Housely
In the United States, Thanksgiving is the biggest cooking day and the biggest eating day of the year. The standard Thanksgiving meal is, of course, a giant roasted turkey, complete with all the trimmings: stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and more, depending on what’s traditional and customary in your family. Sometimes the turkey is fried, and sometimes it’s grilled or smoked, but it’s almost always a turkey. The idea is to replicate the turkey-based fall harvest meal shared by the American Wampanoag Indians and the pilgrims from Plymouth, England on that first Thanksgiving back in 1621, and Americans have been doing it ever since.
But this is 2016. How many times do we need to keep spinning out the same dinner, year after year after year? Why is turkey mandatory when there are some many other wonderful foods that can be shared to commemorate such an auspicious occasion? Sure, lots of people like and even prefer turkey, but some people prefer other festive foods. And of course, there are people who simply don’t eat animals, and those vegetarians and vegans are not going to put their ethical reasoning aside for the fourth Thursday in November and carve up a bird for dinner. What, then, should they eat?
The good news is that there are no turkey police. If you want to eat something else for your Thanksgiving dinner, whether you’re a vegetarian, a vegan, or someone who just doesn’t want to eat turkey on Turkey Day, we’ve got you covered. Here are five excellent turkey alternatives for Thanksgiving.
Vegetarian (or even vegan) Pot Pies
Thanksgiving is a holiday about comfort food, and few main dishes say “comfort” quite like a pot pie. It’s got all the stick-to-your-ribs appeal of a hearty stew, with all the crunchy and flaky texture of a good pastry, and it adds up to a favorite all throughout the winter months. Pot pies can be made with lots of ingredients, and if you’re not a meat eater, a vegetarian pot pie is easy to make, even if you improvise. You’ll need vegetables, of course, along with vegetable stock, flour, and some type of fat to make a velouté type sauce. Top it all off with either puff pastry, layers of filo dough, or pie crust, then bake until it’s bubbly and golden brown.
And if you’re vegan, swapping out the butter with oil or shortening does little to change the final dish. Best of all? A pot pie is so filling and chock full of great ingredients that you probably won’t have to make any sides. Serve it with a green salad and follow it with dessert, and you’re good to go. Find wonderful vegetarian and vegan pot pie recipes on websites like The Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aida-mollenkamp/vegetarian-pot-pie-recipe.html), Vegetarian Times (http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/vegetable-pot-pies), and many other cooking websites.
Stuffed Squashes
Even if you don’t eat turkey, there’s something about a good sage-scented stuffing that just screams Thanksgiving. But there’s no rule that says you have to cram that stuffing inside a bird. Hard autumn squashes are plentiful and delicious in the late November, and they make a perfect vessel for your favorite stuffing: cornbread, sourdough, andouille and oyster, or whatever. As for the squash, choose your favorite: acorn, butternut, kabocha, spaghetti, delicata, or even small pumpkins.
You can dress up your stuffing with ingredients like dried cranberries, diced apples, sauteed mushrooms, leeks, or whatever you like. Again, much like pot pies, stuffed squashes are easy to improvise, and you can make them vegetarian, vegan, or meaty, depending on your preferences. Find delicious stuffed squash recipes on The Kitchn (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-stuffed-winter-squash-224965), Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/acorn-squash-with-kale-and-sausage-51203850), and other sites.
Standing Rib Roast
Turkey is tasty, but if you’re a dedicated carnivore and poultry just doesn’t do it for you, perhaps a lush slab of beef might sound better for Thanksgiving dinner. There are obviously a lot of cuts from which to choose, but when it comes to celebrating the holidays with a crowd, a standing rib roast is second to none. Even if some of your guests really love turkey, it’s hard to miss a drumstick when there’s a gorgeous piece of medium rare prime rib hanging off the edge of your plate.
Most supermarkets sell these larger roasts around the holidays, or you can order one from the store’s butcher about a week in advance. As for cooking, it’s a fairly simple proposition: add vegetables to the pan if you wish, top with your meat, create a simple pan sauce with red wine, stock, and herbs, and roast until it’s the temperature you like. Recipes like those on The Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/standing-rib-roast-recipe.html) and Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/standing-rib-roast-106702) can give you some guidance.
Crab Cakes
You don’t have to live near the Chesapeake to know that crab cakes are delicious. If you’re a pescatarian, or if you’d just rather eat seafood that fowl, crab cakes are a great choice for a holiday that’s all about special food. Fresh crab meat can be found pretty much everywhere in the US, and as long as you don’t mind your hands getting a little messy, preparing crab cakes is a snap. You can improvise a recipe of lump crab, bread cubes or crumbs, onion, pepper, mustard, and mayonnaise, or you can follow one from Food & Wine (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baltimore-style-crab-cakes), Chowhound (http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/crab-cakes-29313), or this one from Maryland Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (https://www.mikulski.senate.gov/about-barbara/crabcake-recipe).
Cornish Game Hens
If cooking and carving up a giant turkey seems too daunting or time consuming, but you’re still in the mood for poultry, you might consider cooking up some Cornish game hens. Smaller hens are individual servings, while larger ones can feed two smaller appetites. They cook quickly, due to their small size, and your guests won’t have to choose between white meat and dark meat — they’ll get it all. Roasting game hens is much like roasting any other bird, and they go perfectly with all of the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes.
For specific recipes, check out these from The Food Network’s Ina Garten (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cornish-hens-recipe.html) and good thing connoisser Martha Stewart (http://www.marthastewart.com/340178/cornish-hens-with-lemon-and-herbs).
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