Friday, November 23, 2007

Happy Thanksfeasting

Things went over fairly well for a large family gathering. Other than most everyone sitting in front of the TV the entire meal, being weary of the food (all vegan), and leaving no more than 1 hour after the meal without touching dessert, we had a great feast. We were very proud of our food and the love and effort we put in to it. We were more than satisfied (can we say, a bit gluttonous?), and we have plenty of leftovers to feed us until Christmas! What more could you ask for? Here was our beautiful spread..

Our menu checklist board. This kept us sane, and helped us avoid forgetting to bake the stuffing.
Appetizer platter- Walnut-pecan pate, two kinds of crackers, mixed greek olives. Went down nicely with a glass of white.
The beginnings of the feast- the app. plate, rolls, sweet potato casserole, cranberry-cherry compote, the wines.

Sweet potato casserole with maple-pecan topping.
Roasted greenbeans and chestnuts. I roughly followed this recipe.
Veganized Paula Deen cornbread dressing, made with the Wheatsville cornbread recipe (!) and cranberry, cherry and walnut compote. This was my favorite dish.
Roasted vegetable (brussel sprouts, sweet potato, delicata and butternut squash, parsnips, red bell peppers, red onion, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, olive oil and balsamic), ala Brandon, my girlfriends brother.
Mac n cheeze, topped with breadcrumbs. Based off of Lolo's recipe, sans miso. I think I baked it a little long, but it still turned out really good.
The potrack holding the greenbeans, mac, potato salad (Mr. Natural) and roasted veggies. Very festive looking.
My loaded plate with a little scoop of everything. Usually I go back for second, but this year I could hardly finish what I had on the first round. Then, shortly after, I collapsed and took a nice long nap.
The dessert spread- pumpkin pie, chocolate dipped mini pecan tarts (a last minute miracle), and pumpkin cheezecake!My plate of dessert. A nice pick me up sugar rush after our post meal nap.
A closeup inside shot of my girlfriends famous pumpkin cheezecake, because it was just that good.

I am thankful for:
Good food and good people
Veganism
Finally having a job I enjoy
My health
Leftovers
Wine

6 comments:

aTxVegn said...

I can't believe no one ate dessert! I guess they were too full of all the other good stuff. Everything looks and sounds completely delicious. Aren't you glad for leftovers!

Kayla said...

We couldn't believe it either. But we sure enjoyed it! And yes, I am very thankful for leftovers. I'll add that to the list!

madeinalaska said...

quite a beautiful spread! I bet you are still eating leftovers, eh?
make up some small plates and freeze them for some quick dinners later.

Zookeeper said...

Your food looks amazing. But if I'd been there, I would have wanted those desserts or begged to take some "to go"!

Vegan_Noodle said...

I love your little checklist!! What a great idea! Everything looks wonderful... I"m definitely eyeing that sweet potato casserole (and the desserts of course but that goes without saying....) :-)

jd said...

Wow - what a wonderful feast! Everything looks so tasty, especially the sweet potato casserole & roasted veggies. Yum!