I make an excellent wild rice and mushroom casserole from a recipe I've used for over 30 years. This one has several issues, and the photo of "wild rice" on this page does not look like any wild rice I have ever seen. It looks like the mixed packets of rices. One pound of mixed mushrooms making 11 cups? My recipe calls for 1.5 pounds and I cook it in three batches so as not to crowd the mushrooms, and not till "crispy"! I don't even know what to say about the addition of beans and tomato paste. Wild rice, give a few hours of sitting, will draw every drop of access moisture out of the dish anyway.
1
Hi
I made this the first time for my family and it was great. I substituted Red pepper for pepper flakes and dropped the cheese( for the vegans) and it was well received, tasty and taken home. Thanks
Every year my husband and I are in charge of the vegetarian entree, and I was excited to try this new one. As per Leslie's comment below about long and complicated prep times (and $30 of chanterelles, wood ears, etc.), I would have expected something amazing...but everyone was very disappointed. It was a little dry, a little bland (though extra lemon and salt helped), but really not SPECIAL in the way you want a Thanksgiving dish to be.Nott up to my usual high expectations of the culinary expertise at the times. Back to the Butternut Squash Lasagna, Quatro Formaggio Mac and Cheese, and the other favorites.....
I like complicated things, but this recipe is crazy. So many ingredients and steps. I'm glad I have the whole day to cook and was able to spend hours on this casserole. After my complaining, it does seem delicious and as I'm about to put it into the oven, I'm sure it will be delicious. Ingredients seem kind of fluid. Reminds me of seemingly simple recipes in Gourmet magazines that were far more complex when actually made. Looks good now that I'm basically done, but don't attempt this one unless you're prepared to spend A LOT of time chopping, sautéing and mixing.
Can someone clarify the amount of mushrooms? On the recipe page it calls for 1 pound mushrooms, but 11 cups chopped. 1 pound certainly doesn't chop to 11 cups so appreciate knowing if that is a typo and a restatement of how much goes into the recipe. Thanks.
I was also glad to hear that a reader made it and found it delicious. We are planning to serve it as we are tired of the same old sides and was glad to find something new.
We made this for dinner tonight and halved the recipe. It’s really yummy, halving the recipe worked just great, and we non-vegetarians thought it was delicious. It went great with a tasty red Zinfandel.
3
I have abandoned cooking special items for vegans, the lactose intolerant, the variety of allergies everyone's kids have now. Last time I did a thanksgiving like that, the lactose intolerant guest, who was able to eat a complete spread of dairy free foods, which I cooked in addition to the compete spread of regular thanksgiving food, walked into the post-dinner family room, and announced, for all to hear, that he needed pepto bismol. I'm sure this recipe is wonderful. It's just the sort of dish that everyone takes a spoonful out of politeness. They say it's good. Then they return to what they really want. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey.
3
This recipe just makes me sad. You could go to all that work and half of them won't eat it because it's got too many things in it. Or they don't eat rice, or mushrooms, or beans.
When did it become the host's responsibility to provide something for every picky eater in the group? I think it would be easier if they just brought their own food and let everyone else enjoy some turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes & stuffing. Leave the bacon out of the Brussels sprouts and they can eat those.
6
What a bad attitude - I’m the one vegetarian guest at most celebrations, and I DO bring my own food. How would you like it if I made a vegetarian spread and told you your meal was cold hot dogs?
2
Instant pot version? Cannot take, on T'giving day, the number of pots and blender to clean up. Willing to finish in the oven, but rice beans veg in pressure cooker?
Oopsie! Allergic to mushrooms and other fungi. It's always something, isn't it?
1
For whatever it's worth, I can't eat beans - so not for everyone! :-) It sounds lovely, though.
Terrific! I get them all at my table -- vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, lactose intolerant, gluten-free, gluten-lite, cilantro haters and mega-paleo eaters. So the goal is to have something of several types. This one looks delish! (Most everyone gets into the wine, so I guess it isn't a disaster, and they usually return!)
3
the rice in that photo is not wild rice
2
I saw that too. I used to make a dish very like this without the crust and it used a mixture of white rice and wild. Looked just like the photo.
I'll be trying this recipe. But "1 pound sliced mushrooms (about 11 cups)" is surely a mistake. We're not talking loaves and fishes here, but mushrooms — and my quick internet check indicates that 1 pound sliced would equal 5 cups at most.
1
Before you go ahead and make this (which might actually be tasty) why not find out if anyone actually cares about eating vegan food?
2
New York and West Coast Liberals love it.
Add in Midwest gen-xers and millenials around my home's table
Such an ignorant and hateful comment. Politics have nothing to do with making healthy eating choices.
