Couple's Cooking #4 and #5: Fun with VEGANOMICON

What's with all the Veganomicon entries lately?

Many consider this text to be the vegan cooking bible; thus, maybe it should have been the first in my vegan cookbook collection, but it wasn't.  Thankfully, our BM and dear friend Richard rectified this gaping hole in my culinary library this past holiday.  Now... one of my missions in 2011 is apparently to try as many recipes from it as I can.  Also, some of the entree dishes are pretty involved and thus fun to do on our Couple's Cooking nights.

Ah yes...What with the Couple's Cooking entries?  Are you having couples to dinner and not inviting us?

Although we certainly love to have dinner parties, the CC nights are for this couple only.  Generally, I prepare our meals, but the hub is a fantastic cook.  Instead of going out to a romantic dinner every so often, we decided to bring that tradition home.  At least once a week, usually on Saturday or Sunday, we try to make a fancy meal that we've never made before, usually one that is complicated and allows for multiple hands (and enjoying some wine over the prep duration).  It has been so much fun to explore new techniques and dishes at home, chat about food and life, and actively create together, usually to a backdrop of new music (thanks, NPR World Cafe!).

Here are two of the recent Couple's Cooking dinners -- both from Veganomicon.

 "Braised Seitan with Brussels and Sun-dried Tomatoes" over "Broccoli Polenta" (pg. 182, 144)

The seitan was the "Lighter Seitan" from One Pot testing.  The original braising recipe called for kale, but there was none to be had at either the market or the grocery store thus more brussels for us! Woot!  I halved both recipes; the polenta made 9 2" squares and the topping provided enough for 4 hearty meals.   I loved the beautiful flecks of green and the dominant broccoli flavor, but I might add some garlic and some herbs for a more diverse flavor next time.  As for the braised seitan and brussels, I could eat that dish every day by itself.  If you are not a brussels lover, this dish may change your mind. 

"Mac Daddy" and "Cheezy Sauce" (pg. 185, 214)

I am constantly on a quest to find an amazing vegan mac n' cheese.  This one is certainly the best so far, particularly in the cheese consistency, but I am going to continue to play with it.  Here, I added 1.5 c. chopped baby bellas and 1.5 c. chopped broccoli.  As Moskowitz notes, this is a great dish in which to use up odds and ends.  She specifies the broccoli, but I think the mushrooms, as well as the breadcrumb topping, added to the texture and flavor of the dish.  I also added shallots the next day and would include them initially next time, as they help with the cheese tang.  This dish is extremely filling -- a great one dish meal!  We had it for two meals and froze the other half of it for later mac craving, as there was a note about its ability to work as a freeze and reheat meal.  This recipe didn't call for any vegan cheese, but I am also curious to add a bit of Daiya to the mix when I make it again in my quest for optimal cheezy consistency.