Cranberry Cumberland Sauce

This is an old favorite. I've made it for more Thanksgiving celebrations than I can count and everyone loves it.

2 pounds thick, whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 Tablespoon dry mustard (more if desired)
Juice and grated rind of 1 or 2 oranges
1 to 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 to 3 Tablespoons sugar
grated cinnamon or cloves (optional)
grated lemon peel (optional)

Dissolve the mustard in the orange juice, together with about a teaspoon of cornstarch. Add to the cranberry sauce, along with the lemon juice, grated orange rind, and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Heat the sauce, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. If you wish, add a little ground cinnamon or cloves or some grated lemon rind. Taste the sauce for seasoning, adding more sugar if needed. If the sauce is too thin dissolve another teaspoon of cornstarch in a little juice or water and stir it in. Chill well before serving.

From Anna Thomas' The Vegetarian Epicure, 1972.

Winter Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

This is beautiful and delicious. You can use it as a main dish for vegans and/or a side dish for omnivores.

Winter Squash (such as Hubbard, Butternut, Buttercup, Acorn or Pumpkin)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water (you can use chicken stock for a non-vegetarian version)
2/3 cup wild rice
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large celery rib, diced
2 medium apples, peeled, seeded, and diced
3 cups whole-grain bread crumbs (about 4 slices)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 cup apple juice
Light vegetable oil cooking spray

First, prepare the squash. Halve the squash lengthwise with a sharp knife and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Place halves, cut side up, in foil-lined shallow baking dishes and cover tightly with more foil. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes in a 375 degree oven, or until easily pierced with a knife but still firm. When cool enough to handle, scoop out some of the pulp, leaving a sturdy, 1/2-inch thick shell all around. Save the pulp for another use (the cooked pulp freezes well).

In a small saucepan, bring the stock or water to a simmer. Stir in the wild rice, cover, and simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed, 45 to 55 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a medium skillet with the vegetable oil cooking spray; sauté the onion and celery over medium heat until golden.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked wild rice, onion-celery mixture, apples, bread crumbs, dried cranberries, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine. Drizzle apple juice in slowly, stirring all the while, until the mixture is evenly moistened. Stuff into the prepared squash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top is slightly crispy. Makes 8 cups.

Adapted from Nava Atlas' recipe in Veggie Life magazine, November 1997.

Note: The original recipe contained canola oil and walnuts. In this version, I substituted the vegetable oil cooking spray for the canola oil, and the walnuts were eliminated to suit the dietary needs of someone on an extremely low fat diet.

Lick-The-Bowl-Good Polish Potato Salad

This Polish potato salad is based on a recipe in Anna Thomas's classic, "The Vegetarian Epicure," and it is so good that you'll want to lick the bowl. This is one dish that I do make exceedingly well, but I had to simplify her recipe, which requires two days of preparation.

1/2 lb. pickled mushrooms, sliced
6 to 8 waxy potatos, boiled, peeled & diced
4 tart green apples, peeled, cored & diced
2 1/2 cups diced dill pickles
4 whole hardcooked eggs & 3 hardcooked egg whites, chopped (cook seven eggs)
1 1/2 cup peas, cooked but still firm
1 1/2 cup sliced carrots, cooked but but still firm
1/2 cup tiny pickled cocktail onions
1/2 onion, finely chopped

Put everything in a bowl, add salt, freshly ground black pepper, olive oil, wine vinegar & some marinade liquid from the mushrooms and toss. Next, make the mayonnaise-sour cream sauce:

3 hardcooked egg yolks
6 to 8 Tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup or more sour cream (I use almost a cup of sour cream)
1- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Put yolks, oil, lemon juice and sugar in blender, blend at high speed until smooth & emulsified. Add sour cream, mustard, salt & pepper & blend until thick and pale yellow. Combine the salad with enough mayonnaise-sour cream sauce to bind it together. Spread the remaining sauce on top of the salad and decorate with more vegetables. This makes a *huge* amount- great for a party. I like to add pickled capers (pickled caulifower would be good, too) and some freshly chopped dill to the salad, but they're not essential and aren't in the original recipe.

PS: You should read the original recipe - it requires you to pickle your own mushrooms! It is complex, but not difficult and it really is delicious. Great to bring to a party, people will oooh and aaah, especially if you decorate the top with an elaborate veggie design. I've never gotten more complements for any dish than I have for this. :-)