#vegducken

[hillarystarbright]

Do you pin on @pinterest? Check out my awesome #thanksgiving2017 recipe board for my #turkeyday menu and other fun ideas! https://www.pinterest.com/starbright619/thanksgiving-2017 #starbrightskitchen #holidays #mealplanning #partyplanning #menuplanning #thanksgiving #foodblogger #foodporn #funrecipes #vegducken #smokedturkey #cheesyonions #butternutsquash #holidayclassics #pinit #recipes #recipecards #pinterest #followme

[recipesforkatie]

The Vegducken - hotforfoodblog.com

the vegducken has made it's way to the holiday table! Do you dare try this roasted franken-veg concoction this year? We tested it just for you!

[eatthisandshutup]

American Thanksgiving and Festive Specials

Hello there!

BIG changes happening to “Eating with Julia” soon! I can’t tell you what it is yet, but know that it will be different and BETTER. Until then, you know the deal. I make things throughout the week, I eat them and then I write about it so you can make it too!

‘Twas American Thanksgiving this past weekend and my friend Carla decided to throw a Thanksgiving party seeing as our friends never get to spend the holidays together because we’re too busy with family. Carla made the amazing turkey (a happy turkey!) and SIX PIES (2 apple, 2 pumpkin, 2 pecan) and the guests were in charge of side dishes and whatnot. A few weeks ago I saw a recipe for a “vegducken” on @epicurious and indeed became very curious...

I’m not a vegetarian but I do love vegetables and making new things so I thought I’d try this crazy dish. It’s a play on the turducken (a duck inside a chicken inside a turkey) but with zucchini, eggplant and butternut squash. Here is the recipe!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/vegducken

Ok, if you took a moment to read up on that you’ll notice that it’s VERY labour intensive, with a ton of ingredients. 

The one thing I had a big problem with was hollowing out that damn raw squash. HOW DO YOU HOLLOW OUT A HARD, RAW SQUASH? It seemed impossible so I roasted it a bit first. This made the squash VERY hot and hard to deal with. I didn’t have time to let it cool. Needless to say there was a lot of swearing involved and my entire kitchen was covered in squash. Otherwise, everything else is pretty straight forward. The food processor part is a pain, but not difficult by any means.  Of course I stuffed the squash WAY too full and it wouldn’t seal properly but at that point I didn’t give a shit. I put it in the oven and poured myself a whiskey to calm my nerves. I’ll have you know that while my squash wasn’t as beautiful as the one on epicurious IT WAS DELICIOUS.

It tasted so hearty, earthy and meaty despite being 100% vegetarian. I made it gluten free by adding ground almonds instead of bread crumbs and you could make it vegan by adding nutritional yeast instead of cheese and using soy butter or olive oil. I think if I make this again I’ll make it in a different form like a casserole or vegetable tart. If you’re vegetarian, make this instead of a salty old tofurkey. It’s MUCH better. Perhaps a better name for it might be the squeggchini? 

The next day I was still craving thanksgiving flavours so I made us another squash based meal for dinner. Stuffed chicken breast, salad and roasted acorn squash with butter and maple syrup. Mmmm. I pounded out my chicken breasts until flat and thin and spooned them with leftover vegducken mixture. I rolled the chicken and tied them up with kitchen twine. 

For the acorn squash, cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides. Put it on a lined baking sheet, cut side down and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Once the squash has been cooking for 15 minutes, put the chicken in for 30 min. Take out the squash after 30 minutes, flip it and add a pad of butter, splash of maple syrup, sash of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Put it back in for another 10-15 minutes.

While all of this is cooking, whip up a delicious salad using Boston lettuce. I forgot how delicious this stuff is. It’s buttery, crisp and sweet. I supposed it’s not as nutritious as spinach or kale but it’s definitely not bad for you! I made a delicious dressing using olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, dijon, salt and pepper. This is probably my favourite vinaigrette. Top with nuts, dried fruit and goat cheese. It’s the perfect salad. 

I’m going to honest, the chicken was good but it would have been better stuffed with asparagus, cheese and proscuitto. It was lacking richness. The squash was to die for and like I said, that salad is amazing. 

