# Meatless dopers: What's for Thanksgiving dinner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921 "2011-11-23T22:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/1 "2011-11-23T22:04:06Z")
I’ve decided on mushroom ravioli, green beans, asparagus, herb ciabatta, and pumpkin pie. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/2 "2011-11-23T22:07:37Z")
Tofurkey. Not me, my g/f with her family. (Traditional for me at my family.) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/3 "2011-11-23T22:34:37Z")
I’m not sure what I’ll be eating. A sister-in-law is hosting this year, and I’m only supposed to be bringing wine and beer. She was doing the planning/announcements via Facebook but she’s not very good at using it so a lot of questions have gone unanswered, and her inlaws are coming for the first time - and bringing a lot of the food - so I’m not sure how the vegetarians will be taken care of at all. I’m going to eat before going over, then nibble at anything that looks safe. I hosted last year, and roasted a huge, awesome turkey, but everything else was vegetarian (and delicious). I also made a vegan mushroom strudel for the veg entree. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/4 "2011-11-23T22:43:05Z")
Pesce-tarian checking in: Our menu is crab-stuffed salmon, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, string beans, some sort of sweet potato dish, rolls, and pumpkin pie. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Blue-Sighted_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/5 "2011-11-23T23:19:20Z")
Tofurky roast with veggies, stuffing, mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, Watergate salad and pecan pie. Last year, I made an awesome pot pie with the leftover Tofurky and veggies. It was very tasty and froze beautifully, so I didn’t have to eat Tofurky for 2 weeks straight. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/6 "2011-11-24T03:48:32Z")
I’m not vegetarian now, but I was raised in a vegetarian household. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas I was growing up, my mom made a [nut roast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_roast) using a recipe from an ancient UK edition of The George Bernard Shaw Vegetarian Cookbook. Haven’t had one in years, though. After I became an adult, she got tired of making them and branched out with pasta dishes or other things, and the last few years she’s just taken everybody out to dinner or had it catered. Since all three kids abandoned vegetarianism and her husband and in-laws are non-vegetarian it’s easier. Frankly, I prefer nut roast, and would love to have one again, but the last several years she made it, it was too small and she used a pie pan rather than a loaf pan, so it dried out terribly. My (extraordinarily gustatorially conservative) stepfather never tasted it (or most things she cooked), and I think I was the only one who still really appreciated it, so you can’t blame her for not having had her heart in it! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/7 "2011-11-24T05:00:48Z")
We’re going over to the neighbors’ house this year. I talked to her today to ask if I could bring anything and she mentioned that she’d gotten a “vegan roast” for me. Not sure what that is, but that’s what I’ll be having, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/8 "2011-11-24T05:31:57Z")
I have made a stuffed pumpkin in the past. I rub the inside of the pumpkin with a very light dusting of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice, and I use the same spices in the stuffing. I also add chopped dried fruits to the stuffing. The best stuffed pumpkins are the white ones–their flesh is a deeper orange and much sweeter. My daughter’s in-laws like WHAM, and she makes a wonderful pineapple glaze for it. This year we added a “Dinner Roast” by Worthington that is very flavorful. I prefer it to the WHAM. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/9 "2011-11-24T14:15:22Z")
Stuffing made with vegetable broth, mashed red potatoes, Gardein brand protein filets, wild rice and green bean pilaf (with a hint of curry), brown gravy made with Marmite, apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/10 "2011-11-26T06:12:49Z")
Match Meat “turkey,” which I liked better than Tofurky. Mashed potatoes, lima beans, veggie dressing made with lentils, sweet potatoes, salad. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/11 "2011-11-26T14:53:52Z")
All of it so far sounds pretty bleh without the bird and gravy. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/12 "2011-11-26T14:57:19Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > All of it so far sounds pretty bleh without the bird and gravy. Thanks for sharing! I ended up with an Italian-style mac-n-cheese (using penne and some interesting cheeses), sweet potato casserole (no marshmallows, thanks), cranberry sauce, plus nibbled at an antipasto platter beforehand. I skipped the pie because we couldn’t figure out if it was a lard crust or not. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/13 "2011-11-26T15:15:19Z")
My GF’s family is all vegetarian and we had a Tofurky last year with roasted vegetables. I’d never had it before and found it quite comical that it had stuffing in it. But not bad. Tasted a lot like Banquet salisbury steak. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/14 "2011-11-26T15:55:11Z")
Textured vegetable protein, zucchini, and yams. It was good! ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/15 "2011-11-26T15:56:56Z")
Thanksgiving morning, I adopted a turkey from [http://www.adoptaturkey.org/](http://www.adoptaturkey.org/) which is my new tradition of having a “Thanksgiving bird” without killing or eating one. 🙂 I ended up going over to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving where they eat meat but had made some non-meat dishes for me (salad, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry relish, the usual). My original plan before I knew I’d go there had been to make a Tofurky and I still plan to cook it this weekend. I like tofurky better than I ever liked real turkey honestly. Real meat always kind of grossed me out in a way. Never liked encountering chunks of fat, gristle, and skin in meat…bleh. And gravy? There are lots of veg\*n gravy options out there. [Here’s a tasty vegetarian gravy recipe](http://www.food52.com/recipes/7483_vegetarian_mushroom_thyme_gravy). I kind of feel sorry for anyone who could look at [a spread of meals like this](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/01/health/20111101_vegetarian_thanksgiving.html) and think none of it is any good because it doesn’t have meat in it. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/16 "2011-11-26T16:56:12Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I kind of feel sorry for anyone who could look at [a spread of meals like this](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/01/health/20111101_vegetarian_thanksgiving.html) and think none of it is any good because it doesn’t have meat in it. WOW!!! I want it all! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/17 "2011-11-26T17:29:26Z")
The thing that ended up being my main course was a nut roll thing that was quite yummy. Our kind hostess let me take the rest of it home as leftovers, too! ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/18 "2011-11-27T02:04:18Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I kind of feel sorry for anyone who could look at [a spread of meals like this](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/01/health/20111101_vegetarian_thanksgiving.html) and think none of it is any good because it doesn’t have meat in it. Me too. We’re not vegetarian, but we don’t eat meat every day.\* Some of those dishes are going in the to-try file. Yum. \*In the interests of full disclosure, it’s the holidays, which end up being very meat heavy. I’m not sure I’ve eaten a meat without meat since Tuesday, much less gone a day without meat. Now that I’ve written that out I feel a little sick. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Paulj1989](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Paulj1989](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paulj1989)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatless-dopers-whats-for-thanksgiving-dinner/603921/19 "2011-11-27T02:14:13Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I kind of feel sorry for anyone who could look at [a spread of meals like this](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/01/health/20111101_vegetarian_thanksgiving.html) and think none of it is any good because it doesn’t have meat in it. Oh wow. I will eat meat like it’s going out of fashion but a Vegetarian Thanksgiving looks pretty spectacular.