Thanksgiving Tofu Tuesday

I always get excited this time of year because I love the holidays and spending time with family.

PLUS...there is the food.

To make sure that I was ready for Thanksgiving I had a trial run last night.

What you don't do that?  Maybe I am a little crazy, but the reason for it was to make sure that I could make this:

I have never had tofurky before last night and I have to say I was a bit timid.

The preparation is pretty much the same as a traditional turkey except you don't have the gross cleaning of the bird and nasty insides that you have to pull out (YUCK who uses that stuff).  Then of course no animal had to die for our meal.

So into a roasting dish went my pre-stuffed tofurky with a chopped onion and celery.

You do baste the "bird" with:

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Bragg's Amino Acids
1 1/2 tsp fresh or dried sage (I didn't have sage on hand and used basil it worked like a charm)

Follow the directions on the box and you will not fail.

To compliment the dish I made mashed potatoes and sauteed kale.

The kale was a complete fail, but that is ok that is why I tried out the meal ahead of time.

The last item, required by my husband is gravy. 

He loves it on his turkey and mashed potatoes.

I was able to accommodate him.

To keep the meal vegan I prepared a mushroom gravy (also handily listed on the box):

8 oz mushrooms sliced
1/4 C sliced onions
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 C stock, bouillon, or soymilk
1 Tbsp Bragg's Amino Acid
1/4 tsp black pepper

Saute your mushrooms and onions in 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.

In a separate pan combine your flour and 2 Tbsp olive oil.  This will form a rue (thickener for your gravy), you should cook this on low heat for about 1 minute.

Whisk into the flour mixture your 4 cups of liquid (I chose bouillon), Bragg's, and black pepper.  Allow to cook until thickened.

I took the mushrooms, onions, and a bit of stock and blended them up for smooth consistency.  If you don't want to do that you can just add the mushrooms and onions straight into your gravy.

I prefer a smooth consistency and this gravy was just that smooth with the perfect thickness.

This was a huge win for me because I have never, and I mean never, been successful at making a gravy that was so fantastic (I highly recommend it).

Everything was finished and you might be wondering "What does stuffed tofurky look like?"  Well let me oblige you:

It was time to plate the dinner.

I thought since I was practicing I should go full tilt and pull out the china, crystal, and candles so that we could eat in the dining room (something my children don't do often).

I was a wonderful dinner.

Everyone enjoyed their meal (my husband even went back for seconds).

The tofurky tastes like turkey, I was actually quite surprised.

Now once the real Thanksgiving gets here I will be ready...except I just have to come up with some desserts to serve.

What are some special dishes you have with your Thanksgiving? 

Do you have a special dessert or side dish?

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