Dishes Men Like: Caesar Salad & Chick'n Divan

More recipes inspired by "Dishes Men Like". It is made by Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce and every single recipe contains their sauce! Clearly, men love these dishes. This is the rest of the dinner I made which composed of the previous blog entry (shrimp canapes and crab bisque), Caesar salad, and Chick'n Divan.
 

Caesar Salad
 

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 5 minutes
* Ingredients (for salad):  

• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 bunch endive (preferably curly), chopped
• handful of cherry tomatoes, split down the middle
• handful croutons

* Ingredients (for dressing):

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese*
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise*

* Recipe: 

1. Combine the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, and Parmesan in a medium bowl. Once mixed, add the mayonnaise until smooth. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, mixed together the lettuce, endive and tomatoes.
3. Place the lettuce mixture in a serving bowl, top with croutons, then add the dressing. Sprinkle with more vegan Parmesan!

* Note: I used Galaxy brand vegan Parmesan cheese topping. For vegan mayonnaise, I used Vegenaise. 
 

Chick'n Divan with Buttered Rice 

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes

* Ingredients (for chick'n divan):  

• 1 bunch of asparagus, ends chopped off
• 1 can (16 oz.) cream of mushroom soup*
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup vegan Parmesan cheese
• 1 package vegan chicken, defrosted and sliced*
• 1/2 cup heavy soy cream, whipped*
• 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise*

* Ingredients (for buttered rice):

• 2 cups white rice, cooked
• 1 tbsp soy butter*
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe (for chick'n divan): 

1. Cook asparagus in boiling salt water until tender, then drain. Place the asparagus in a large baking dish.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Combine soup, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, and pour 1/2 mixture over asparagus.
4. Top the asparagus with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.
5. Defrost the vegan chicken and slice into 1/2 in. pieces.
6. Top the asparagus with the chicken and pour remaining soup mixture on top. Sprinkle with another 1/3 cup of cheese.
7. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.
8. While baking, combine the whipped cream with mayonnaise.
9. When chicken is done baking, spread the mayonnaise mixture over the chicken and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup cheese.
10. Broil for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

* Recipe (for buttered rice):

1. Cook the rice according to box instructions.
2. While still hot, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

* Note: The cream of mushroom soup I used was Imagine brand. The vegan chicken was Vegetarian Plus brand. For the soy whipping cream, Soyatoo was used. Vegan mayonnaise brand was Vegenaise. Earth Balance was the soy butter used.

The recipes above were fantastic! I hope you all enjoy them. I'm looking forward to modifying and creating more vegan versions of these retro dishes in the future.

Dishes Men Like: Shrimp Canapes & Crab Bisque

I am a huge fan of vintage cookbooks. This website does not help extinguish my love. When I found out that the Shannons were doing the Betty Crocker vegan version, you should have seen my face! I have this ridiculous old cookbook called, "Dishes Men Like". It is made by Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce and every single recipe contains their sauce! Clearly, men love these dishes. Of course, I had to attempt to veganize some of them. So far, I have tried shrimp canapes, crab bisque, Caesar salad, and chicken divan. I attempted to follow the recipes as closely as possible.


Shrimp Canapes

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

* Ingredients:  

• 2 tbsp soy butter, melted*
• 1/2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 package of small toasts (around 6-10)
• 1/2 package vegan shrimp (around 6-10 shrimp)*

* Recipe: 

1. In a medium frying pan, fry the shrimp according to package instructions - about 5-10 minutes.
2. Combine soy butter and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl.
3. Top the toasts with the mixture, followed by the shrimps.

* Note: I used Earth Balance for the soy butter. For vegan shrimp, I used Vegetarian Plus brand.


Crab Bisque

* Prep Time: 5 minutes
* Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

* Ingredients:  

• 1 cup vegan crab meat, crumbled*
• 1 tbsp soy butter*
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can of condensed pea soup*
• 1 can soup water
• 1 cup chopped lobster and oyster mushrooms, dehydrated
• 1 cup mushroom water
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe: 

1. In a medium pot, boil the lobster and oyster mushrooms. Allow them to dehydrate completely.
2. While the mushrooms are on the stove, put the pea soup and soup water on in another medium pot. Stir well.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, add the butter and allow it to melt. Next, put in the crab meat, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper. Combine well.
4. When you are done dehydrating the mushrooms, chop them into small pieces. Add them to the crab mixture and combine well.
5. Next, add the crab mushroom mixture to the pea soup, followed by a cup of the mushroom water. Let cook for another 5 minutes. Serve.

