Thanksgiving with two vegan guests; please help me plan!
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Anonymous
Vegetarian here - and that sounds perfect. It will be a lovely meal. |
Anonymous
In that case I don’t really give two shits. Accept my invitation or don’t. |
Anonymous
Because of kashrut, with observant family members we do mashed potatoes with olive oil and caramelized onions - very tasty. |
Anonymous
Not liking pumpkin pie is not "disordered" or picky -- most people don't like it. Literally every single year I wonder why we serve it at Thanksgiving. But they were probably used to having such serious diarrhea after eating food brought by well intentioned relatives that they've learned the hard way not to eat it. |
Anonymous
| This thread has me looking forward to Thanksgiving. |
Anonymous
NP. In that case, they should not even make their dietary restrictions or choices known to other people. If you are going to share that kind of information—which is helpful to most hosts—you should be prepared to graciously eat what is offered, like a guest. Knowing that holiday meals often include contributions from others, you should be prepared for the fact that other people will likely have gone literally out of their way for you. If you have “learned the hard way” not to eat this or that when people are just trying to be helpful and welcoming, bring your own food or be prepared to eat before or after. Honestly, there is no pleasing or accommodating picky, particular, difficult people who honestly CHOOSE to be ridiculous. |
Anonymous
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Op, if two people who don't eat meat accept an invitation to a meat-eating holiday!, it's on them to ask/tell you what they are going to be eating.
They *should* be making this very, very easy on you. If they aren't doing this, certainly don't be shy re: asking exactly what you can serve them. |
Anonymous
| OP, I have not read the whole thread but your menu sounds terrific. For the veg I usually do green beans with almonds or Brussels sprouts. I use vegan butter for a lot of the sautéing and my picky kids prefer it to regular butter! I wouldn’t overextend yourself with a big crowd - you should get to enjoy the holiday! I wouldn’t eat that meat substitute loaf thing because I don’t eat mock meat, but all the veggies and cranberry sauce sound amazing!! I don’t tend to read threads on here about veganism because DCUM can be so hostile. Most people IRL have no idea what my dietary preferences are. |
Anonymous
Oh yeah, I can just imagine the thread from the person hosting Thanksgiving who is shocked and appalled that their vegan guests told them what to make, without having been asked. |
Anonymous
Another vegetarian, and I personally would just buy a few key vegan items from Whole Foods knowing that some of what you’re serving already (like cranberry sauce and a veggie roasted in olive oil) will be safe for vegans. They will keep fine if you pick them up a couple of days prior. Hosting Thanksgiving is a ton of work, and I wouldn’t want to spend additional time making two versions of dishes. (Just like when I host meat-eaters, I keep things easier for myself by buying pre-made turkey/gravy from Whole Foods for them.) |
Anonymous
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Italian fam here. Our thanksgivings include traditional to an extent, but we lean into Italian multi courses. Here’s what I’ve done for vegan friends in the past. Don’t panic, it’s easy. Just offering step by step.
Starter: A vegan version of traditional antipasto— organic artichoke hearts (not marinated), a variety of olives, (roasting peppers imported jar), drizzle all with evoo and sea salt. On a long serving tray I arrange this, bakery Italian semolina, condiment bowls with nuts of choice mixed with organic cranberries, hummus burrowed in middle for evoo, sea salt, cracked pepper served with mini naan (warmed) Main: in this case, buy imported bagged pasta (not fresh) tagliatelle or my fav tripoline nests. The goal is to keep the nest shape which is easier with dry pasta. Here’s a delicate vegan topper. Rinse and halve organic cherry tomatoes, salt them. Heat evoo in a skillet pan, add fresh chopped garlic (not jarred). Add dry basil or fresh if you prefer. On low-medium heat, let them wither in the oil until skins become soft. Taste test. Transfer to a baking dish and let sit at room temp Top the tomato mixture with fresh breadcrumbs. Grab a bag from your local market that has some chunks. I don’t know the taste or texture of vegan butter, but if others say it will add flavor then put a few pats on top of breadcrumbs. Bake in toaster oven until crumbs are slightly brown and crunchy. Time this in tandem with bringing salted water to a boil. Using a strainer spoon, gently lower the nests in water. Do not stir! They’ll keep their shape. Cooks fast so be sure to test. I pull one strand out with small tongs. You definitely want al dente. Scoop out each nest with strainer spoon giving it a gentle shake. Plate and use a slight hand to top with tomato mixture until it looks pretty. For the vegan version w/o hot Italian sausage. I roast/bake an extra tray of sweet potatoes (not yams) in a pan with onions, a few cloves of garlic, olive oil salt and pepper. Throw it all in an aluminum pan and mix to coat. Bake at 375. Do the fork test for readiness. Scoop with straining spoon, shake, and add to side of nest. Avoid the oil so potatoes stand alone without a sloppy oily mess the way my family likes them. Dessert: In pretty bowls dessert bowls— HAAGEN-DAZS Non-Dairy Chocolate Salted Fudge Truffle Frozen Dessert, chilled berries. Traditionally, we always fill a huge wooden bowl with skin on seedless clementines, walnuts in shell, and figs. Don’t forget the nutcracker. Another southern Italian tradition is dark chocolate dipped clementines. These are presliced from Calabria where they’re soaked for months. Big hit, so I add them to xmas stockings. https://www.zingermans.com/Product/clementines-in-chocolate/P-CIC |
Anonymous
Do you have no social skills? “Hi Rachel, thank you so much for hosting Bill and I for Thanksgiving. I wish we lived closer so we could bring something homemade, but would you like us to hit the grocery store the morning of and bring anything?” This opens the door for menu discussion, and makes it clear they are willing to contribute in some way. |
Anonymous
At least PP won’t be raising soy boys. |
Anonymous
I am not a picky eater. I eat everything. I'm simply saying that the extreme negative reactions to people's dietary restrictions are weird -- weirder then the dietary restrictions. It is not "disordered" to not like pumpkin pie. It also would not be reasonable for a guest allergic to gluten and dairy to say, "Sorry, no, I've had too much diarrhea. This time I'll pass." The normal thing would just be to not eat it. Sounds like the host delegated pies to the PP and told her about the two guests with dietary restrictions. I doubt the guests with restrictions asked that PP directly. Just guessing tho. |
Anonymous
Me too! Also, it feels like the world is healing: a holiday conundrum thread, complete with fantastically opinionated responses. |