Gluten Free for the Holidays and Turkey-less

I have to share the story of what happened when I hosted a "Turkey-less" Thanksgiving 20 years ago for 18 relatives . 

Thanksgiving was one of my favorite holidays when I was growing up. It was a time when our extended family was together, the weather was crisp and nippy, the fireplace was roaring, and everyone was relaxed and cheerful.

My mother always set the table brilliantly for Thanksgiving with her best china, her treasured crystal, and beautiful orange linen napkins that complemented her pristine white freshly ironed tablecloth. Our extended table was set for 18. ( yes, she had that many dishes and crystal)

Our main centerpiece was traditionally a huge cornucopia basket filled with farm fresh local Jersey apples and red grapes accompanied by two small centerpieces of seasonal flowers.

My Mother's Traditional Meal
My mother's traditional Thanksgiving meal bragged a huge banquet of Thanksgiving family recipes which included appetizers, soup, turkey, stuffing, gravy, winter squashes, mashed potatoes, salad, Brussels sprouts, string bean and onion ring casserole, pumpkin pie and apple pies.

My Mother Couldn't Make Thanksgiving Anymore and that left me to make it

As my mother got older and could no longer handle the cooking, the set up, and the serving, so the tradition was passed on to me, her one and only late life child. ( she had me at 42)

Don't get me wrong, I shared my mother's love of cooking, her passion for entertaining and her talent for bringing family and friends together.

The Problem 

The problem was that sometime in my late twenties, I decided to become a vegetarian.  This meant that I now refused to kill a turkey and have some poor defenseless bird roasting in my kitchen oven for the better part of the morning and then lay on a platter dead on my holiday table.

How do you explain a turkey-less Thanksgiving to your Thanksgiving guests? 

A turkey-less Thanksgiving did not go over well with my father, the meat eater, who had been a butcher most of his adult life! My mother was willing, my husband was used to it, my other relatives were skeptical and everyone who came was genuinely disappointed. After all , they looked forward to their Thanksgiving Turkey tradition all year long.

That was when I was a young mother and it was the first and last year that I hosted Thanksgiving. It was UNTRADITIONAL yet the food was good, great ! but the traditional eaters wanted a turkey. The following year, Thanksgiving was at my cousin's house and forever after, I have not been asked nor desired to host Thanksgiving.

What did I make for an Un Traditional Thanksgiving?
Well truthfully, I made delicious appetizers, soup, vegetable sides using winter squashes, stuffing and vegan gravy, string and string beans. Except for the turkey everything else was the same, and I made a vegan entree which people liked but didn't replace the turkey.

If you are looking for gluten free and vegan ideas ( even if just for the soup, appetizers or sides) have a look at the list of recipes that I published last year with a comprehensive list of 
my gluten free and vegan Thanksgiving recipes.

                   My Gluten Free and Vegan Thanksgiving recipes.

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