11
Thanks, Melissa! As usual, sounds yummy.
For those of us who objected to this or that ingredient for this or that reason: there is likely nothing that every single one of us can eat without something adverse occurring. Wouldn’t it be lovely to keep these allergies, medical conditions, and other personal problems to ourselves for the holidays?
A good rule of thumb for us as guests would be to thank the hostess profusely, compliment the food and decor, and keep what we chose not to eat to ourselves. And don’t forget the hostess gift!
19
INDEED!
unless they hate mushrooms
4
Like my husband. Or in my case, white beans.
The recipe looks interesting even it as several readers had to make the point of, it's not for everyone if you are allergic to or dislike certain ingredients. Perhaps Melissa should have included the word "almost" in the title and everyone could be happy.
I like gratins or casseroles like this, they are the foods of the winter months in our home. And for the meat eaters you could easily add some chopped bits of ham or pork or kielbasa sausage. The only thing that looks a bit confusing is the recipe calls for wild rice which as many know is not a rice but the dark grain from aquatic grasses that grow in Canada and northern states like Minnesota. But the picture shown with the caption is a blend of true rice varieties, I only see a few bits of actual wild rice. .
6
Yes, the photo looks like it has white rice, wehani rice, brown rice, possibly some black rice, brown rice and frankly, I don't see much wild rice.
Looks delicious, especially with some fancy mushrooms. Thank you!
1
The recipe calls for one pound, or 11 cups, of mushrooms. Eleven cups? My lord. If this works, we'll call it Spinal Tap Souffle at my house...
4
I was beginning to think that Melissa Clark and Sam Sifton were the only New Yorkers who didn't know at least one vegetarian or vegan.
Where is it written that veggies or dressing has to be cooked in turkey or chicken stock or need bacon or chorizo?
We always offer to bring a plentiful vegetarian dish that we can eat as an entree and meat-eaters can share as a side dish. And our usual hosts are beyond accommodating, offering a vegan butternut squash soup to all as well as an alternative dressing.
14
@ shelby48 NYC
Perhaps a friendly attitude to adopt towards vegetarians, vegans, and all adherents of the Manichean diet is the one of "those who are not with us, are against us". The nature of human species is panphagous or omnivorous, and there is nothing to be done about this.
1
Given how many people live successful (and often unusually long) lives on a primarily or exclusively vegetarian or vegan diet, this kernel of hostile essentialism seems empirically false.
I can’t eat beans. You cannot make a casserole that suits everyone. I’ve given up on that quest.
2
@ Rita Margolies Redmond, WA
I truly sympathize with you. My dream is to assemble ALL the varieties of beans of the world and make out of them a bean soup or a stew. Alas, I have not yet found a market that sells all the beans of the world.
3
We are kindred spirits!
2
This is a very nice recipe that does equally well with all kinds of substitutions! Diced celery (carrot & parsnip) sprinkled with fennel seed, leftover veggies from the week...sweet and roasted potato as well as brocolli and cauliflower tidbits. Instead of all wild rice, I used a little pkg of brown & wild rice cooked in turkey broth. Amazing what happens when you use your imagination and use what's on hand. If you don't feel like making a special trip to the store for fennel (which I love, plan to use it for Thanksgiving), be more creative.
4
@ Phyllis Dolich Georgetown, Texas
Wonderful! I fully agree with your taste, but you made no mention of spinach. I hate it.
people w/ chronic kidney disease can only eat the wild rice. the other items have either too much protein, sodium, potassium or phosphorus thus potentially eventually leading leading to further damage including cardiac arrest, osteoporosis or even worse, osteopenia from lowered calcium level. canned mushrooms can be substituted for fresh ones, but i throw that idea out only to show that there is an alternative for a single item and that it is not particularly attractive; right now i'd rather omit the mushrooms. to be completely fair, one oz/day of brie or cream cheese is allowed. guess you could make this a frozen broccoli casserole [fresh not allowed], substituting that for all the other veges. food options w/ ckd are formidable but are necessary to delay/avoid dialysis so i am thankful the information regarding dietary restrictions are readily available.
1. I have a friend who's allergic to mushrooms.
2. My husband is allergic to the allium family (chives, garlic, leeks, onions, and shallots).
3. In skimming over the comments, I'd like to remind people that recipes are templates and guidelines, not a list of instructions set in stone. (Except when you get to baking and candy-making.)
3
Sounds yummy, but not for folks on low FODMAPs: beans, mushrooms, garlic, white part of leeks are all No even with a non-gluten sub for the bread crumbs.
Canned broths have hidden garlic and onion powder-easy to make your own and freeze.
