So, What's For the Most Important Dinner of the Year?

Meal planning is a hassle.  Trying to come up with dinner every night, never mind finding the energy and motivation to cook the meal can be a challenge.  But what happens when you triple the guest list, up the expectations and raise the potential disaster level?

Yes - I am cooking Christmas dinner.

My parents and my sister's family will be joining us for this all important meal.  There are some restrictions - a few allergies, low salt, no seeds - but nothing too daunting.  The more important issue is coming up with an appropriately festive menu.

Tradition in our family means lasagna and filet mignon.  Both things center on beef so I don't want to spend hours preparing a meal that I can't even eat.  Not having pasta on Christmas would be like not having a tree (which would be fine with me - the tree is some much work and totally over-rated) but I can easily replace the meat lasagna with manicotti or ravioli and no one will complain.  Replacing the filet mignon would be a harder sell.  I could not serve a completely meatless meal.  That would not be fair to my guests.  It is my choice not to eat meat, not theirs.  I think I would be comfortable cooking the beef and serving it, though if it bothers me at the last minute I know Matt will pick up the slack.  I just need to come with side dishes that I can eat as a main course and not feel cheated and that still accompany the rest of the foods we have.  No one meal should require this much brain power!

On the other hand, I am so grateful to have this problem.  I have a wonderful family that enjoys spending time together, a house to hold all these people, and the luxury of choosing the food I want to eat.  Nothing like the stress of a big family dinner to remind you of all the good things.

I guess if all else fails, I will have Christmas cookies.  Cookies and milk make everything better.

I Know I Have it Here Somewhere

Sarah is having a friend over on Sunday afternoon.  We are going to decorate the Christmas tree (free labor!), bake some cookies (more free labor!) and visit a house nearby that decorates with some serious lights.  I want to make something for dinner that will be warm and cozy, and that the girls will enjoy.  Vegetarian chili!  I have a great recipe for that and Sarah's friend really likes Mexican food.  No problem, let me just pull out the recipe and write up a shopping list.

The recipe must be in my binder of all my old family favorites.  Not there?  Maybe I just misfiled it under the wrong tab in the binder.  (Side note - yes, I have a binder instead of a recipe box and yes it is organized with alphabetized section tabs.  Don't judge.)  No not in there.  Was it from one of the Vegetarian Times issues?  I went through all the issues I have and could not find it.  I then moved on to my favorite cookbooks, and then my not-so-favorite cookbooks, and then on to the cookbooks I never use.  I know I have this recipe.  I made it all winter last year!

Then I remembered - it was my recipe and I put it on my blog, this blog, that I work on every day.

So, check it out - my Chili-Cornbread Pie.  It really is a great recipe; one worth remembering.

Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

So how did it go?  All was well on the holiday.

My sister-in-law made me special soup.  This may not seem like a big deal, but it made my day.  We always start the meal with a tortellini meatball soup.  Not very Thanksgiving-y you say?  Too bad, it is my favorite part of the meal.  My SIL made a separate portion with vegetable broth and no meatballs.  No one even noticed I had anything different and I got to enjoy hot soup on a very cold Thanksgiving.

She also made eggplant parm.  Also not typical on everyone's Thanksgiving table, but my husband grew up having an entire pasta course (with meatballs and sausage) at Thanksgiving dinner so this did not seem out of place.   My Thanksgiving dinner consisted of broccoli gratin and eggplant parm.  The only person who commented on my plate?  My husband!  But not in a critical way.  He was worried I was missing out on other things, like the stuffing and cranberry sauce, which I enjoy so much.  I did miss those, and I had a few bites, but it did not go with the other things I was eating.

Overall, a successful, confrontation-free holiday.  Hurray!

In thinking about next year, I want to come up with a dish that will truly replace the turkey.  Not tofurkey, or any of those terrible meat replacement products (you already know how I feel about those).  I want something that goes with the mashed potatoes and corn that I enjoy and makes me feel like I am eating like everyone else.  Suggestions?

For a first meat-free Thanksgiving, I will not be greedy.  I am putting this in the win column and moving on from there.

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving all!

