According to a 2009 Vegetarian Resource Group/Harris Interactive survey, about 3% of the U.S. adult population is vegetarian. If you’ve invited a vegetarian to enjoy your turkey dinner, plan ahead with these tips from nutrition expert Gary Null.

A vegetarian does not eat any type of animal flesh, whether from fish, fowl or other animals, although some individuals choose to eat dairy and/or egg products. This includes lard, chicken and beef stock and some prepared salad dressings.

With the vegan Celebration Roast, you still
get leftovers for sandwiches the next day. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) eats no animal-derived products, including honey, gelatin (used in desserts and marshmallows) and red food dyes derived from cochineal. If there is an animal-derived ingredient in a dish, no matter how small the amount, be certain to let your guest know.

Most importantly, the Thanksgiving dinner table is not the time to discuss why someone is a vegetarian. Some choose this diet for ethical or animal rights reasons. Others may be motivated by religious, environmental and/or health considerations. Some simply don’t like meat. If you really want to know why your guest has made this choice, ask another day—and if anyone else brings up the topic, steer the conversation to reasons everyone should be thankful!

Sherry is a fortified wine from the Jerez region of Spain. It is produced almost exclusively from the Palomino Fino grape.

There are two basic types of Sherry—Fino and Oloroso. All other styles—Amontillado, Cream, Manzanilla, Moscatel, Palo Cortado, Pedro Ximenez—are variations of these types.

From the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry region of Spain, a sweet Oloroso sherry can be the perfect dinner apéritif and multitask as the dessert wine afterwards. Oloroso is Spanish for “fragrant”; a good Oloroso will be intensely aromatic. The typical sweet, rich fig and nut flavors can complement a dessert or be savored on their own. Pair it with pecan pie; with honey, toffee or buttercrunch ice-cream; or for the cheese course, serve the sherry with blue cheese and figs. It’s a treat for the holidays or any time of year. Sherry should be served at room temperature.

Enjoy your sherry! Photo courtesy Ritzenhoff.

For Thanksgiving weekend, how about some apricot pumpkin bread, delicious for breakfast, brunch, snacks and tea sandwiches. This recipe is courtesy of B & R Farms, apricot growers who sell their delicious products at California farmers markets and to wholesalers. For more recipes, visit brfarms.com.

APRICOT PUMPKIN BREAD
Ingredients

- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup salad oil (we like olive oil)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons each: baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots

B & R Farms apricots drying in the California
sun. Photo by Shannon Grissom, courtesy
B & R Farms.

“French Kisses,” prunes stuffed with foie
gras. Photo courtesy of Dartagnan.com.

Looking for a special-occasion cocktail snack? You can buy “French Kisses” gourmet delights ready-made from Dartagnan.com, or make them easily (and more cost-effectively) yourself.

1. Buy plump, pitted prunes and mousse de foie gras (duck or goose liver mousse—or substitute less expensive chicken liver mousse).
2. A classic preparation is to first marinate the prunes overnight in Armagnac (you can substitute Cognac); but it gives quite an alcohol punch to the prunes and we think it interferes with the foie gras flavor. Try it with half the batch to see what you think, or marinate lightly, for an hour (or eliminate this step altogether).
3. Then, with a pastry bag or small spoon, stuff each prune with mousse and serve on a tray.

These tasty tidbits are perfect with Champagne or sweet sherry, or as part of a first course on an assorted hors d’oeuvres plate. We could make an entire dinner of them!

Roll goat cheese in your choice of coatings; here, cocoa and hazelnuts. Photo courtesy of Romanicos.

These are one of our favorite, fun-to-make hors d’oeuvres. Take a Montrachet log or other soft chèvre (goat cheese), cut it into slices and roll the slices into truffle-size balls. (If you don’t want to hand-roll them, you can press all of the cheese into a small bowl and use a melon baller to scoop them). Chill the balls to make them easier to roll in toppings.

Pick four or five coatings with varied flavors and textures—finely chopped pistachios, macadamias, almonds or walnuts; black, white or toasted sesame seeds; shredded coconut or sweet curry powder; Hungarian paprika and garlic powder; a mixture of fresh herbs; unsweetened cocoa powder (you can add a pinch of ginger); or other favorite flavors. You can layer flavors as well—cocoa and nuts, for example.

The coating process works best on waxed paper. Arrange the “truffles” on a plate. They’ll look like a beautiful box of bonbons—and each topping will make the chèvre taste different.

Our favorite ice cube trays from ISI Orka keep ice cleaner and fresher and color-code our “specialty” ice cubes.

You can make festive ice cubes for holiday drinks without investing in special pumpkin- or holly leaf-shape ice cube trays. And you can do it more elegantly, too!

Just freeze one of the following in each section of a regular ice cube tray:

We create different trays of “designer ice cubes” to match to different sweet or savory beverages. It’s easy to keep the garnishes straight in our favorite color-coordinated ice cube trays from iSi Orka.

A simple-to-make, impressive first course is a smoked salmon roll filled with salmon caviar and crème fraîche. Ask the counter person to slice the salmon in wide pieces instead of narrow strips—explain that you’re going to fill the slices and roll them up like a cigar.

1. Spread the inside of each slice with crème fraîche and a teaspoon of your favorite caviar or roe, but leave the last inch on each end clear of filling so it doesn’t spill out when you roll up. Then roll!
2. Put a few beads of caviar on top of the “cigar” for decor (consider some contrasting caviar, e.g. flavored whitefish roe or tobiko).
3. Garnish the plate with a sprinkle of snipped chives and dill and some finely diced red onion. This cigar is smokin’!

Can’t afford sturgeon caviar in a recession
(or any time)? Affordable salmon caviar is
delicious in this recipe. Photo courtesy of Red-Caviar.com, certified kosher.

The Bloody Eyeball Martini. Photo courtesy
of Kris Plazek.

While the kids are out trick-or-treating, you deserve a treat, too. Our Halloween cocktails with gin include the Bloody Scream, Ghost, Satan’s Whiskers, Swamp Demon and Witches’ Brew. But they’re only the top of the menu—we’ve got a whole Halloween Lounge going.

What are you waiting for? Start mixing!

Back in the 17th century, sugar was costly and shortbread was considered an expensive luxury, a treat reserved for special celebrations, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Imagine how over-the-top-indulgent those party-goers would think us if they had these dipped shortbread fingers!

We thank the folks at Walkers Shortbread for this festive yet easy recipe. Serve it for dessert with ice cream or with coffee and tea when guests stop by during the holiday season.

Ingredients

Dip shortbread fingers: It’s easy, fun—and impressive! Photo courtesy Walker’s Shortbread.

Preparation
1. Microwave chocolate in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.
2. Dip shortbread fingers into the melted chocolate. Immediately roll in chopped nuts, coconut, mini-chocolate chips, slivered almonds, etc.
3. Or place plain dipped chocolate shortbread onto waxed paper and let cool. Then drizzle with contrasting chocolate. Serves 4.

There are many more recipes available at www.walkersus.com. Enjoy!

Look for serving pieces that double as objets d’art. Bowls, cups and sauces, plates, pitchers and trays fall into this category. You can showcase them all year as room decor, then put them to use as needed during special dinners. If you like to collect and have more items than room to display them, rotate pieces on a schedule so family and visitors will enjoy different pieces of your collection.