On Christmas day one of Angie’s friends came over for dinner. And by dinner, I mean she came over with dinner…in a box. Yes, my Christmas day dinner was Tofurkey, as Angie’s friend is a vegan.

This is actually a pretty good meal deal. It comes with the stuffed Tofurkey, dumplings and gravy, and you just add veg. In a roaster, I tossed some red potatoes, carrots, celery and onions with olive oil, S&P, rosemary and saege, and baked the Tofurkey at abut 300 degrees for an hour. We basted the “bird” every 15 minutes- tres important, as tofu can dry out fairly quickly.

Dumplings, boiled and then fried until they were slightly tender on the inside with a crispy crust outside. With a hefty helping of vegan gravy, these puppies were quite tasty, and I almost went back for seconds- almost. Along with the dumplings, I also made a pretty standard turkey side of baked sweet potatoes- or yams, as they’re referred to here in NY- drizzled with maple syrup. I was dying for a green component, but we’re talking minimal prep space, a shoebox-size oven, and….1 pot. Yup, my sis owns ONE pot.

I have to say that, though I’m glad to have tried the mythical beast that is Tofurkey, I’m a real meat kinda gal…and I think I’ll keep it that way. Although, nothing trumps making a Tofurkey meal with all the trimmings in a teensy “kitchen” on the Upper West Side!