Thanksgiving Recap and My Christmas Tree

So, after taking a break from blogging for a little while, I wanted to show everyone how my Thanksgiving Dinner turned out.  I was happy with everything overall, but of course there are always a few things I'd do to fine tune some of the recipes for next time.  I couldn't find any brussel sprouts, so I made acorn squash with a recipe inspired by Sweets by Sarah.  I left out the butter, sprayed them with olive oil, used only one or two tsp of sugar with the nuts and sprinkled a little coriander and allspice over the top of it all.  They were really good, and probably my favorite thing from the whole meal.  The Impossible Pumpkin Pie from FatFree Vegan Kitchen was also wonderful and I will definitely make it again.  The Buttermilk Cluster Rolls took a little more work than I anticipated, but they turned out good.  I would advise anyone making the recipe to start out with only 5 or 5 1/2 cups of flour and work your way up.   Mine was too dry and I ended up kneading buttermilk into it for a long time before it was right!  I would also bake it for a little less time or maybe at a lower temperature, since I don't like my rolls quite as crusty on the outside as these were.  The mashed potatoes were also delicious, I love rosemary with potatoes.  The Roasted Root Vegetables with Maple Glaze were yummy too and I think I like them even more with the carrot/parsnip/turnip combo than the way I first made them.  Rounding out the meal was Cranberry-Ginger Relish and Cranberry Spice Pinwheel Cookies.  I'm sure some of you are saying "Where's the turkey or turkey-like thing?"  It's a cop out I know, but I used a canned vegetarian meat substitute called FriChik.  It's really very good.  A few days ago we got our Christmas tree up and it smells wonderful.  There's really nothing like the real thing!  Don't forget to check out my Christmas music playlist on the sidebar - click on the songs and you can play them full length right off my blog :)

Clockwise from top left:  Acorn squash, skillet cornbread dressing, more acorn squash, and roasted root vegetables with maple glaze.

Buttermilk Rolls

Cranberry-Ginger Relish and Thanksgiving Menu

I'm starting to feel the pressure...all the planning and cooking and baking, not to mention the cleaning.  This is the first time I'll be the sole person responsible for planning and executing Thanksgiving dinner for more than just two people.  I'm actually kind of excited because I think its going to be really good!  I've planned the timing of all the cooking out carefully since it will just be me doing most of it.  I'll have some help on Thanksgiving Day, but not much time, so I'm going to make it as stress free as possible by preparing what I can in advance.  Today I made this Cranberry-Ginger Relish recipe I saw on a Martha Stewart show last year around this time.  This is the first time I've made it, but I think it's going to be yummy!  The picture is from marthastewart.com since I didn't have time to take one myself.  I promise mine looks exactly the same!  

Cranberry-Ginger Relish from Martha Stewart

1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar

• In a large saucepan, bring cranberries, sugar, ginger, and 2 tablespoons of water to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until most of the cranberries have popped, 10-15 minutes.  Stir in vinegar.
• Remove relish from heat.  Let cool to room temperature and serve (or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days).

Here is my menu plan for Thanksgiving, inspired by great recipes from all over the blogosphere.

FriChik (veggie meat substitute in a can)

Gravy (made from the FriChik juice)

Slow Cooked Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes (From Coconut & Lime)
Roasted Root Vegetables with Maple Glaze (From Cooking Light Magazine, see my post)

Spicy Roasted Brussel Sprouts (another Martha Stewart recipe)

Skillet Cornbread Dressing (from Vegetarian Times Vegetarian Entertaining)

Buttermilk Cluster Rolls (found at The Fresh Loaf)

Cranberry-Ginger Relish (see above)

Cranberry Spice Pinwheel Cookies (from Eating Well, see my post)

Impossible Pumpkin Pie (from FatFree Vegan Kitchen)

So that is what I'll be working on over the next few days.  Some of these things I've made before and already posted, others I'll be posting about later.  I wanted to make my own seitan roast, but I'll have to save that one for Christmas, because I'm just not going to have the time this week.  There is one more thing not listed here, but that's a surprise, so you'll have to wait to find out what it is!