These oddly named cookies may be a holiday classic, but that is no reason to overlook them the rest of the year. Although a few vegan cook books I own feature a recipe for snickerdoodles, they are lacking a key ingredient: cream of tar tar. Cream of tartar (or tartaric acid) gives these cookies their characteristic tart note and sets them apart from simply being sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Using a combination of shortening and margarine yields the proper balance crispness and chewiness. Give these a try next time you are out of chocolate chips.

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine, softened
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
Egg replacer to equal 2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 400°F

Cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar, Earth Balance, shortening, and egg replacer in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer). In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add flour to shortening mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

In a small dish mix remaining sugar and cinnamon. Scoop dough into balls about 1 1/2″ in diameter. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Press the balls slightly to flatten. Repeat, spacing the cookies about 2″ apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Another dish that seems to get the shaft for most of the year is stuffing (or more accurately dressing, as it is called when not baked in a bird). Chestnuts lend a meaty richness to what is otherwise a pretty traditional stuffing. Although not a staple in most peoples pantries, you can find chestnuts in most well stock groceries, either canned or vacuum packed. For the bread you can use pretty much whatever you have on hand. I used a loaf of french bread cut in half and left on the counter overnight. You can save ends and pieces of bread from various loaves until you have enough as well, just avoid breads with strong flavors such as caraway rye breads.

Chestnut Herb Stuffing

1 lb day old bread, cut into 1/2″-3/4″ cubes
8 oz cooked or canned chestnuts, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 tsp dry rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp dry rosemary
1 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9×13 baking dish or a large casserole dish and set aside. In a large skillet heat olive oil and saute garlic, onion, and celery until soft. In a large mixing bowl combine bread, onion mixture, chestnuts, and herbs. Toss to mix. Pore broth over mixture and toss to evenly moisten bread. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake 20 min. Remove foil and bake, uncovered, for another 10 min, or until heated through and the top is lightly browned.

One of my favorite parts of the traditional holiday menu, and one that I usually forget about for most of the year, is cranberry sauce. The sweet tart combination is just the right thing to balance out the overflowing plates of salty, gravy covered goodness. This year I finally made my own. It is so simple that I can’t believe people still buy the canned stuff, especially given the extraordinary difference in quality.

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick

In a medium sauce pan stir together sugar and orange juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries, bay leaf, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring regularly, until the berries begin to “pop” and burst open, about 10 min. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and cinnamon, and transfer to a heat proof bowl. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Opening the box, the roast did look incredibly turkey shaped, a far cry from the gluten football that is the Tofurky roast. The next discovery: the roast comes unstuffed. There is a cavity in the back of the bird and the “stuffing” is provided separately. This was incredibly exciting as it opens up many possibilities for future applications. As this was my first time trying the product, I decided to stick to the basic package directions, which were fairly simple: stuff the roast, wrap in foil and bake. An hour later it was ready to eat.

The roast itself was very good. As soon as I took a bite I instantly figured out what else the company made. Vegetarian Plus (Vege USA) makes the little vegan chicken drumsticks that can be found frozen, and at some restaurants, wrapped in a tofu skin and skewered with a sugar cane “bone.” The “whole turkey” was similarly, if not identically, composed of so fiber and soy protein wrapped with a tofu skin. The soy fiber makes for a grained texture very much like poultry. It was much lighter and cut much better than seitan or Tofurky. Most pleasently, the roast was exceptionally moist, even without any basting or marinating. Flavor wise, it was not particularly turkey like, but more like chicken in flavor. The “meat” does have a bit of an oddly sweet flavor to it, but covered in a nice gravy it balanced out nicely. If I get arround to making another one of these beasts I will probably experiment with spice rubs or basting to inject a little extra flavor. I might also try cooking it uncovered for a few min at the end to crisp up the skin a little better. Ultimately I would like to deep fry one of these, but I don’t think it will fit in my fryer, so I might actually need a turkey fryer. The size of the roast was great as well, as it allowed for easy carving and plenty of left overs.