* Note: I used Earth Balance for the soy butter. For vegan crab meat, I used Match Meats. Lastly, for pea soup, I used Fig Food, Co.

These are the first few pages of the book. So great! Also to note, I used the lobster and oyster mushrooms in the crab bisque because of their seafoody taste. I wanted to add a little more ommph to the recipe. The original recipe did not call for the mushrooms or the cayenne, otherwise it is the same. As for the shrimp canapes, I choose to fry the vegan shrimp rather than to boil them to give them a little more taste. The original recipe called for just cooked shrimp.

Vegan Retro Salmon Mousse Mold

Alright, so this recipe is sort of a freaky vegan cooking experiment. I found a ridiculous fish mold on Etsy... and decided to make the ever odd salmon mousse mold gone not so fishy. Hilarity ensued by this creation. From what I hear, it tasted the way a "normal" salmon mousse mold tastes like. I guess it is a culinary win?

Vegan Retro Salmon Mousse Mold

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: several hours
* Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp agar flakes
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp white onion, minced
• 1 tbsp paprika
• Tabasco sauce, dash or two
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
• 1 frozen vegan fish, thawed and seaweed skin removed
• 1 cup heavy soy whipping cream
• crackers

* Recipe:

1. Mix cold water and agar flakes. Add hot water and combine well.
2. Add in mayo, lemon juice, white onion, paprika, Tabasco, salt, and dill. Place in the fridge until other steps are complete.
3. In a bowl, electric mix the heavy soy whipping cream until fluffy.
4. In a blender, blend the vegan fish. If too dry, add some whipping cream and then blend.
5. Take out mixture bowl from the fridge. Fold the whipping cream and vegan fish mixture into the other mixture with rest of ingredient. Combine well.
6. In an oiled fish mold pan, pour the mixture in.
7. Refrigerate until firm.
8. Once on a plate, decorate with crackers or cucumbers, olives, etc.

*Notes: For vegan fish, I used some brand from an Asian grocery. May Wah makes several varieties. Soyatoo! makes a heavy whipping cream.
 

Vegan Chicago: Jive!

This weekend was full of vegan goodness and retro fun! Quite themed. On Friday, we went to The Chicago Diner which is probably the best known veg restaurant in Chicago. Meat Free Since '83! Ellen and Portia tried out the food there for their wedding, :]

Above is a Chiken Filet Sandwich with a side salad (Lime Cilantro dressing). The options were vegan ranch or chiptole for the sandwich, I opted for chiptole. Definitely great! Enjoyed every last bite, highly recommend it.

Vegan Mac & Cheeze! Divine. Everyone should always order a side of this stuff when they go to Chi Diner!

Retro styling for the evening! Gotta love it.

On Saturday morning, I volunteered at PAWS Chicago. It is a no kill shelter, the largest in Chicago. I spent my time there in Kitty City. Quite a few people out... weather was nice, just the time to go out and adopt a lovely pet. Heh.

After volunteering. I went to Handlebar. It is a bicycle bar that is diner veg-friendly! It is a cool place, but the service was just awful. The food was decent, nothing spectacular. I would recommend it for a one time try, at least.

I got their Everything Green Salad made vegan and a side of fries.

More retro hair and vintage dresses on Saturday night! We went on a River North mini retro throw back bar crawl.

Our bar crawl started out at The Motel Bar. So cute! I highly recommend going out of your way to this place. Had a French Martini and a champagne cocktail in a flute. Next we went to The Pump Room inside the Ambassador East Hotel. Well, we might have been the youngest ones there, but who could resist free live jazz and cabaret? Had a Pump Room special called a Pomatini. After, we went to The Green Door Tavern. It was built back in 1872! Chill place and the walls were super cute, albiet a bit much. Made a decent Cuba Libre! Our last stop was The Clark Street Ale House. Didn't have a drink here, but it was open until 5 am, haha. Apparently their beer selection is quite large and impressive.

This is The Green Door Tavern. Oh, also, our "cab ride" to this place from The Pump Room was in a half limo... at the same price as a normal cab ride? It was bizarre! What a classy bar crawl. I'm not sure you can top this and it was all of our first time doing a bar crawl.

To end this impressive bar crawl, a friend and I had Sunday brunch at Kitsch'n River North. It is right next to The Motel Bar. Loved it! I forgot to take a picture of my brunch, but it was a tofu scramble made vegan (it had cheese on it). It was a decent scramble. Definitely had better, but it was worth it for the atmosphere.

Tonight, I made a very lovely blueberry cake which I'll post about tomorrow. Phew! What a weekend, heh.