The time has finally come for one of the most delicious, gluttonous, tryptophan-soaked holiday meals ever to grace the planet. This week, novice chefs will be presented with their greatest challenge yet: to cook a complete thanksgiving meal straight from the dorm kitchen. Keeping with the general quirkiness that defines Wesleyan, Ellie and I present to you a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner (much to Ellie, the Midwestern meat-eater’s chagrin).
In place of turkey, Ellie and I opted for sage lentil loaf topped with mushroom gravy, accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes and two different pies. Fair warning to frosh cooks: be ready to spend a generous amount of points on this meal. In the communal spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, share the cost burden of the ingredients for this meal with your fellow hall-mates, friends, and casual classroom acquaintances. And remember to share the laughter and good food that abounds when you and your frosh family come together in this cooking experience.
Sage Lentil Loaf
Begin the sage lentil masterpiece by bringing three cups of dried green lentils to a boil. Allow them to simmer on a side burner for thirty minutes or until they are soft. Drain in a colander and dump into a large bowl.
Now comes the time to truly get your hands dirty, but first, be a responsible frosh—cook and thoroughly scrub all the ink, lead, and unidentifiable smudges off your hands. Grind the lentils between your fingers and palms until they become paste-like, enjoying the tactile experience while you do so. Then add two tablespoons of sage, one-fourth cup tomato puree, one tablespoon of salt, and one-fourth cup minced parsley.
On the side, assign one pilgrim to grate two large carrots and another to dice a medium onion. Sauté both along with one cup of diced button mushrooms in a medium saucepan with a dash of olive oil. Once the mushrooms, onions and carrots have become soft and have begun to brown, dump all the contents of the saucepan into the big bowl containing the lentils.
Repeat the same cathartic mashing experience until all ingredients have blended together to perfection. Grease a 9×13 inch-baking pan and transplant the lentil conglomerate into it. Bake for thirty minutes at three hundred and fifty degrees. When ten minutes remain, sprinkle some crushed walnuts onto the lentil loaf for a nice, crunchy topping.
Mushroom Gravy
As delicious as the sage lentil loaf may seem by itself, its flavor can be further amplified to head-exploding heights if topped with homemade mushroom gravy. Begin the gravy by sautéing a half cup of diced onions in one-fourth cup canola oil and one-fourth cup toasted sesame oil. As Weshop does not carry the latter ingredient, this holiday treat does require cooks to make the trek down to the local Middletown Rite Aid and search through the aisles for this specific oil.
Anyways, once the onions have become crispy brown on the edges and have begun to elicit tears from all cooks in the cramped frosh kitchen, toss in one cup of sliced button mushrooms and one teaspoon pepper. Continue sautéing until the mushrooms have become soft and have blended nicely with the diced onions.
Finish off the gravy with three cups of water and one half cup of soy sauce. Bring the gravy to a low simmer, cover the pot and allow the ingredients to blend into each other to create the ultimate vegetarian gravy. Once the gravy has reached the desired thickness, pour over the warm sage lentil loaf and gorge yourselves fully.
Mashed Potatoes
The creamy mashed potatoes are fun and simple. All you will need is a large pot and as many potatoes as your frosh friends can consume. Because Ellie and I are such big fans of culinary experimentation, we have provided you with several different combinations to make the most delectable creamy mashed potatoes.
Butter and milk are fundamental elements, but some other suggestions are cream cheese, sour cream and, if you are feeling truly adventurous, add in some of those slightly overpriced cheeses located in the Weshop freezers. Throw in each ingredient as you smash the warm potatoes, tasting as you go until desired cheesiness, creaminess, or general mashededness has been achieved.
You can also sprinkle in a little sage left over from the lentil loaf or some rosemary to give the potatoes a unique flavor. As for the mashing itself, a two words: be creative.
Pie
However full you may feel after this glorious meal, there is always room for pie. Pie is an essential part of the Thanksgiving tradition and should be enjoyed before, during or, if you can resist the temptation, after the meal.
Since the main course catered to the needs of our vegetarian compatriots, Ellie decided to bring a touch of Hoosier goodness to top off the meal. Two delicious pies that are a specialty back home in Indiana are apple pie and sugar cream pie. Although these pies may not be the first to come to mind when thinking of Thanksgiving, they are simple to make and good to eat.
To make the sugar cream pie, you simply need a good piecrust, sugar, heavy whipping cream, butter, vanilla, eggs, a little flour and some nutmeg for the garnish. If this sounds like too much sweet for you, nothing beats warm apple pie. Take about twelve medium apples, it’s okay if they’re slightly bruised, from the Usdan stockpile to start, then acquire the rest of your ingredients: cinnamon, nutmeg, heavy cream, sugar, and lemon juice. You will also need two piecrusts. A little time saving tip; if available, Pillsbury piecrusts are excellent for this apple pie recipe. Bon Appetit and Happy Thanksgiving!
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