Forget garden salads, steamed broccoli or cooked carrots. The Thanksgiving table is crowded with creative side dishes that include stuffing, vegetable-and-rice combos, green bean or squash casseroles, and fall favorites like pumpkin and sweet potatoes.
Given the variety of delicious side dishes served this time of year, some diners, including myself, eschew the turkey altogether. Most turkey does not taste all that special anyway, and I would rather fill up on the good stuff. In addition, claims about bird abuse by animal rights groups can quickly dull your appetite. (I wrote about this last year in my post “Losing Your Appetite for Turkey?”)
Whether or not you have invited a vegetarian to join you this Thanksgiving or you are planning to eat turkey yourself, the holiday is an ideal time to celebrate vegetables. To help you discover a new vegetarian favorite, the Well blog will offer daily vegetarian recipes from now until Thanksgiving as part of our new Eat Well series.
We will hear ideas from top chefs like Alice Waters of Chez Panisse and Dan Barber of Blue Hill, both of whom have raised the standard for fresh and delicious vegetable dishes. We will also keep you apprised of the variety of vegetarian options offered by dining writers from The New York Times, including Mark Bittman, Julia Moskin, Kim Severson and the Temporary Vegetarian columnist Elaine Louie.
Eat Well starts today, with a Thanksgiving smackdown between Ms. Severson, a turkey fan, and Ms. Moskin, a believer in side dishes. Fortunately for us, the turkey versus side dish standoff leaves us with some great new recipes. Here they are:
Two-Way Chanterelle and Pear Bread Stuffing: It isn’t a vegetarian dish, but Ms. Severson says it can be. Just substitute vegetable stock for the turkey stock and omit the pancetta. You’re left with a delicious bread stuffing flavored with mushrooms, pears and shallots and cooked in a muffin tin.
Fiery Sweet Potatoes: A holiday favorite sweetened with brown sugar but spiced up with Thai red curry paste and coconut milk.
Caramelized Corn With Fresh Mint: The name says it all — butter browns and flavors fresh corn, livened with mint.
Roasted Cauliflower With Lemon Brown Butter and Sage Salt: A simple dish that uses roasting to draw out the flavor of the cauliflower.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
By TARA PARKER-POPE- New York, Times (November 22, 2009)–Who needs turkey? Thanksgiving is an ideal time to test out new vegetarian recipes that could quickly become everyday favorites.
Forget garden salads, steamed broccoli or cooked carrots. The Thanksgiving table is crowded with creative side dishes that include stuffing vegetable-and-rice combos, green bean or squash casseroles, and fall favorites like pumpkin and sweet potatoes.
Given the variety of delicious side dishes served this time of year, some diners, including myself, eschew the turkey altogether. Most turkey does not taste all that special anyway, and I would rather fill up on the good stuff. In addition, claims about bird abuse by animal rights groups can quickly dull your appetite.
Whether or not you have invited a vegetarian to join you this Thanksgiving or you are planning to eat turkey yourself, the holiday is an ideal time to celebrate vegetables.
Eat Well starts today, with a Thanksgiving smackdown between Ms. Severson, a turkey fan, and Ms. Moskin, a believer in side dishes. Fortunately for us, the turkey versus side dish standoff leaves us with some great new recipes. Here they are:
Two-Way Chanterelle and Pear Bread Stuffing: It isn’t a vegetarian dish, but Ms. Severson says it can be. Just substitute vegetable stock for the turkey stock and omit the pancetta. You’re left with a delicious bread stuffing flavored with mushrooms, pears and shallots and cooked in a muffin tin.
Fiery Sweet Potatoes: A holiday favorite sweetened with brown sugar but spiced up with Thai red curry paste and coconut milk.
Caramelized Corn With Fresh Mint: The name says it all — butter browns and flavors fresh corn, livened with mint.
Roasted Cauliflower With Lemon Brown Butter and Sage Salt: A simple dish that uses roasting to draw out the flavor of the cauliflower.
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