Post-Thanksgiving All Girl Vegetarian Extravaganza

I'm a compulsive planner, but I also enjoy a last minute get-together. With no plans for Friday night and not having cooked much because Liz and I had Thanksgiving dinner with Judith and Michael Foltz and their extended family, I decided to put together the Post-Thanksgiving All Girl Vegetarian Extravaganza with daughters Liz and Laura and Laura's friends Kelly, Lisa, and Cheri. There's nothing like a group of women and some festive beverages to make the kitchen a merry place--and raise the noise level.

Left to right: Liz, Kelly, Lisa, Cheri, and Laura.

Every guest brought a bottle of red wine, but we started with Rosemary Pomegranate Royales.

These are a delicious concoction of rosemary-infused simple syrup, pomegranate juice, prosecco, pomegranate seeds, and a rosemary garnish. Following the cocktail hour, we opened some wine and hit the buffet.

Cornbread dressing and port-tangerine cranberry sauce. The Tofurkey is a prop. We are not fans of most faux meats.

Carrot souffle, a longtime family favorite, takes 2 pounds of healthy carrots and, with the addition of milk, eggs, and cheddar cheese, turns them into something decadent.

Who doesn't love red potatoes roasted with olive oil and rosemary?

The secret to the baked spinach and artichoke hearts is the bechamel sauce and two bags of baby spinach wilted in olive oil and minced garlic..

What's Thanksgiving without deviled eggs?

Or cheese biscuits?

We lingered at the table before bringing in the dessert: Spicy pumpkin trifle. I was inspired by a recipe I found for gingerbread pumpkin trifle, but I made lots of changes, including swapping spice cake for the gingerbread. I like trying experiments out on guests--you get lots of opinions that way.

Here's the side view:

And the top view:

Our family has a favorite summer strawberry trifle. Now we have a favorite winter trifle. This one's a keeper!

A Post-Thanksgiving All Girl Vegetarian Extravaganza--That's what we're having.