Holiday dinner is tomorrow night. Menu is going to be:
Crudites with a Creamy Ranch-Style Dip and a Dijon Cilantro Lemon Dip
Avocado Crisps topped with a mandarin orange segment and lime salt
Butternut Squash Soup garnished with Sage, Pear and Pecans
Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Cap with "Cheesy" Garlic Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and Mushroom Red Wine Reduction, served with Steamed Broccolini and Lemon
Icewine-poached Pears with Orange Honey drizzle, and Sugared Walnuts.
The dip will get its creaminess from cashew cream and vegenaise, with chives, garlic, carrot, celery and shallots for flavour.
I'm going to marinate the portobello in garlic and steak spice, stuffed with my quite traditional sweet-potato bread stuffing, and topped with panko bread crumbs - baked until the top is crisp.
I made the stuffing puree yesterday by sauteeing chopped carrots, onions, celery and garlic in some olive oil. I boiled the sweet potatoes and mashed them, then used the leftover sweet potato water to steep about a cup of red lentils. I love that "chicken-y" smell and rich taste. Mixed everything together and I'll add it to some cubed toasted bread, mound it on top like a snowball and then pack the panko on top of that.
I'm going to make a "creamy" mushroom red wine reduction to go over top. Garnish will be slivers of green onion.
This entire dinner contains more than 15 different types of fruits and vegetables, beans, three kinds of nuts, and relies on plant based fats like avocado, cashew cream and olive oil for richness. It will be vibrant and colourful, will match well with Champagne to start (pairing with the richness of the dips and avocado)a rich Chardonnay for the soup, and then a BIG Red for the main. Dessert will be spectacular with a beautiful Niagara Icewine, which we can afford because of how inexpensive the rest of the menu will be.
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