New Year's Eve Dinner 12/31

Lotus Root Chips

Scallion Pancakes
(w/ hoisin dipping sauce)

Black Pepper Tofu [Chicken] Curry

Basmati Rice

Sticky Buns
(stuffed w/ Bok Choy and Ginger)

Green Beans w/ Black Sesame Seed Sauce

Roasted Cumin, Turmeric and Corriander Potatoes

Shredded Cabbage and Carrot Salad
(w/ Spicy Peanut Dressing)

Soundtrack

Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve
(BTW, other than Rod Stewart, who are these musical acts on the show?)

* thanks to the 6700+ folks who stopped by this year wondering just "what the hell does a vegan eat anyway" -- the e-mail and referrer logs have been a great source of entertainment all year long ;)

Dinner 12/30

Baked Eggplant and Ziti

Fried Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes

Focaccia

Soundtrack

Mob Hits

Dinner 12/29

Seitan Bourguignon
(over... wait for it....ziti)

Boiled Potatoes (yukon and red)

Fried Crimini Mushrooms

Spinach Salad
(w/ fig vinaigrette)

Dinner 12/28

Braised Fennel

Baked Gemelli Pasta w/ Wild Mushroom in bechamel sauce

Pesto Focaccia

*yes, I do believe it's a record for consecutive nights of pasta...

Dinner 12/27

Broccoli Raab w/ sundried tomatoes and olives
(over campanelle)

Fried Porcini Mushrooms

Focaccia

* pasta week continues ;)

Dinner 12/26

Eggplant Parmesean
(over spaghetti)

Focaccia

Dinner 12/25

Pasta Puttanesca
(w/ campanelle)

Garlic Bread

Dinner 12/24

Roasted Yukon Potatoes

Green Beans

Fried Porcini Mushrooms

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Caramelized Pear Salad w/ fig vinaigrette

Dinner 12/23

Shredded Cabbage Salad w/ spicy peanut dressing

Stir-Fry
(tofu, scallions, rooster sauce)

Basmati Rice

Soundtrack

The Clash - London Calling

RIP Joe Strummer

Dinner 12/22

Spicy Eggplant and Seitan Stew

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Wilted Chard in Garlic Sauce

Basmati Rice

Soundtrack

Phil Spector's Christmas Album

Dinner

Pesto Focaccia
(w/ tapenade and olive oil for dipping)

Olives

Mushroom Strudel

Dinner

Crudites (jimcama, celeriac, radish) w/ cucumber sauce

Yellow Bell Peppers stuffed w/ Porcini and Truffle Risotto

Haricot Verts

Dessert

Apple Crumble

Dinner 12/19

Mushroom Strudel
(Fresh Porcini, Shiitake and Crimini mushrooms, deglazed w/ marsala wrapped in phyllo and baked)

Salad

Dinner 12/18

Holiday Party leftovers (scroll down to see list)

Dinner 12/17

Stir-Fry
(lemongrass, galanga, garlic, red/yellow bell peppers, carrot, jalapeno, broccoli, tofu and ginko nuts)

Jasmine Rice

Soundtrack

Lovin' Spoonful - Greatest Hits

RIP Zal Yanovsky

Dinner 12/16

Polenta, topped w/ Stir-Fried Tempeh and Mexican Fondue

* the beauty of holiday parties is that you don't have to really cook for about a week afterwards -- you just find interesting ways of combining all the leftovers ;)

Dinner 12/15

Mexican Fondue w/ Soyrizo [chorizo]
(from Chile Pepper magazine)

* oooh, fondue! ;)

Holiday Party v6.0

Hummus
Potato Salad
Salsa (Xnipec / Tomatillo)
Olive Tapenade (w/ baguette)
Phyllo Cups filled with curried tofu and currants
Chips (Lotus Root / Sweet Potato)
Cucumber Gazpacho Cups
Mandarin Orange / Snow Peas appetizer
Fried Polenta Triangle w/ tomato dipping sauce
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Tofu Salad Sandwiches
Wild Rice Salad
Roasted Potatoes

Dinner

Focaccia Bread

Olive Tapenade

Dinner 12/12

Barbecue Tofu

Baked Potato

Dinner 12/11

Seitan and Lentil Stew

Farfalle pasta

Soundtrack

Stereolab - space age batchelor pad music

Dinner 12/10

Gemelli w/ Murray Hill red sauce

Ciabatta

Dinner 12/9

Soy Boy Okara Burgers
(lettuce, tomato, red onion, soy cheese)

Dinner 12/7

Quesadilla
(soy cheese, tomato, oyster mushroom, cilantro, serrano chile, scallion)

Dinner 12/6

Braised Shanghai Cabbage w/ brown sauce

Seitan [Pork], Eggplant and Onion Stir-Fry
(from Cook's Illustrated current issue)

Jasmine Rice

Dinner 12/5

Sheppard's Pie
(seitan, pearl onions, turnip, carrot stew topped with mashed potatoes, then put under the broiler to brown the potatoes)

Dinner 12/4

Eggplant Parmesan

Steamed Broccoli

Ciabatta

* in case you were wondering -- the eggplant is first salted, rinsed and drained -- then dipped in seasoned flour, then into a cornstarch slurry (as the binder in place of eggs), then into the breadcrumbs, followed by deep-frying in canola oil at 375 degrees.

Dinner 12/3

Stir-Fry
(tofu, leeks, shiitake mushrooms, serrano peppers, sesame oil)

Braised Brussel Sprouts
(soy suace, sesame oil)

Jasmine Rice

Dinner 12/2

Chili Fries *

Garvey Burger *
(Tofu / Mushroom)

Club Soda

* from Soul Vegetarian

Dinner 12/1

Seitan Dinner Salad
(a baby spinach base, w/ stir-fried leek, carrot, red bell pepper and crimini mushroom, ringed with stir-fried seitan strips glazed in fresh orange juice and sesame oil, with orange segments and scallions, all topped with boiled asparagus flash fried in sesame oil and soy sauce)

Soundtrack

WKHR

Dinner 11/30

Corn Bread w/ Jalapeño

Red Pepper Stuffed w/Rice and Beans

Buffalo Tofu [chicken wings]
(used some Garlic Hot Sauce - not too hot, but enough to reach for the...)

Dinner 11/29

Leftovers...