I began my cooking career decades ago as a vegetarian cook determined to bring delightful, and not ascetic, vegetarian dishes to the public. I am still devoted to this, though I am no longer a strict vegetarian as I was then. Still, it’s the way I eat most of the time. I do partake of turkey and trimmings with pleasure at Thanksgiving, but I am also always assigned a vegetarian main dish as one of my contributions to the dinner I go to every year.
This year I was inspired, as I was a few months ago, by Rancho Gordo beans. I thought it would be particularly fitting to develop some vegetarian main dishes (and a side) with beans that are native to North America and Mexico (which covers many), particularly some of the beautiful heirloom varieties I’ve been buying from Rancho Gordo. I cooked them with sweet potatoes for one delicious Thanksgiving dish, and in a couple of dishes with winter squash, which we also associate with Thanksgiving. These will appeal to everyone at your Thanksgiving table, vegetarian or otherwise. But for the vegetarians they will definitely be welcome at the center of the plate.
What are some of the other dishes I will be bringing to the table this Thanksgiving? In addition to the colcannons I told you about a few weeks ago, I could never do without my favorite sweet potato recipe, Sweet Potato and Apple Puree, which I would make every week if I weren’t so busy testing new recipes. I also never miss an opportunity to make Pecan Pie, one of my true weaknesses in life. Mine is less cloying than the authentic version; but it’s pretty darned sweet and it has much more flavor, with honey and Lyle’s Golden Syrup pinch hitting for corn syrup. I often bring a salad to our collective Thanksgiving as well, and always I focus on endive, sometimes with apple as I will this year, sometimes with beets, as I have other years. I do so many new recipe tests every week, getting back to these tried and true dishes next week is a comforting thought, something I’m looking forward to.
This year I was inspired, as I was a few months ago, by Rancho Gordo beans. I thought it would be particularly fitting to develop some vegetarian main dishes (and a side) with beans that are native to North America and Mexico (which covers many), particularly some of the beautiful heirloom varieties I’ve been buying from Rancho Gordo. I cooked them with sweet potatoes for one delicious Thanksgiving dish, and in a couple of dishes with winter squash, which we also associate with Thanksgiving. These will appeal to everyone at your Thanksgiving table, vegetarian or otherwise. But for the vegetarians they will definitely be welcome at the center of the plate.
What are some of the other dishes I will be bringing to the table this Thanksgiving? In addition to the colcannons I told you about a few weeks ago, I could never do without my favorite sweet potato recipe, Sweet Potato and Apple Puree, which I would make every week if I weren’t so busy testing new recipes. I also never miss an opportunity to make Pecan Pie, one of my true weaknesses in life. Mine is less cloying than the authentic version; but it’s pretty darned sweet and it has much more flavor, with honey and Lyle’s Golden Syrup pinch hitting for corn syrup. I often bring a salad to our collective Thanksgiving as well, and always I focus on endive, sometimes with apple as I will this year, sometimes with beets, as I have other years. I do so many new recipe tests every week, getting back to these tried and true dishes next week is a comforting thought, something I’m looking forward to.
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