Pizza Stuffed Portobellas with Arugula Pesto

New loves of my life: mushrooms and arugula. There was a day that I detested mushrooms, most of my days, actually. I am not sure why things changed, but now I can't get enough. As for arugula, I had just never intentionally had it until recently, and it was love at first bite.

My new loves met in these pizza stuffed portobellas. I want to thank Jess for the idea of using a portobella mushroom in place of a pizza crust. It is such a fun and easy idea, simply fill a portobella with your favorite sauce, veggies, and non-dairy cheese and bake. I chose to sauce my caps with arugula pesto and then stuff them with artichokes, tomatoes, and non-dairy cheese. Admittedly not the most common pizza flavors, but delicious nonetheless. 

Pizza Stuffed Portobellas
(Inspired by Get Sconed!) 
Serves 2

Arugula pesto sauce:
1 cup arugula, packed
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1-2 tbsp water

2 portobella caps, gills scraped, stems reserved for the filling
1 tbsp sherry
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts (or canned)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
portobello stems, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
Mozzarella style non-dairy cheese
1 tsp nutritional yeast
Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour the sherry and olive oil in a small baking dish (large enough to hold both mushrooms), and stir to coat. Put the clean caps stem side up in the dish and rub them around a bit in the sherry oil mixture. Set aside.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor and puree. Start with 1 tbsp of water and add another tbsp if the mixture is not saucy enough. Set aside.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add the frozen artichokes, portobella stems, oregano, and thyme, saute for about 3-5 minutes, until the artichokes are thawed. Then add the cherry tomatoes and saute for another minute or two, until the tomatoes are a bit shriveled but not mushy. (If you are using canned artichokes put all of the ingredients in the pan at the same time and cook 3 minutes). Transfer mixture to food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times, to chop up the artichokes.

Now assemble the mushrooms. Spoon the pesto into each cap, half per. Next stuff half of the artichoke mixture in each mushroom. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of nutritional yeast on top of each, and finish off by sprinkling some non-dairy cheese and fresh ground pepper.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes and then broil on high for 2-3 minutes to finish cooking the cheese, watching closely to avoid burning. Serve hot.

Vegan MoFo #16: My First Vegan Thanksgiving

Vegan Thanksgiving Proper

I thought it would be wonderful to celebrate my first Thanksgiving as a vegan with an all-vegan meal. My family is not ready for this kind of celebration, so I invited seven friends over on Saturday night to celebrate my way. Despite being the only vegan in attendance, the two vegetarians plus five omnivores were very enthusiastic about the all-vegan menu. My goal was to wow everyone with several vegan versions of classic Thanksgiving dishes. In typical Thanksgiving fashion, this meal was indulgent, and by no means health food. The end result made it all worth it, there were plenty of wows to go around!

Tofu Deviled "Eggy" Bites

For appetizers we started with Tofu Deviled "Eggy" Bites. This is Bianca's magical recipe, which utilizes an Indian spice, black salt, to simulate the flavor of eggs. Everyone agreed that these were surprisingly authentic, and this platter emptied quickly!

Artichoke Dip

To go with the Tofu Deviled Eggy Bites, my friend Jenny brought Artichoke Dip with pita chips. I highly recommend this recipe from C'est La Vegan, it was a favorite at the party.

I was going to make a third appetizer, Lindsay's Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms, but I ran out of time. Sad! I hope to make these for Christmas, if I can wait that long!

Pumpkin Nog Martini

We enjoyed some pre-dinner cocktails of Pumpkin Nog Martinis. This blend of Silk Nog, vanilla vodka, cinnamon, and pumpkin puree were inspired by Heather's Pumpkin Pie Bliss. I topped these off with Soyatoo Whip, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a cinnamon stick.

Soy and Seitan "Turkey"

For the main event, I made Bryanna Clark Grogan's Soy and Seitan "Turkey". Unfortunately this recipe has been taken offline, so I don't have a link for you. The base of this "turkey" is a blend of tofu, wheat gluten, and chickpea flour. This roasts at a low temperature for 4 hours in a vegan chicken-flavored basting broth. The result is remarkable, perfect taste and texture, which was enjoyed by all.

Green Bean Casserole

 In selecting classic Thanksgiving side dishes, I knew that it had to include a green bean casserole. I chose Susan's recipe, which is rightfully titled The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole. This was so fresh and delicious, way better than the standard cream of mushroom soup and canned green bean variety.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I chose another one of Susan's recipes for the Sweet Potato Casserole. Many bloggers have praised this recipe, and they were absolutely right to. The light flavors of orange and vanilla are what make this casserole extra special. This was the most talked about dish at the table!

Cornbread Scallion Pecan Stuffing

Thanksgiving would not be complete without some stuffing. I decided to go with a not-so-traditional recipe, Terry's Cornbread Scallion Pecan Stuffing. Homemade crumbled cornbread meets vegan sausage, leeks, onion, green onion, red bell pepper, chopped pecans, and a bit of cayenne pepper for a substantial, lightly spicy, and meaty stuffing. Delicious!

Mashed Potatoes

Then of course there were mashed potatoes. I used yukon gold potatoes, because they are the creamiest and the skin is tender enough to mash right in. Into the mash went a bit of soymilk, olive oil, and salt for mashed potato perfection!

"Poultry" Gravy

And what is "turkey", stuffing, and mashed potatoes without some gravy? I chose C'est La Vegan's "Poultry" Gravy, which turned out to be a very good decision. This gravy is so, so good!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Last but not least, some roasted Brussels sprouts to round out the meal. I forgot to take a picture of Carolyn's delicious homemade cranberry sauce, but you can spot some on my plate at the top of this post.

Steve and Carolyn at the buffet line

My guests descended onto the buffet line with enthusiasm, and we feasted until we could feast no more! Well, until it was time to serve dessert anyway...

Vegan pies with ice cream and whipped cream

We may have made a bit too much pie, if there is such a thing! Carolyn brought a yummy chocolate pie, and I made the Pumpkin Cheesecake (recipe from PETA), Southern Comfort Caramel Apple Pie (recipe from Lisa Marie), and Pumpkin Pecan Pie (recipe from Fran Costigan). Steve was kind enough to bring the Tempt Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Soyatoo Soy Whip to top off our pies. Everyone had a favorite -- mine was definitely the Southern Comfort Caramel Apple Pie, oh my goodness!

A big thanks to my wonderful friends who celebrated my first vegan Thanksgiving with me! Thanks also to all of the lovely bloggers that created these outstanding recipes, I could not have done it without you. Happy Thanksgiving!