One of the exciting part of the roast was carving off the "drumsticks." It would have been awesome if they had put the same sugar cane "bones" in that they use in the little chicken drumsticks.

The gravy didn’t fail to disappoint. Initially the pouch of gravy seemed a little ridiculously small, but further investigation revealed that it was more of a base, and it will take a good amount a water to thin down to proper gravy consistency. It was salty, tasty, and had a good consistency. Over all I found it much more enjoyable than the Tofurky “giblet gravy”

The stuffing was a little bit of a let down, but fortunately I had prepared some herbed chestnut stuffing.

Where things fell short was with the stuffing. The “Himalayan Barley Fried Rice Stuffing” was much more fried rice than stuffing. It appears it is a product that the company makes separately and just threw in rather than making a new stufing product. As a fried rice, it was OK. Some very decent mock ham and a curryish spice bled blended decent flavor. The barley is very toothsome, bordering on underdone, and did not stick together at all so it was very granular. The texture was one of the areas in which it most failed to fulfill the stuffing role. Also, the spice blend did not really jive with the turkey and gravy, let alone the rest of the meal. Luckily, the turkey comes un-stuffed, so next times I will use my own stuffing and save the fried rice for a later meal.

Over all we were all very pleased, including a couple of my meat eating friends that tried it. While it caries a bit of a heft price tag, ranging around $40-$50, the size of it makes it comparable to other vegetarian roasts on the market. I’ll be watching and will hopefully be able to grab a couple on sale late in the season.









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The full spread.

I used my fried brussels sprouts recipe, but tossed them with carmelized onions, Bac'un bits and topped with fried onion.

Making your own craberry sauce takes mimimal effort and produced results that far outshine the canned stuff.

The sweet potato pie was my pumpkin pie recipe, but using sweet potato for the pumpkin and I replaced the glazed pecans with a pecan streusel.

Five punds of potatoes, two carmelized onions, and a head of roaseed garlic. Oh and a cup or two of Earth Balance.

]]> http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/t-day-recap/feed/ 0 http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/twice-baked-yams/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/twice-baked-yams/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:01:56 +0000 Justin http://newvegantable.com/?p=275

This week I gave in to my girlfriend’s pleas to put away the fryer and make something a little healthier this holiday season. Twice backed yams had been on my list of to do’s for the season anyway, so I decided to reexamine my plans for the recipe. I used plain so yogurt rather than margarine or vegan sour cream, and orange juice and carmelized onions lend sweetness and depth of flavor. Add a little chopped pecan for some texture and we have a delightfully rich side dish sure to please. Try to choose larger more “potato shaped” yams as opposed to the longer skinny ones as they will hold up to the scooping and refilling process better. Also, start with a few more yams than you anticipate needing to serve, as inevitably a few skins may break. This is fine as the extra filling makes the ones you serve look nicer.

Twice Baked Yams

3 lbs. yams (sweet potatoes will work as well)
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup caramelized onions
1/2 cup chopped pecans
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375°. Wash the yams well and pat dry with a clean towel. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake 45 min to and hour, or until soft. Let cool until they can be handled. Split the yams in half and scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl. Leave about 1/4 inch of flesh on the skins to give structure to your shells for later. Add the yogurt, orange juice and spices and mash with a fork or potato masher until well mixed and mostly smooth. Stir in onions and pecans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the hollowed yam halves on a baking sheet and spoon the filling into each one (or you can scoop the filling into a large zip top bag, cut off the tip of one corner with scissors, and pipe the filling into each shell). Bake at 375° for about 15 min until heated through.

