Thanksgiving for the Herbivorous Part 1

This is a multi-part series. For Part 2 click HERE 

My husband and I are mostly vegetarian. Some of our friends do the "Meatless Mondays", but for us it's "Meaty Mondays". Well it used to be. Now I have learned that setting meals on certain days, just leads to disappointment. Did you miss that post? See it here. 

Wait... I got of topic... Oh right, Thanksgiving and vegetarians. 

Now since my family does eat meat occasionally, we are not opposed to eating the turkey. But since we don't eat a lot of meat, eating a meal where almost everything is meaty is.... let's go with overwhelming for our digestive tracks. 

So I have created an assortment of vegetarian dishes that I serve alongside those mighty meaty dishes. There have also been times that people have joined us for dinner that are true vegetarians, and they have always been delighted to have something other than cranberry sauce and a roll. :)

Here is the first two that are always a huge hit:

Stuffing (adapted from Martha Stewart):

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, diced small
• 3 celery stalks, diced medium 
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 10 ounces mushrooms, diced small (I like to mix up the kinds I use, but any mushroom that is available is fine)
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 loaf crusty white bread, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (8 cups) and left uncovered overnight or toasted.
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups low-sodium or homemade veggie broth
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (If your guests don’t eat eggs you can use 2 tbsp of ground Flax seeds and 6 tbsp Water. Let sit for about 10 minutes before adding it in.)

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add onions and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil, mushrooms, and sage to skillet; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are browned, 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until wine is almost evaporated. Transfer to bowl with vegetables; add almonds, bread, and enough broth to moisten (stuffing should feel moist but not soggy). Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
2. Add eggs (or flax) to bread mixture and toss well to combine. Spoon remaining stuffing into a lightly oiled 3-quart baking dish. (To store, cover and refrigerate, up to 1 day.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in upper third. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top. About 30 minutes.

Green Beans with Shallots:

• 2 lbs fresh green beans (French Green beans are delightful, but standard are also fine)
• 6 medium shallots 
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• Salt and pepper

1. Peel the shallots and thinly slice them. Separate the rings. Heat the butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and stir to coat in the oil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
2. While the shallots are browning heat a pot of water to boiling. Salt the water when it begins to boil and blanch the green beans by putting them in the water for 2 minutes or until bright green. They should still be very crunchy when you remove them. Place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
3. Toss the green beans with the shallots in the skillet. Gently heat the green beans over Low heat until warm. Do not over cook or they will become mushy.