Featured Recipes

 

Twelve different special occasions are covered in detail with more than two dozen menus and detailed, step-by-step instructions so your party planning is easy and effortless. Nixon's fuss-free, fast recipes are also weeknight practical, so you can enjoy all her hearty main dishes, savory sides, sweet treats, all year long.

 

Butternut Soup
I can't help myself. I have to include a butternut soup in every cookbook I write. This recipe is my new favorite, and it's a little edgy for Thanksgiving. If you want to go a bit more traditional, skip the chilies and lime, and add cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice) to taste with a light drizzle of maple syrup. Or if you don't want a sweet, pumpkin-pie-tasting soup, add mild curry powder to taste—yes! Just three ingredients! Ka-pow!

 

Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 2 to 4

Thanksgiving Loaf
I've never had Tofurkey, and while my family has become pretty adventurous over the years, no amount of persuasion is going to get them to eat tofu shaped into a turkey mold. (Just sayin'.) If you want a centerpiece to your meal that doesn't pretend to be turkey, this Thanksgiving Loaf is where it's at. While this loaf doesn't taste anything like meatloaf (or turkey), it captures all the Thanksgiving flavors that we know and love.

 

Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4

1 15-oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 c mashed potatoes
1 carrot
1  parsnip (optional)
2  celery stalks
1 small onion
21⁄2 tbsp poultry seasoning (not powdered)
1⁄2 tsp rubbed sage (not powdered)
2–3 tbsp nutritional yeast 2–3 tbsp yellow miso*
3⁄4 c instant oats (uncooked)

 

Preheat oven to 350°F and set aside a standard loaf pan. Pulse beans in a food processor or mash in a bowl with a fork so no whole beans are left, but mixture is still chunky with some bean parts. Transfer to a mixing bowl along with the mashed potatoes and set aside.

 

Grate, chop, or pulse vegetables in a food processor until finely minced, but do not puree. Add to mixing bowl with seasonings, nutri- tional yeast, and miso, stirring to combine. Stir in oats and taste, adding additional nutritional yeast or miso if desired. Transfer combined mixture to your loaf pan, pat down firmly, and bake for 30–40 minutes until firmer and crisp on the top (make sure it's not still wet). Let cool in the pan for 10–20 minutes before serving out of it (while keeping it perfectly intact).

 

Note: One-use aluminum loaf pans that have ridges on the sides make the prettiest loaves, and it's easier to pop the loaf out of that (and keep it perfectly intact) than a traditional metal pan. While normally I'd prefer not to use something that creates waste, I like a perfect, magazine-looking loaf at Thanksgiving. If using a regular pan, run a knife along the edges, put a plate or cutting board over top, flip over, and pat (bang) the bottom of the pan until your loaf slides out onto the plate or cutting board.

Traditional Stuffing

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  45 minutes
Servings:  8

 

6 slices of whole-wheat bread
1 c vegetable broth, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
4 celery stalks, sliced or diced
2–3 tbsp Italian seasoning

 

Leave bread out overnight so it becomes stale (if you forget, toast it, but stale is best). Preheat oven to 350°F. Cube bread. Line a skillet with a thin layer of broth and saute onion and celery until onion is translucent and all the liquid has cooked off. Set aside to cool. In your casserole or baking dish, toss bread cubes with 2 tbsp Italian seasoning. Stir in cooked onion and celery and add more seasoning if desired. (Go on, give it a taste!) Drizzle with 1⁄4 cup broth and bake for 30 minutes. Check every 10 minutes and add more broth as necessary to prevent stuffing from drying out. (I find the preferred "wetness" of stuffing varies from family to family—do what you like!)

Pumpkin Pie
This pie is incredible. It's totally crustless but still firms up like the real deal so you can cut individual slices without it falling apart. It's like a little Thanksgiving tofu miracle.

 

1⁄2 c silken tofu* (see note)
1 1⁄2 c nondairy milk
2 tbsp cornstarch

1  tsp vanilla extract
2  c canned pure pumpkin
1⁄2 c whole-wheat pastry flour* (see note)
2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 c brown sugar
1⁄4 tsp fine salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Set aside a shallow 9-inch glass pie dish.

In a blender or food processor, blend tofu, nondairy milk, cornstarch, and vanilla until smooth, stopping to scrape sides periodically. Add remaining ingredients and blend for about a minute more until the mixture is uniform and well combined. Pour the mixture into the pie dish and bake for 1 hour. Allow the pie to cool on the counter, away from the hot oven, until it's at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.