Is it pecan pie? is it pumpkin pie? As one friend of mine put it: it’s pumpkin pie in a pecan pie costume. A glazed pecan topping makes a great addition to this pumpkin pie recipe. The recipe calls for cooked pumpkin, not canned. It only takes a little more effort and makes a world of difference. While sugar pumpkin (make sure to use sugar pumpkins, carving type pumpkins are not bread for eating and will be far too watery with very little flavor) is the classic choice, most winter squashes, such as butternut, acorn, hubbard, or even sweet potato or yam all work. In fact I probably have made this more times as a sweet potato pie than a pumpkin pie. I also often use a combination pumpkin and yam. If you are in a pinch you can substitute 2 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree. You can also substitute 2 tsp of your favorite pumpkin pie spice for the spices as well. Serve with your favorite vegan whipped topping or the coconut whipped cream recipe below.

I would recommend at least making the crust and roasting your squash the day before.

To roast pumpkin or squash

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake 45-50 min or until flesh is easily pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool until it can be handled. Scoop out flesh and use.

Pumpkin Pie

3 cups cooked pumpkin or other squash (try 2 cups pumpkin and 1 cup yam)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (plus more as necessary)
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
4 tsp canola oil
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground clove
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp arrow root powder
1 tsp agar agar powder (use powder, not flakes)

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, chilled
1/2 cup non hydrogenated vegetable shortening, cut into pieces and chilled.
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp ice water

Pecan Topping

1 1/2 cup pecan halves
1 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp arrow root powder

Coconut Whipped Cream

1 can coconut cream (or coconut milk, but check cans for the highest fat content, you are looking for one with about 20 grams per serving)
sugar
vanilla extract

To make the crust

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. With a pastry blender or two butter knives cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles course cornmeal. Slowly add ice water and gently stir until the dough is just moist enough to come together into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour before rolling.

When ready to use, roll on a lightly floured board or between two pieces of parchment. Roll to about a 12 inch circle and transfer to a 9 inch pie plate. Gently press into the plate. Trim to fit, leaving a bout an inch of overhang. Fold overhang under and crimp edges between thumb and finger to create a fluted edge (or simply press into plate if using a fluted plate). If not filling immediately, place back into refrigerator until ready to bake.

Tips: Make sure all ingredients are very cold before starting, especially the shortening and the water (place a cube of ice in a glass of water and measure from there). Be carful to wrk the crust as little as possible, as over working the dough will give you a tough crust. Many crust recipes say to cut the shrtning to the size of peas or hazelnuts which creates a “flaky” crust. Cutting the shortening in finer creates what is known as a “mealy” crust, which will absorb less moisture and is less likely to get soggy.

To make the pie

Preheat oven to 350°. In a blender or food processor combine pumpkin, maple syrup, spices, canola oil, salt, and soy milk. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetener as necessary (not all squash are equally sweet). Add arrowroot and agar and blend to fully incorporate. Transfer to pie shell, cover edge of crust with a foil collar, and bake for 50 min. While pie is baking, mix all ingredients for the topping and set aside. Remove pie from oven, remove foil collar, and spread topping over the top of pie. Place back in the oven and bake for another 20 min. Let cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

To make the creme

Place the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator to thoroughly chill. Remove from fridge, but do not shake. Open can a scoop out the thick, creamy layer at the top of the can, do not use the wattery layer at the bottom. Place into the bowl of a stand mixer and sweeten and add vanilla to taste. With a whisk attachment, whip on high until fluffy like whipped cream. spoon onto slices of pie.

Green bean casserole may be a holiday staple, but I would rarly serve a canned vegetable. Combined with the fact that there are really not many vegan condensed soups on the market means that the traditional green bean and cream of mushroom soup casserole is pretty much out. I do like the combination of mushrooms and green beans, and there is certainly nothing wrong with some fried onions (especially since organic ones are getting pretty easy to find), so I came up with this easy little side to add to your table. If you cant find vegan bacon bits (I use these) you can chop some cooked veggie bacon, or just use a little smoked salt. You can adjust the amount of red chili to fit your preferred spice level, but I wouldn’t go to crazy as this isn’t meant to be outrageously spicy.

