Let’s talk turkey about meat and not-meat

[Robin Garr]

Let’s talk turkey about meat and not-meat

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

Roasted cauliflower at Brooklyn and the Butcher.


How many of us are eating turkey for Thanksgiving next week? Let’s run the numbers!

The National Turkey Federation tells us that 88 percent of Americans will chow down on roasted bird next Thursday, meaning that 46 million turkeys will be sacrificed to our national tradition.

On the other hand, close to 500,000 Tofurky roasts will go down the hatch this year, or so claim the good folks at Turtle Island Foods, the Oregon-based company that makes the famous tofu-based fake bird.

Tofurky? I can hear you laughing from all the way over here. The name alone invites laughter, and to be honest, I’ve tried the ersatz poultry chunk myself, for the sake of science, and I’m here to tell you that, while it’s not actively disgusting, it’s about as much like turkey as a block of tofu resembles rare Wagyu steak.

In fairness, though, Tofurky was a faux-meat pioneer, coming on the market in 1995, when, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, only 0.3 of all U.S. adults said they never indulged in any form of animal flesh, neither meat, poultry, nor fish.

That figure is up to 5 percent now, still a distinct minority, but it’s about 16 million people, a market large enough to tempt marketers, and to prompt restaurateurs - particularly in trendy urban neighborhoods - to offer tempting vegetarian alternatives.

In addition to all those 16 million hard-core vegetarians and vegans, there’s evidence that a much larger number is moving away from a meat-centric diet in favor of pulling back from red meat, or going pescetarian with seafood and fish only, or even the increasingly popular “flexitarian” lifestyle that shuns meat now and then.

And this is why, on Thanksgiving and every other day, more and more chefs have started adding serious meatless options to their menus. ...

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/lets- ... t-not-meat

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly’s Food & Drink section today.
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/

I've completely forgotten my login so I figured I'd just use facebook instead. I'm not really a first-time poster.

I wanted to add to Robins' list that there are non-restaurant options as well, if you want to pick something up to take to the big meal. You can order something in advance from Vgrits (http://www.vgritsfoodtruck.com/shop/) and pick it up (I think on Wednesday night?). I did that last year simply to supplement all the food I was cooking.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Tina. I've heard very good things about VGrits.

I'd dig up your login information and let you know privately.

Thanks Robin for the update on meatless options that are out and around. So happy to be able to get more than a salad, a baked potato or some green beans.

We are having turkey, but I also ordered a meatless option from Whole foods. I believe it is a "Field Roast". I also ordered a bunch of non-meat sides from both Whole Foods and Fresh Market. I even ordered a pre-cooked turkey this year! (something we have never done.)

I'm just going to concentrate on making the sides I know everyone wants me to make, the cranberry sauce (the cranberries I found at Whole Foods are HUGE!) mashed potatoes, rolls, and lots of yummy pies. Everything else, the stores I mentioned are taking care of. I'm pretty excited!

Christina uhhhh (shuffling feet) would you mind sharing your cranberry sauce recipe?
I've been trying to duplicate what my mom used to make with no success.
Puuuhleeeezzze!

Well sure, but it's kind of embarrassing. (it's super simple and not anything special, but my family enjoys it.) I make it a day or two before I want to serve it to give the flavors time to meld.

One package of cranberries. (12 oz)
One cup of sugar (or to taste)
One cup of orange juice. (I like using fresh squeezed)

In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. (I usually use my potato masher to make it a bit creamier, but not completely smooth.) Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools. You can add lemon or orange rind and/or nuts to make this your own.

Christina, we had to make a cranberry relish very similar to that but don't even cook it. Just take a bag of fresh Cranberries and a large Navel Orange (peel and all) put them into a food processor (we normally do it in 2 smaller batches) and grind them to whatever consistency you desire. You had about 1/4 cup of sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you want) and you can also add some Grand Marnier in if you so desire.

We are making this for a long time and everyone who's ever tasted it really loves it.

Sounds great, Mark! Some things are so easy, it's embarrassing to admit, but sometimes simple tastes best.

Both recipes sound quite tasty. I seem to remember my mother using some gelatin in hers.

Update on (the experience only) picking up pre-ordered food from Whole Foods and from Fresh Market:

I went to Whole Foods first. It was amazing. They were quick quick quick and had everything together. If I hadn't wanted to pick up other things, I would have been in and out in about five minutes. Amazing!

I then went to Fresh Market (on Shelbyville Road) They had a line over by the quick pick up fresh made sides. (I don't know what they call it, it's near the olives.) It was about a 20 minute wait to get to the front of the line, and while the people were VERY nice, they were all over the place. The ran out of one of the things I ordered, which, you know...it was ordered in advance, so I expect them to have it, but in the grand scheme of things, was not a big deal. It ended up taking about 40 minutes for me to pick up the (3 out of 4) things I ordered ad get checked out.

Without tasting anything, the clear winner in this experience is Whole Foods. I'll let you know how everything goes.

Update on the food:

Fruit platter from Whole Foods: Excellent! A very nice and fresh selection. I'd get it again any day!
Crudite platter from Whole Foods: Not so great. Kind of an odd selection. A very minimal amount of carrot sticks, lots of fresh broccoli and some fresh zucchini (maybe?) and quite a few cherry tomatoes. It wasn't touched, really.
Vegan roasts from Whole Foods: These did not go over well. My vegetarian son felt that they looked, felt and tasted too much like turkey. My MIL just did not like them.
Turkey Gravy from Whole Foods: Not horrible. Had kind of a weird "roast" flavor to it. Hard to describe. We would not get this again.
Roasted Fall Vegetables from Whole Foods: Eh...didn't smell very good and was given a wide berth by most.
Pre-cooked Turkey from Fresh Market: Very good and very easy, but you know...turkey is easy enough anyway. I just wanted to see how much easier this made my life. Since I do get "fancy" with my turkey, it did probably save me a couple or a few hours, but I think I'd probably just do it myself next time. (or maybe try one of those smoked bbq turkeys from Famous Daves!
Mashed Sweet Potatoes from Fresh Market: I was told they were very, very good. We did have a lot left. (my mashed potatoes were polished off, however)
Rustic Apple Pie from Fresh Market: Only one piece was taken, but it had to compete with my homemade (Junior's recipe) cherry crumb cheesecake, so...

It was an interesting experiment, and left me more time to concentrate on my specialty recipes. There are things I'd do again, and things I wouldn't.