Christmas Feast!!

Helllooo All!!

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I've been busy with the holidays and having my sister in town (and a little bit of laziness on my part).  I hope you all had a FABULOUS holiday and are doing something fun for New Years!  I am happy to report that Christmas was a success!!  Starting with breakfast I made french toast which you can see my previous post with the recipe here.  I ended up not making the pancakes because it was already almost 11 and we needed to get the main meal started.  I have to say everyone LOVVVEEDD the french toast!!  It was hard to get photos because it was gone so fast.  No one even sat down to eat, just ate them off the platter as soon as I put a new piece down.  =) 

Now onto dinner...well more like lunch, or lunner??  I have to admit that getting all of the dishes ready on time in one kitchen was a bit of a challenge and a little stressful but it all worked out.  Especially with the help of my sisters and mom.  They were a big help with everything!  I started cooking the day before.  I made the dough for the braid bread, cooked the cornbread for the dressing, and made the artichoke and red pepper dip (except baking)  and chopped all of the veggies.  I thought that would give me a leg up but we were still running around all morning.  I started with the stuffing because I knew that would take the longest.  It's the same recipe I used for Thanksgiving and you can fine it here and the cornbread dressing which I've used before here.  It's pretty easy to make especially if you make the bread and chop the veggies before hand, just a matter of waiting for it to bake.  It's nice and moist with a kick of spice.  The only adjustment I made was I used slap ya mama spices instead of cayenne pepper.  I like to "fluff" the cornbread because I think it looks more presentable but I think we were distracted so this will do.  =)

Next was the Swiss Chard Gratin.  I found the recipe on a blog here.  I followed the recipe to the T and used the vegan Bechamel sauce from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet cookbook recipes follows.  This came out great.  Everyone loved it and it had a great creamy/cheesy taste.  The swiss chard tastes a lot like spinach which was tasty!  Just a side note that I tried re heating this for left overs and didn't find it quite as tasty.  I definitely recommend making just enough to eat it all in one sitting. 

Bechamel Sauce:
1 Tablespoon corn oil
¼ grated yellow onion (I just chopped)
1 Tablespoon Dry white wine
¼ cup raw cashews (I used roasted cashews because the raw I didn't find until too late and it tasted fine)
11/2 cups soy milk
½ cup drained soft silken tofu
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the corn oil in a small skillet over medium low heat.  Add the onion and cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Do not brown, stir in the wine and set aside.
2.  Place the cashews in a blender or food processor and grind into a powder add ¾ cup of the soy milk and process until smooth.  Add the remaining ¾ cups soy milk and the tofu and process until blended.  Add the onion mixture and process until thouroughly smooth.
3.  Transfer to a medium size saucepan over low heat.  Season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot.

I made the green beans and potatoes recipe from the other night, see my previous post here.  I also froze the gravy I made in this recipe and re-heated it which turned out great.  I made the recipe as stated.  If you aren't looking for a broth when it's done cooking I would cut way down on the broth, it's not really needed. 



The macaroni and cheese was final.  My sister really was the master of this.  She pretty much cooked the entire dish while I ran around and fetched all of the ingredients.  It was the last of the dishes we made and we were running out of time.  I have so much to learn about cooking from my sister.  Anytime I don't understand an instruction or need tips I call her and she always knows what to do.  =)  The Macroni and cheese was good, it had the perfect cheese texture and color.  It had a cheesy flavor but you could definitely tell it wasn't cheese.  Honestly I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.  I have since had it for left overs twice and its becoming my new FAV dish of the night.  I added a ton of hot sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce is my fav) and vegan parmesan cheese and it MAKES the recipe (it was the first time trying vegan parmesan and OMG why haven't I tried all of these things sooner!, I had them on some garlic fries today delish!!).  I would double or even triple the broccoli because there wasn't enough for my taste, you barely get one piece in a plate.  It also makes a lot so if you aren't making for a lot of people I would cut down the recipe which you can fine here.  Also as a tip, after melting the butter and adding the flour to make a roux keep the remaining ingredients on hand because you will need to keep stirring the roux so it doesn't burn and it will get thick very quick so you will need to add the "liquid" ingredients pretty quickly thereafter. 

 Doesn't it look pretty!!

My mom made baked sweet potatoes which are always good with a little cinnamon and sugar.  Also our guest of the night Deb brought a yummy salad.  She was sooo sweet to make sure it was completely vegan just for me.  She even did her research!  It was full of fruits, tofu, and a yummy dressing. 

I made my braid bread and artichoke dip like from Thanksgiving (see my previous post here).  The dip was gone so fast and was such a hit I didn't even get to take a photo.  The bread was also a hit and also lack of photos.  Needless to say we were a busy bunch.  Especially if you take into consideration the fact that the family also was cooking non vegan dishes including a ham, fried rice, corn chowder, and rolls.  I didn't get to make the fried cauliflower like I had hoped but it was just impossible to think I could make everything I had planned.  I'll try to make those soon and let you know how it turns out.  I think next year I'll cut down on what I cook so I can enjoy the cooking a little more without being pulled in too many directions.  All in all everything was tasty and the omnivores loved almost all of the meals.  SUCCESS!! 

I made some gingerbread cookies for the office cookie exchange.  They were sooo yummy.  You can find the recipe here.  I tried making a frosting but it didn't taste right for the cookies so I didn't end up using it.  Honestly they don't need frosting they were good all by themself. 

I know this post is already really long but I can't help but share with you all my awesome cooking gifts I got this year!!  I can't wait to use all of them.  New knives, and they are colorful!!!

The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen, can I say Vegan genius???  I can't wait to experiment and challenge myself with this book.  

And last but not least a new apron complete with owls!!!!  Isn't my niece so cute with her little kitchen?  She's starting early.  =)

That is all for today.  Other than christmas not much cooking has been going on.  A lot of snacking before Christmas and left overs after Christmas.  Excited to get the apartment back in order and left overs cleaned out so I can start some new adventures in the kitchen again.  Until next time....

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!