Spicy Green Beans with Mushrooms

1 lb green beans, washed, trimmed and cut into desired lengths
4 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp vegan bacon bits
salt
pepper
fried onions

In a large skillet or saute pan heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add green beans, mushrooms, and garlic. Season with a liberal pinch of salt and cook for about 3 min, stirring. Add white wine and red chili flakes and reduce heat to med or med-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until green beans are tender and wine is mostly evaporated. Add bacon bits and season with salt and pepper to taste.Top with fried onions and serve.

I love mashed potatoes, and there is certainly nothing wrong with your classic recipes, but if you want a different take on the old mashed tubers give this a try. The addition of yams and parsnips adds layers of flavor (not to mention a good deal of added nutritional value). You want to go for relatively equal proportions of potatoes and yams with a smaller amount of parsnip, about 2 parts potato, 2 parts yam, 1 part parsnip.

Mashed Potatoes with Yams, Parsnips, and Pecans

2 large baking potatoes
2 large yams (about the same size as potatoes, or use enough smaller yams to equal the same amount)
1-2 parsnips (enough to equal about one of the potatoes)
1/2 cup Earth Balance, or other vegan butter
3/4 cup vegan sour cream
1 cup Pecans, chopped and toasted
salt and pepper

Peel potatoes, yams, and parsnips. Cut into roughly equal size pieces. Place vegetables into a large pot and cover with water. Salt liberally, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until tender (should be easily pierced with a fork). Remove from heat and drain. Return to pot and add Earth Balance and sour cream. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer, adding some unsweetened soy milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and fold in pecans. Serve with your favorite gravy.

Tofurky has become an essential staple of the holiday season for many vegans. It is widely available, easy to prepare, and something your parents can grab from most major grocery stores that they are sure your can eat. After a time though, it can get boring, especially if you are just preparing it to the recipe on the box. While there are some good alternate recipes on Tofurky’s website, and you can always just play with different spice rubs and marinades, I prefer that great American culinary tradition: Deep Frying.

Before frying the Tofurky roast is heated in the oven. This is primarily to make sure the center is heated through, but is also an excellent time to add some extra flavor. You can use either of the standard marinade recipes on the package, or I have provided one below. Feel free to use your favorite spice blend or marinade. Harissa was particularly good, and Cajun spice would be a great choice, just be sure that whatever you use there is a good amount of liquid so the outside will not dry out in the oven. Deep frying gives the roast a delightful, crispy skin while retaining the flavors of whatever marinade you choose to use.

I like to get the Tofurky feast that comes with gravy and dumplings. You can usually find them on sale for a bargain either early in the season or late in the season (I like to pick them up after the holidays when they are on super close out). The dumplings are decent, but become exceptional after a good dip in the old deep fryer. Make sure to defrost your Tofurky roast and gravy in the fridge at least the night before you plan to cook them. I discovered (actually they mention it somewhere on the box, hidden away) that you get much better results if you carve the Tofurky more like an actual roast, shaving off thinner pieces, rather than cutting big slices like they picture on the box.

Deep Fried Tofurky

Marinade
1/8th cup orange juice
1/8th cup Braggs or soy sauce
1/8th cup dry white wine
1 tsp rubbed sage

Tofurky roast, defrosted according to package directions.
Tofurky Dumplings

Deep Fryer
Oil for frying

To Make the Tofurky

Heat oven to 300°. Mix marinade ingredients. Place Tofurky on a large piece of foil and add marinade. Seal Tofurky in foil and place on a pie plate or baking dish. Bake for 30 min. Heat oil to 375°. Deep fry about 5 min on each side, until well browned. Remove and drain briefly on paper towels before carving.

To Fry the Dumplings

Heat oil to 375°. Fry dumplings until browned, flipping half way through cooking. Drain on paper towels and serve.