Where's the turkey?
Have a very vegetarian Thanksgiving this year with these meatless wonders
Embrace simplicity, the warmth of being surrounded by family and friends and the season's bountiful harvest when planning a vegetarian-inspired Thanksgiving feast.
Even the turkey will be thankful.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
Hold on! A turkey-less Thanksgiving dinner?
Indeed. Simply substitute a hearty entree, like the mushroom-chestnut cobbler created by Molly Harrison, chef de cuisine at Green Zebra, the West Town restaurant specializing in contemporary vegetarian cuisine.
Add some sides -- a chilled beet salad, glazed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans -- and you're on your way to a memorable meal.
For dessert? Bake pastry chef Elissa Narow's ambitious but fabulous apple crumb pie, sure to be a happy-mouth finale.
What about that gaping hole in the middle of the dining room table -- the one where that picture-perfect, Norman Rockwell-esque turkey reigns after being carved?
Fill that hole with a centerpiece of flowers or, better yet, a carving platter piled high with edibles such as red, yellow and green apples, small pumpkins and squash, oranges, red and green grapes or whole walnuts and cranberries.
"You don't have to be vegetarian to not want a turkey at your Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of people are like me -- they don't really enjoy turkey. It's overdone; it's dry," says Harrison, who isn't vegetarian.
"And, let's face it, most people are more into the sides -- sweet potatoes, cranberries. I'm a carbohydrate freak so I'm into the mashed potatoes and the stuffing," she says.
Vegetarian dishes fit perfectly into Harrison's recipe for a perfect Thanksgiving dinner: "Keep it fresh, keep it seasonal, keep it simple."
Her advice, especially for first-timers hosting a Thanksgiving dinner:
• "Keep it simple. Don't over-complex your meal; cook simply. Or make it a potluck and ask each guest to bring a dish."
• "Use foods in season. For example, don't use strawberries for Thanksgiving. Instead, use apples -- they're in their prime. Serve baked apples, apple butter, casseroles with apples, apple pie. Serve fall and winter squash. Simply cut it in half, put it on a tray, add some butter, salt and pepper and roast it in a 350-degree oven for an hour or so. Use beets, root vegetables -- they are very tasty."
• "If you find making homemade rolls impossible, bake easy-to-make popovers or even bake refrigerated or frozen rolls or bread."
• "If you're not good at it or don't have time, don't make homemade pies. Buy them -- I did last year. And just choose one -- apple pie or pumpkin pie. If you want to add your own touch, make some cinnamon whipped cream to add as a dollop."
Harrison, 30, who grew up helping with family Thanksgiving dinners in her native Wisconsin, says her pet peeve is "when the cook apologizes or rationalizes for something not turning out exactly as intended ... 'well, I know it's over-baked' ... 'well, I should have added more salt' ... 'well, it should have turned out taller.'
"Don't sweat it if your dish doesn't look like the picture in the Martha Stewart magazine. Your guests didn't see the photo. Don't bring it up."
The chef, who will get Thanksgiving off, plans to "chill out" with her husband and two mutts in their Logan Square home.
And, yes, some turkey -- somewhere -- will be thankful because Harrison's menu will be seasonal, fresh and turkey-less.
Sandy Thorn Clark is a Chicago free-lance writer.