Vegan Thanksgiving Retrospective

Maple Cranberry Sauce, Cornbread Stuffed Apples, and Green Beans with Almonds

Well the big day has come and gone, and Vegan Thanksgiving was a huge success! I thought I should write a mini retrospective now that I have actually been through the event, and especially since it was my first grown-up holiday meal.

Mushroom Lentil Pot Pies, Porcini Gravy, and Cauliflower Gratin

We had 18 people to our house on Saturday, a collection of friends and neighbors, kids and adults, vegans and omnivores alike. It was a true day of celebration! I started cooking on Thursday, and with a little preparation and a lot of organization, things managed to stay pretty calm. One of the benefits of a turkey-less Thanksgiving is all the extra oven space and time. Thanksgiving day scheduling is a lot easier when you’re not waiting expectantly, and endlessly for the turkey to be done.

A Thanksgiving day tutorial resulted in my best and most beautiful pie crust ever!

I ended up making a few adjustments and amendments to my posted menu; a cranberry orange relish alongside the maple cranberry sauce as requested by my mom, the cauliflower fennel gratin became cauliflower and broccoli, and a little confusion over doubled and even tripled recipes. The gratin was a huge hit, the professed favorite of most of our guests. It’s my favorite too. My friend Tina, an Arkansas native who knows what she’s talking about, raved over the vegan pecan pie.  We also served a delightful cranberry champagne cocktail that I admittedly had more than one of. Overall, it was a fantastic day full of good food and even better company. I think I achieved my desired goal of demystifying vegan food for some of our friends, and even making it a delicious alternative! Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to get ready for the holidays! Christmas is a much more low key celebration in my family, so I have a lot of flexibility in my holiday cooking. I’m definitely looking forward to experimenting with Christmas cookies, chocolate truffles, and more!