Okay. I am vegetarian this year, unlike last Thanksgiving.
Anyone out there have an alternate main dish?
I’ve heard of tofurkey but wonder about the taste as most fake meats are lousy(at least the ones I’ve tried).
I’m a veg and haven’t yet tried tofurkey myself, but a good friend of mine (who isn’t a vegetarian) has, and she loved it. Says the stuffing and gravy that come with it are excellent, though she warns that the tofurkey itself needs to be eaten when it’s hot-- the consistency changes once it’s allowed to cool off. So I guess it’s not so good for day after sandwiches.
As for me, I get by just fine on side dishes, but I think someone in another thread suggested a eggplant parm as a turkey alternative… mmmmm… eggplant parm…
i don’t have anything against fake meat. I just posted something about Boca Burgers, which are really good.
But I think at a festive occasion you shouldn’t have fake anything. Tofurkey seems just apologetic.
I think, go for real vegetarian. There are a lot of possiblities. Umm…ok, I don’t have a good recipe right now. But i think some really interesting vegetarian dish is better than fake turkey.
Try epicurious.com (under enhanced search for meatless etc.)
I’m a vegetarian. I do enjoy some of the faux meat products on the market-Morningstar Farms and Smart Deli in particular-but I found the Tofurky absolutely unpalatable.
I would, instead, create a fun and challenging menu that focuses on what you like and ignores the whole turkey issue.
I agree that you should probably skip the faux turkey products. They are okay in chili or something like that, but they don’t hold up to being the focus of the meal. Do you still eat dairy products? If I were doing a veggie Thanksgiving, I think I’d do some sort of rich, creamy, cheesy casserole dish, with roasted vegetables (peppers, potatoes and onions with garlic and rosemary) on the side.
If you are vegan, how about stuffed squash? You can bake acorn or butternut squash and then stuff it with wild rice or the same type of stuffing you would use with turkey.
Skip the tofu turkey. I did it one year and nearly all of it went to waste. The brand I got was the most highly recommended, but the taste & texture didn’t work with the rest of the meal. Instead I do a mostly traditional T-giving feast but with a few changes - bake the stuffing using onion-sage veggie broth in a covered roasting pan, mushroom gravy on the mashed potatoes, and skip the turkey altogether. I thought I might try some marinated seitan cutlets under gravy one year, just for the protein.
Yo, head on over to page five of my recipe thread for a kick-ass Eggplant Parmesan recipe that I posted the other day. You will find numerous other dishes of interest as well.
If there is a particular flavor or style you are looking for, please post a recipe request and I’ll do my best to come up with something for you.
I’ve heard other vegetarians say tofurkey is good (haven’t tried it myself) but to me it just seems like such a sad gesture, like you’re saying, “No, see, I can have turkey, too. kinda… sorta…”
I’d recommend something more in tune with the idea of the holiday and the harvest. Every year since I went vegetarin my dad has made stuffed pumpkin (stuffed with rice, beans, veggies, spices, etc. mmmm… very good) and everyone–veg and omni–loves it.
I’ve never tried the “whole turkey” Tofurky, but the sandwich slices are good.
My festive veg meals come from the Sundays at Moosewood restaurant book: Shepherd’s Pie (tofu base with mushroom gravy) or the Vegetable Pot Pie. Both are flavoured with the herbs commonly associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Mollie Katzen (Moosewood) has a cookbook out called “Still Life with Menu Cookbook” which has a entire vegetarian Thanksgivings menu. I don’t have my book in front of me but I believe the main course is a walnut loaf. I recently had a thanksgiving (Canadian) for a mixed group of eaters, omnivores and vegetarians. We had stuffed portabello mushrooms which were delicious as well as being substantially meaty and including the obligatory stuffing.
I agree. I don’t really care for the faux-meats.
If you go around trying to make vegetables taste like meat you are most likely going to fail.
Embrace the fact that you are preparing a vegetarian meal. Don’t hide it.
Maybe a main dish could involve nice, firm portabello steaks. Other than the turkey, most traditional dishes are vegetarian.
Have fun with it.
STAY AWAY FROM THE TOFURKEY!!!
That said…
A thanksgiving really needs a “centerpiece” dish. I have read many vegetarian thanksgiving menus, and they usually have some dramatic dish, like a stuffed squash (like Lunatic suggested) as a centerpiece. Then serve all the usual sides, like stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc.
A Tofurkey tastes horrible and looks even worse, and I agree with Lunatic (again) that it is just sort of sad. Plus, they’re really expensive.
On Thanksgivings past, i’ve had dinners with something called Un-Turkey from a company called Now & Zen. I found this to be delicious. It’s made from gluten, not tofu. Last year i offered some to all my family, and even my dad (a hard core meat eater) enjoyed it.
You can find out more at http://www.unturkey.com