Frankly - if your family/guests have this many requirements they really should be bringing their own food to the gathering.
39
I tend to agree with Critical Reader on this - not just for an inconvenience or confusion on the chef's part, but bringing their own food would give the guests peace of mind and trust that they are eating only foods they can.
9
But since this is an article in the food section of a general interest newspaper & not the newsletter of the American Gastroenterology Society, that remark seems beside the point. People with IBS are certainly used to having to tailor recipes to their particular medical needs. If every recipe printed here had to be suitable for everyone, regardless of their tastes, medical needs, social conscience, etc., this column would be empty.
1
Not Thanksgiving dinner without the cranberry sauce from a can!!
17
Not Thanksgiving dinner with the cranberry sauce from a can!!
4
@ flamenv pontotoc, ms and @ David Israels Athens Ohio
Not Thanksgiving dinner without a jar of Swedish lingonberries.
Nice reminder for the lingonberries — I'll seek them out. I've avoided the lutfisk (not lutefisk) supper this year. And I'm done with lefse.
lactose intolerant people can eat parmesan reggiano cheese just fine, because it contains no lactose (even those with daily allergy often fare well with reggiano.)
12
true dat! or pecorino romano,
2
Sounds like a great solution for many dietary problems but please stop listing canned beans as ingredients in recipes. Get a pressure cooker -- lifelong investment, preferably stainless steel -- and cook your own. Freeze recipe-sized portions for later use. Then you won't have to worry about added salt or what you're ingesting from the can lining.
12
A few cooking websites have done taste tests on canned vs. home-cooked, dried beans, and the better-brand canned beans come out about even for taste with the homemade. Goya brand is the most recommended brand I see.
I cook my own beans, but many people will not bother with that. Canned beans are fine if you rinse them very well.
9
And you're throwing a can away. I live outside the states where canned beans are not available. It took a little while to plan ahead, soak the beans and freeze the extra but it's cheaper and way more earth-friendly.
9
"Or what you're ingesting from the can lining."
Ye gods! Methinks that I will live longer than folks who obsess over what's in can liners or whether cast aluminum cookware causes cancer or whether mushrooms are really people. How can folks go through life worrying about such things without worrying that worrying about such things will cause stress to the point of increasing blood pressure, etc. to the point that the risk of worrying about such things outweighs the risk of eating such things? Do they ever eat in restaurants without personally inspecting the kitchen and interviewing the chef? I've got a pressure cooker as well as an Instant Pot, so I enjoy a quick pot of home-cooked beans as much as anyone, but still: It's beyond dispute that canned is easier than making your own, and we should be encouraging folks to cook at home, even with can liners (!), because home-cooked food is better for you than what you'll get at most restaurants. The penalty for using canned is obvious. I can buy and cook sufficient beans for this recipe at less than half the cost of what the canned beans would cost. We're living in a time of wage stagnation where every dollar, at least in my house, counts. I still use canned beans, yes, but I buy them on sale and they are a convenience, not a staple. And who wants to add to Thanksgiving kitchen mess by adding a pressure cooker to the dirty dish parade?
Sometimes, it seems, we nitpick at every possible issue.
20
Unless you are mushroom allergic, like I am...
3
Ah, the posts prove calling something for "everyone"
is always dangerous. Lol.
I suspect you'd get the same reaction at the table.
11
I think a lot of the food fussiness is just attention seeking behavior. But a host should provide a vegetarian option when he or she knows some guests do not eat meat. When I am a guest I do my best to quietly eat what I can and not comment on what I am declining. Even so, I don’t go to turkey feats because the smell of the bird sickens me.
It is the duty of a host to make guests feel welcome. Some hosts play games. A few times I was a dinner party guest at the home of a woman who was well aware that I don’t eat meat. She made a point of not serving anything I could eat, so I sat there with a few leaves of salad in front of me all evening, trying to make them last!
14
If I went to the trouble of making this dish to accommodate folks who can't eat this or can't eat that or won't eat this or won't eat that and they called me out at the dinner table, I'd throw them out of my house. Instantly. And I suspect other guests would applaud me. If you are such a picky, or allergic, eater that you can't eat a dish like this, then you should bring your own food. Seriously. Call ahead so that the host won't be surprised--there are gracious and appropriate ways to handle such issues--but don't show up and refuse to eat anything on the grounds that your health or morals won't allow it, or don't show up at all. Where I come from, they call this bad manners.
12
I don't understand why you continued to go after once or twice.
1
Bring back the videos! Please!
10
That's what I was going to say. I love your videos, Melissa!