This will be my first turkey-less Thanksgiving and I must admit I am a little nervous.  We always spend the holiday with my sister-in-law, who is an amazing cook.  She has been so sweet about my new dietary restrictions.  She checked with me last week to see what I would and would not eat and is planning a special main dish for me.  I was uncomfortable with the attention at first, but I know she will be much happier knowing I can enjoy a delicious meal and not have to pick around what she normally serves for the holiday meal.  And she promised to have peppermint Oreos!  What more could I want?

So, why I am nervous?  We don't spend a lot of time with my husband's family since they live in another state.  Thanksgiving is our one main visit with them every year.  I don't want to deal with the questions and the comments.  I am terrible at defending myself and I despise confrontation.  Maybe I am worrying unnecessarily.  Maybe no one will notice or make any snide comments and we will just have a pleasant meal.

If not, I will drown my troubles in cookies.

No Substitutions, No Refunds

I have been trying to vary my protein sources, so I have been trying different versions of the meatless meatball.  The name is terrible.  Calling it a "meatless meatball" just makes it unappealing before I even taste it.

I hate the idea of substitutions for meat.  I want to enjoy any food on its own merits, not as a replacement for something I can't eat.  I don't think of veggie burgers as a substitute for hamburgers.  Nothing can replace the perfect burger, and I like veggie burgers just as they are.  I don't think of beans or eggs or eggplant and some sort of poor relation to meat.  These foods are delicious and wonderful in their own rights.

So, the meatless meatballs.  I have tried soy-based, rice-based, tofu-based and vegetable based versions, and so far they have all tasted awful.  I am wondering if it is the name creating expectations.  I need to find different ways of preparing these little nuggets unrelated to how I would use real meatballs.

And I need to call them something else, though "veggie balls" just sounds dirty.

Some Disassembly Required

Over the past week or so, I attended two parties.  For me, that is about as crazy as my social life gets.  Strangely enough, both hosts served lasagna for dinner.  In the past, I would be thrilled.  The cooks involved both make fantastic lasagna - everything from scratch, nothing jarred or processed.  Now, not so much.  You see, it was not just any lasagna, it was meat lasagna.

There were no other choices for meals at either party, so I a choice to make.  I could snack on salad and bread and skip the meal, leaving me hungry and cranky.  I could eat the lasagna, leaving me feeling guilty and uncomfortable.  I could ask for something else to eat, which I never really considered because that would be just plain rude.

My choice?  I ate the lasagna, sort of.  Yes, I quietly and subtly, took the layers apart and removed as much of the meat as possible.  People were talking and eating so no one seemed to notice my little pasta surgery.  I did not waste those meatballs; I gave my extra to Matt and Sarah who were more than happy to scoop up my rejects.  I am sure I looked ridiculous.  I am sure my plate looked like some kind of Italian tragedy.  I don't know if I made the best choice but I made the best decision I could at the time, both times, and I am comfortable with that.

Any ideas of another option?

If Elected, I Promise No Gratuitous Food Shots

Happy Election Day!  This is a great day.  Not only do we get to express democratic principles, but we will now get a break from the incessant phone calls, flyers, political ads and, best of all, shots of candidates eating food they don't like.

The local food stop is a classic campaign photo op.  Whether its cheese steaks in Philadelphia, pizza in Iowa (really?) or pie in New Hampshire, candidates roll into some local eatery famous for hosting candidates, take a bite of the specialty of the house for the cameras, and move on to the next event.

This whole things bothers me on so many levels.  First, I feel bad for all the unsuspecting patrons in the restaurant.  Sometimes they are vetted supporters who want nothing more than to watch their political hero lick an ice cream cone, but most of the time they look ordinary folk just trying to enjoy their morning cup of joe.  Second, what if the candidate doesn't like rhubarb pie or pineapple pizza or bison burger?  Too bad - just chew and smile.  Are there no vegetarians running for office?  Worst of all, the waste.  You know that cook made something really special when he got the call that the candidate and all the press would be showing up at his establishment.  Does anyone sit down and enjoy the meal the way it was intended?  Of course not!  They shovel a couple of bites, make sure the cameras were rolling, and leave.  All that hard work, heading for the trash can.

If I ever run for office (which will be never, but still I think about these things) I will have to find some other photo op.  I won't eat the steak, I don't like pie, and I cannot imagine what they do to pizza in Iowa.