Pleasing Everyone’s Palate

There’s at least one among every collection of family and friends: the vegetarian, the cousin with the peanut allergy, the girlfriend who’s gluten intolerant. In the past, the dietary impaired were regarded as strange, perhaps even mentally ill, and there were few options for them at the traditional feast other than to sip water, nibble lettuce leaves and regale the other guests with dire warnings of disease and damnation. Thankfully, today there are holiday options for even the pickiest of vegans that will also appeal to your most die-hard carnivores and gobblers of gook.

First, it’s good to know some basic substitutions.

* Trade your tub of Land o’ Lakes for buttery vegan spreads by Earth Balance or Spectrum.

* For a gluten-free thickener of gravy, sauces or soup, just whisk in some rice flour or an arrowroot or corn starch slurry. For fried foods, roll in crunchy corn meal. Traditional bread stuffing can be swapped for a gluten-free cornbread or rice version steeped in sun dried tomatoes and spices.

* Stick to premium nuts and mixes sans peanuts to avoid the possibility of allergic reactions.

* Never try to fool the cheese lovers in your group with vegan imitations. There’s no replacing honest, unadorned cheese, although I’ve found some mozzarella and pepper jack vegan versions that will melt nicely into a casserole or soup. To replace milk in recipes, soy, coconut and almond milk can be credible stand-ins.

* Ener G makes a good all-around egg replacement that stays fresh holiday to holiday in a shelf stable box.

As for recipes? Today, all you have to do is Google. For anyone who is bored with the same old Thanksgiving fare, this is an exciting new world of recipes.

Let’s start with appetizers. A bite-sized assortment of savory hot morsels is a great way to pique your guests’ taste buds. Who could resist crispy smashed potatoes with avocado garlic aioli or tempura artichoke hearts with sesame dipping sauce? Some of the better sites I found are ohsheglows.com, Buzzfeed’s vegan Thanksgiving recipes and foodandwine.com/ultimate-thanksgiving/vegan-thanksgiving. Looking through the foodie photos to find one that makes your mouth water is half the fun. You’ll see vegetables in a whole new light. Just try to gaze through the goodies at thrillist.com/recipe/nation/cauliflower-recipes-roasted-riced-fried without drooling.

When it comes to the main meal, everyone knows about Tofurkey and I have to say that it’s not half bad. I was surprised at how moist and tender the loaf is. But a better tip? Don’t try to fool your guests with imitations of the real thing. It’s better to find gourmet recipes that will excite them to try something new. Click onto greatist.com/health/vegetarian-maindishes-for-thanksgiving to find main course recipes such as roasted butternut squash risotto and savory pumpkin pot pie with a rich, crumbly gluten-free crust. After tucking into some juicy grilled portobello mushroom caps stuffed with pecans, celery, garlic and peppers, you won’t give the turkey a second glance.

Desserts! One of the biggest challenges with gluten-free baking is that it often requires guar or xanthan gum, gelatin or agar-agar to give baked goods the same fluffy texture that wheat doughs yield. You also need to blend flours to get the right texture. Cookies made with pure rice flour turn into flat, chewy gumdrops. For a thorough listing of gluten-free flours and their uses, try wholeintentions.com/2009/02/gluten-free-flours. But a real time saver is Pamela’s Baking Mix, an all around blend that offers an online recipe site featuring melt-in-your-mouth scones and biscuits and an impressive array of cakes and cookies. Many commercial store brands now offer gluten-free versions of your old favorites, but beware! Betty Crocker’s brownie mix is positively orgasmic, but it’s also packed with SUGAR. Read the labels! Commercial brands tend to bolster flavor by upping the sweeteners.

If you want to create your own desserts, you’ll find literally hundreds of delicious recipes online. And if you stay true to the ingredients, I guarantee that your guests will sigh with pleasure at every mouthful. At organics.org/18-tastiest-vegan-and-gluten-free-thanksgiving-recipes, the pecan pie bars and pumpkin pie with praline and coconut almond crust are to die for.

And don’t forget that your health conscious friends may prefer non-alcoholic beverages as well, so stock up on seltzer and juices. For exotic mocktails, check out the recipes at bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/nonalcoholic-cocktails. The maple ginger spiced cider is good enough to make you consider going through the holidays sober.

Just kidding! Enjoy.