4
I’m sure this is delicious, but why are vegetarians so often served sides as mains? I can see serving this as a substitute for the the stuffing the meat eaters get (assuming that is inside the turkey or basted with turkey juices). But as a main dish? No. It’s too messy looking when you dish it out and it just needs...something. Maybe a creamy herb sauce to drizzle on it? That sauce could be made from cashew or tofu for vegans.
I think this dish might feel more substantial — or complete — if served alongside some beautiful roasted root vegetables. Whole carrots roasted and glazed, for instance.
5
I’ve been studying the recipe (because I’m considering cooking it for Thanksgiving), and I think Inhave figured out what it needs (aside from sauce). I think toasted walnuts would lift this to another level. Also would improve nutritional balance. Alternatively, water chestnuts might provide texture.
13
There are vegetarians who do not eat mushrooms. Mushrooms are genetically closer to animals than to plants. Take a look.
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/16/us/animals-and-fungi-evolutionary-tie....
2
So that’s why they taste so meaty! ;-)
2
so what have vegetarians got against carrots?
2
A mushroom walks into a bar. "Get out of here," the bartender says. "We don't serve your kind." "Why not?" the mushroom responds. "I'm a fungi"
Is this what you're talking about when you say that mushrooms have a genetic makeup similar to humans?
8
It is not possible for any single dish to alleviate Americans' psychological problems with food. Do not try. Feeding the anxiety strengthens it.
19
Since red pepper flakes and olive oil are the only ingredients for this recipe that I have in my pantry, I estimate that this dish will cost approximately $30 to make. That's more than the turkey!
6
One place to save money is by purchasing frozen spinach. It’s more nutritious than fresh (it’s frozen immediately after picking), and I find that it has better texture than the baby spinach called for in the recipe. That tends to cook down to mush.
7
This sounds delicious but my husband is not supposed to eat beans, spinach, or leeks all higher in kidney stone causing oxalates. That leaves us with the usual wild rice and mushroom casserole. Sadly, there are less dishes that are ok for everyone these days.
1
Well, not really EVERYONE. We have someone on the Ornish Spectrum diet and that amount of olive oil won't work.
Why beans from a can? It's not hard to boil them from dried, and organic ones are not expensive.
3
There are vegetarians like me who do not eat mushrooms. So, this casserole will not find a place on my table. Remember, mushroom is a fungus, genetically closer to you and me than to a carrot. This paper had an article on mushrooms in the science section many years ago. You may want to look that up. The idea of this casserole is good, may try to make it without the mushrooms.
But can they suffer?
7
I hope that if you went to someone's house who went to the trouble of cooking this that you would be a good sport and eat it. To do otherwise, I think, would be rude. The listed ingredients are not inexpensive, and making something like this is a significant detour from the usual Thanksgiving fare.
I confess that I don't understand the logic in not eating mushrooms due to DNA structure. If you're allergic, that's one thing, but otherwise... A mushroom may be close to your genetic structure, I don't know, but insofar as I know, a mushroom, at least where I come from, is a whole lot different than an animal.
5
Beans give me gas; so this recipe is out. How about a glass of water for everyone at Thanksgiving? That should meet everyone's dietary restrictions.
25
Beans are a no no for people on a renal diet as is cooked spinach. Intake of fluid is also restricted so the glass of water is out. There is NOTHING that anyone can eat.
1
The wild rice (or another grass/grain) actually counteracts gas to a degree — at least down to the level experienced by the ham and cheese omelet eaters. (Yes, we know what you just ate.) Other high fiber alternatives to grain might also help.
The Bean Growers Assn. suggests that over time your body will adjust if eating more beans regularly is a goal.
1
Try some Beano.
1
Food taliban is in the house!! Building a wall to keep out dietary restrictions, banning ingredients, OMG!! Don't forget to cook with love, and the rest will fall into place. i ate this soup i made with tomatoes from my garden (my mother liked it too), and added chick peas and jalalepenos, and then pasta like for two months straight almost everyday this summer. anchoives went in first with onions and garlic. i love the broth aspect. and cooked tomatoes fresh from the garden are so sweet. all i got left from garden is rosemary bush, so i am hoping to do something with that.
6
If one has a lot of leftover turkey meat through the weekend, this dish would make it palatable.
A former New Yorker of 30 years and avid Sunday Times subscriber, I’m catching up on back issues, so I just finished reading the special section of November 5 about planning and cooking for Thanksgiving. It’s great! So much solid information, creative ideas, and helpful hints. Thank you, Sam Sifton and company! This section will NOT go into the recycling bin, but have a special place in my cooking library. Happy Thanksgiving!
5
Canned tomato paste, canned beans, chicken stock... needs some tweaking to make it low sodium.
