get. This was my first time cooking a turkey in an oven bag, a slighly freaky experience that nearly resulted in an explosion when even the steam vents I'd cut in the bag failed to prevent the bag from almost overinflating. But I may go the bag route again, because the turkey was incredibly moist (probably also due to an overnight soak in whole milk yogurt), and cleanup was a breeze compared to the usual soak/scrub/keep scrubbing routine involved in cleaning a post-Thanksgiving roasting pan.
#49, blackeyed pea/quinoa croquettes with mushroom sauce. From Vegan With a Vengeance, and the main course for the two vegetarians and one vegan joining us for Thanksgiving. I am not kidding when I tell you that one of the cats was begging for the uncooked batter. (Mind you, she also begged for the vegan cornbread -- and enjoyed it when I gave it to her -- so maybe she's just weird.) I'm not even a huge blackeyed pea or quinoa fan, but I liked these very much. Using panko for the coating made them even crispier, they reheated beautifully in the oven, and the mushroom gravy was good enough to use on everything.
#50, vegan "creamed" spinach. Creamed spinach is one of my favorite dishes, but it's not exactly a low-fat food. Nor is the vegan version, though at least it's zero-cholesterol. Next time I make this, I'm going to try to thicken the soy milk, and will probably add some nutritional yeast to give it that slight cheesy flavor I really like in my non-vegan version. Still, this one isn't bad, and there's good nutmeg flavor. (I left out the dill, though, because dill and nutmeg? Seriously?)
#51, vegan pumpkin pie brownies. It isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin of some kind, and better yet, pumpkin and chocolate. I should have had some of this for breakfast this morning ... in fact, I might go get some of it now. I'd have preferred a cakier and less fudgy brownie layer, but that's my only complaint.
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no subject
on 2011-11-26 01:33 pm (UTC)These recipes are a little too "unusual" for us, I think, except for the potato bread. Time to drag out Baking With Julia, I guess. The bread sounds great. (A whole meal, and the one thing I fixate on is the bread? Hopeless is what I am.)
Oh, and congratulations on managing over 50 recipes, with still a month to spare!
no subject
on 2011-11-26 02:12 pm (UTC)Do try the potato bread if you get a chance. You'll definitely need a stand mixer for it, but it's super-easy to make -- just potatoes, flour, yeast, and salt, and the mixer does 90% of the work!
no subject
on 2011-11-26 02:44 pm (UTC)Now, that's an interesting twist on dealing with the kitties. Since they are more or less used to you two, fill the house with strangers, so they gravitate toward you for reassurance! Cool!
no subject
on 2011-11-28 04:45 pm (UTC)My mom has gone dairy-free, and she's used white miso in her pesto and other things that would normally have cheese, to give it that little bit of umami.
Oh, and silken tofu makes a great thick creamy sauce if you just blend it up. I have used it for vegan cream sauce/gravies.
no subject
on 2011-11-28 06:48 pm (UTC)