I’ve been experiencing some stomach issues lately and I’m worried I might have IBS or a gluten or dairy intolerance. EEK! My friend Carla is studying nutrition and is currently doing an internship at a hospital with clients who have major gut and colon issues. She suggested I try cutting out dairy and gluten from my diet for a bit to see how I feel. OH JEEZE. Here is what I ate, day 1:

Breakfast: Dairy free smoothie

Lunch: Seared salmon, egg white scramble with mushrooms, scallions, spinach, avocado and goat cheese. (goat isn’t dairy, right?!)

Dinner: Spicy seafood pasta.

Let’s talk about this pasta. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

I can whole tomatoes red pepper flakes frozen mussels frozen shrimp Shallot or small onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped brown rice pasta 1 tsp dried basil salt and pepper drizzle of olive oil

It’s very easy to make. 1st, take your frozen mussel meat and shrimp from the freezer and let thaw under cold running water for about 3-5 minutes. You could use fresh too but it would alter cooking times. My shrimp and mussels were pre cooked and frozen. Set aside in fridge until ready to use. 

Add the shallot to a large frying pan with the tomatoes, drained. Save the liquid because you might need to add some if the sauce gets too thick. Gently smash the tomatoes while they simmer for 15 minutes and get nice and sweet. If you don’t cook them for long enough they’ll still have that slight “can” flavour. After 15 minutes add the garlic, basil, red pepper flakes salt and pepper. If too much liquid has evaporated, add some tomato juice. Let cook for another 5 minutes.

While this is happening boil a large pot of water for your rice pasta. Every brand is slightly different so follow the directions on the package. I find it very beneficial to stir the pasta often so it cooks evenly and doesn’t clump together. 

When there is 3 minutes left of the pasta, add in your seafood to warm through. Drain and rinse the rice pasta and add it to the pan. Give it a lil’ glug of oil. Serve it in a bowl or plate, top with fresh parsley and enjoy! I loved this pasta dish. You honestly can’t tell that it’s rice pasta. I’m sure somewhere there’s a little Italian Nonna cursing me and calling bullshit, but I stand by what I said! This dish was so flavourful and rich without being heavy. I often like my pasta to be smothered in meat, cheese and cream sauce but this was equally as satisfying. You could switch up the seafood and use clams or scallops. Try it with chicken or without protein! The sauce is good enough on its own. 

That was day 1 of avoiding dairy and wheat! Who knows what this week will bring. Will I crack under pressure? Only time will tell.

What did we learn this week?

1) Vegduckens are better than tofurkeys. 

2) Stuff your chicken!

3) Rice pasta is delicious. 

4) The Festive Special at Swiss Chalet is AMAZING. Ok, I know we didn’t really talk about this but I thought I’d mention it here. I don’t think I have to review Swiss Chalet for you, but it is always great. Perhaps because I went there so often as I child do I feel such a close bond for this chicken joint, but they really bring it to the next level with the FS. Rotisserie chicken, fries, stuffing, cranberry sauce, roll and that magical gravy sauce. Not to mention the FIVE lindor chocolates you get at the end. GO NOW! FIVE SPATULAS! 

Thanks for eating with me! I hope I have my “big news” ready to be launched next week. Stay tuned! and don’t forget to check out Viral Kitchen on YouTube and “whatjuliaeats” on instagram! BYE!

Julia

[onceuponawildflower]

I attempted the Vegducken and succeeded. It tasted great! (For those of you who don't know what this is, it's the vegetarian take on a Turducken; a zucchini inside of an eggplant inside of a butternut squash, with vegetarian stuffing between each layer.) Labor intensive? Definitely. But was it worth it? You betcha.

[onceuponawildflower]

The Vegducken is tender and flavorful. I can't wait to cut it open and see how the inside looks and tastes.

[onceuponawildflower]

Meat-free food on Thanksgiving isn't hard to accomplish, and it can be pretty delicious, too. I'm making the great Vegducken today for my family. No tofurkey, no problem.

[gapecity]

Happy #thanksgiving video of me cooking #vegducken at work