Not really. The tomato paste is a mere smidgen. The broth can be low sodium (I use a wonderful organic, low sodium broth for all of my cooking). The canned beans end up being low sodium after being washed thoroughly. Given the bulk of the veg ingredients, I’d say you will need to ADD salt.
1
If you are also gluten free due to celiac, the bread crumbs can be a major issue too. Most foods that are gluten free are high in sodium. Also, with canned beans, the best thing to do is to prepare them from a dry state, soaking and then simmering.
1
I usually knuckle under inconspicuously at large family gatherings and eat more liberally than I would with those, who have do deal with my dietary restrictions on a daily basis — although I haven't eaten a piece of pie in over two years.
Once in a while a well-intentioned cook will bake a casserole — "there's only a little bit of this and a little bit of that in it." And I just think "Ugh."
But Ms. Clark's recipe looks surprisingly agreeable. Wild rice and mushrooms are already staples for me, and I'm especially interested in how the fennel will play in the mix. However, the "panko or coarse bread crumbs" addition wouldn't be an improvement. (I'd dig the spoon under it if this was served to me.)
As for cranberries: I eat them raw — usually right out of the colander. If I need a treat, I'll put a few on top of a mug of cloudy hot apple cider warmed with cinnamon sticks.
1
Sounds good. Just to note: there is vegan "parmesan" (quite a few actually, including at least one you can grate) and vegans/veggies will reach for that as a substitute. Our options are catching up!
9
Not everyone can eat beans. They're one of the foods you're supposed to avoid in a hypoallergenic diet.
Yes, definitely not on a FODMAPS diet.
I am not a big casserole fan, but this recipe looks intriguing and one which could be used all year around. I cannot stand broccoli in casseroles so when this one called for something like spinach, I was relieved. I think this recipe is extremely versatile as well. Besides, most if not all of the ingredients are readily available in many a pantry. Thanks for the recipe and the plethora of alternative ingredient suggestions. Cilantro haters, like myself, will truly enjoy the basil substitute.
And a note to lenora - I grew up with homemade cranberry sauce my mother used to make - it was tart, crunchy, had bits of orange peel, colorful as heck against the white turkey breast, but I never liked it. I LOVE cranberry sauce from a can with it's circular design of the can on the outside. It's sweet, jello-y like in texture, and it simply melts in my mouth against the turkey breast. I know canned jellied cranberry sauce is not cool, sophisticated, or elegant, but it works for me and it says Thanksgiving when my eclectic family gathers around the dinner table, grateful, appreciative and thankful for each other and the meal we will share.
39
There's a way to make cranberry sauce without the whole berries. You cook it like you do the regular way, then press it through a sieve/strainer and refrigerate, which leaves the jelly without the whole berries. I've never done that, as I like the berries. Discovering that you can get whole berry cranberry sauce in a can was a revelation, at least to me, but not nearly the revelation that came when I learned how to make it on the stove.
To each his, or her, own, I guess. Your thoughtful post proves that there is a market for this, ahem, stuff. Happy Thanksgiving! But, please, don't give up trying on the homemade cranberry sauce. Tinker until you have it just exactly perfect. Just because you prefer Ocean Spray to the way your mother did it doesn't mean that you can't do it better than her or corporate America. Enjoy, please, the holidays.
How about substituting eggplant for the mushrooms?
--Veg*n, allergic to mushrooms.
7
Mushrooms and wild rice = instant migraine. Wild rice is closely related to wheat.
Best thing is to ask each person to bring a savory dish s/he can eat. Dessert is always optional.
9
That sounds like a viable substitute. Maybe tofu as well.
5
No, wild rice is not related to wheat at all. They are both edible grasses, but completely different subfamily/genus.
16
I have used honey in my cranberry sauce since discovering a spicy cranberry recipe in Bon Appetit (1990s). Everyone loves it. Except my sister. She insists on cranberry sauce from a can, in the shape of a can.
41
I love that - in the shape of a can. Yep. It's true. There's something so nostalgic and irresistible about that.
29
Through the years, several girlfriends came to the house nonplussed that our cranberries were not in the shape of a can.
I have no problem with honey our sugar for cranberries. What makes it special is a couple of tablespoons of good brandy, calvados or grand marnier. A pinch of two of ground clove. Zest, pulp, and juice of an orange. Cranberries might be the best thing about Thanksgiving.
33
Ha! That's a useful reminder that for every person looking for tasty new recipes in the NYT, there is probably at least one traditionalist (or Philistine) who insists on nothing changing. The hardest job at Thanksgiving isn't cooking - it's keeping everyone happy.
5