Thanksgiving Plate

One o’clock = Cornbread made in an iron skillet
Three o’clock = 1/2 sweet potato the way I like ‘em. Plain.
Six o’clock = Green beans & cremini mushrooms in wine and garlic*
Eight o’clock = Red-skinned mashed potatoes** with Diner Gravy (the original way)
Ten o’clock = Seitan Roast with Diner Gravy
In-the-middle = Oven-roasted brussel sprouts and garlic*
Not pictured = cranberry sauce and apple pie

*Thanks Vegan with a Vengeance
**My secret to the best mashed potatoes on the planet: a touch of white pepper (1/2 tsp maybe).

Seitan, Mashed Potatoes, Cajun Collards, and Brown (Diner) Gravy

You do realize that the seitan and mashed potatoes are simply an excuse to make gravy? Gravy that is so flippin’ good, you could very well drink it. Or put it in a bowl and eat it as soup. Mmmmm, gravy soup. I’ll get on that. In the meantime, I’ll share one of my favorite gravy recipes. And if you want to health it up, which you will, because the healthy part is just as awesome, make some Cajun Collards to go with. In fact, I command you to make the collards to go with. You won’t regret it!

Brown (Diner) Gravy (from the Chicago Diner Cookbook)

This recipe is made in three parts: the dry spice mix, the roux, and the final gravy. The dry spice mix will last several months stored in an air-tight container. Having it already prepared makes gravy-making quick and easy whenever you’re ready for it.

Spice Mix:
2 1/2 cups nutritional yeast
1/3 cup dried parsley
1 1/2 Tbsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. dried dill
2 1/2 Tbsp. celery seed
2 1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. rosemary

Mix all ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Store in an air-tight container.

Roux:
1/3 cup mild vegetable oil
1/3 cup flour

Heat oil in saucepan, then add flour, stirring constantly with a whisk until flour browns and develops a nutty aroma. Roux burns easily, so be very careful not to over-cook.*

Gravy:
4 cups light vegetable stock
1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup spice mix

In a medium pot, bring vegetable stock and soy sauce to a high simmer. Gradually whisk in cooled roux and whisk until desired thickness.**

*Maybe it’s cheating, but I often cook my roux in the microwave: Put the oil and flour in a glass measuring cup, stir, and heat on high for 2-3 minutes. Stop. Stir. Then, heat in 30 second increments until browned. You can do this ahead of time and let it sit until you’re ready for it. Much easier!

**I have discovered that letting the roux cool down (maybe 20 minutes) is the key to a thick gravy. [Adding hot roux to the liquid will still taste yummy, but your gravy will stay more soupy.]

Cajun Collards (from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson)
(Serves 4)

1 1/2 lbs. collard greens
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 celery rib, minced
1/2 large green bell pepper, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained*
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. filé powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the collards in a pot of boiling salted water until tender, 20-30 minutes. Drain, then coarsely chop and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, filé, and cayenne. Add the collards, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir to coat the collards with the onion mixture. Simmer until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Cream Gravy

By now, you must know the one and only rule of this site: I have to love it before I’ll post about it. It’s not enough to give something a shot, decide it was so-so, then post here about how I gave it a shot, so here’s the not-so-thrilling recipe. But, see, I gave it a shot, so love my blog anyway. Nope, not how it works. So realize my dismay when I had this incredible craving last night for cream gravy and it turned out to be a wreck. A gravy trainwreck.

But you throw it away or feed it to the dogs or put it to compost, then pick right back up and start over again. And, lo and f’in’ behold, it was all worth it. My gravytrain just pulled into the station.

Cream Gravy*

1 T. canola oil
1/4 cup flour
1-1/2 cups unsweetened rice milk** (or other unsweetened dairy alternative)
salt and pepper to taste***
dash of white pepper (optional)

Place iron skillet on medium-high heat for about one minute to heat it up. Add oil and swirl to cover bottom of skillet. Add flour and stir briskly with whisk. While stirring flour, slowly add 1 cup of the rice milk. Stir continuously working lumps to the side and bottom of the skillet until few or no lumps remain and gravy thickens. Add last 1/2 cup rice milk, stirring continuously until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add white pepper for an extra kick.

*Sometimes called Milk Gravy or White Gravy. This gravy is used to top fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and biscuits in Texas and other parts of the deep south.

**I wouldn’t use soy milk.  Even the unsweetened version seems to change properties when heated and gives the gravy a sweet, nutmeg flavor that is simply wrong. Plus, it looked odd. Rice milk makes this gravy taste and look just right.

***I used 10 twists of my salt grinder and enough black pepper to make it “look” right (see pics). White pepper in addition to black pepper adds an extra bit of awesome.

Cream Gravy over seitan