Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe: Celebratory Menus and Recipes from New York's Premier Plant-Based Restaurants [A Cookbook]

by Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos, Jorge Pineda

Overview

This collection of vegan holiday recipes—the first of its kind from award-winning chefs—elevates plant-based fare to a new level. With fresh, inventive menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Lunar New Year, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's Day, Passover, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, and Independence Day, this cookbook blends favorite traditions with a modern sensibility. Tantalizing dishes include Sweet Potato Latkes with Almond Crème Fraîche for Passover; Porcini-Crusted Seitan with Glazed Cipollini Onions and Mushroom Gravy for Thanksgiving; and Red, White, and Blue Margaritas for the Fourth of July. 

Now home cooks can entertain in the spirit of New York’s premier vegan restaurants, Candle Cafe, Candle 79, and Candle Cafe West. With forewords by Alicia Silverstone and Laura and Woody Harrelson, plus sumptuous photography throughout, this festive cookbook invites vegans and omnivores alike to gather around the holiday table and enjoy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607746485
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	09/30/2014
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

JOY PIERSON is co-owner of the Candle Cafe, Candle Cafe West, and Candle 79, and coauthor of The Candle Cafe Cookbook and Candle 79 Cookbook. Certified in nutritional counseling, Joy has appeared on the Todayshow, Good Day New York, CBS News This Morning, The Food Network's TV Food Diners, and NPR.

ANGEL RAMOS is executive chef at Candle 79 and Candle Café West. His recipes have been featured in the New York Times and Vegetarian Times, and he helped develop the nationally distributed Candle Café Frozen Entrees line. In 2010, Angel was named the VegNews Chef of the Year. Pastry chef and kitchen manager

JORGE PINEDA developed the nationally distributed Candle Café Desserts and Candle Chef's Cuisine for Whole Foods Markets, and his pastries have been deemed the "Best Vegan Desserts in America" by the Los Angeles Times.

Read an Excerpt

When I think of the Candles, I feel love. The entire Candle trio of restaurants, Candle Cafe, Candle 79, and Candle Cafe West, are the happiest, warmest, and most delicious places to be. They are all a reflection of the core—the Candle magic love potion—and I dare you not to get swept away by it.

All of the employees of each restaurant—from managers to busboys—are so welcoming and caring. And can we talk about Chefs Angel and Jorge? They are so talented, hardworking, warm, and super-cute, by the way. And whether they like it or not, I always go into the kitchen to give them big hugs and compliments after every spectacular meal that I’ve eaten there.

These transporting restaurants and their amazing food are the result of the vision of Joy and her husband and partner, Bart, both of whom I’ve known and loved for over thirteen years. Joy and I are crazy in love with food. We appreciate the fine, exquisite flavors of plant-based food and we love dishes that are made with passion, love, and care. 

Joy and the Candle family know how to throw a great party. We have celebrated big and small dinners together and they have all been crazy yummy. For my thirtieth birthday party—hmm, a while back now—Joy and Bart sent Seitan Piccata to my home in California for forty guests. If you haven’t tried it, you haven’t lived. It is the best dish for a nonvegan eater to try. They catered backstage parties when I appeared on Broadway, sending trays of yummy plant-based goodies to the cast and crew and making us very happy. When I launched my line of eco-tool bags, they hosted business parties at their restaurants, serving food that had a mission that was in sync with mine and that deeply impressed a number of fashion editors.

And a Candle Thanksgiving is a treat! 

It’s truly magical and special, full of fabulous tastes with no bad karma flying around the belly after dinner.

I am so thrilled that Joy, Angel, and Jorge decided to write a book devoted to cooking vegan for the holidays. In addition to the great menus and recipes, the photography and layout of this book are beautiful, and I want to make almost everything I see on these pages RIGHT NOW! Bravo!

This book is about celebration and fun—no deprivation, just pure joy and yumminess. It inspires me to plan a year of parties, and I am so eager to cook Joy’s Grandma’s seitan brisket and sweet potato latkes for Passover, and mini muffins and French toast coffeecake for my friends and all their kiddies for a spring brunch. There’s the Cinco de Mayo fiesta (Bear’s birthday) with crispy black bean tacos and caramel flan (I’ve had this at Candle 79 and it is insane!), and a cruelty-free backyard barbecue with grilled seitan burgers and spicy corn on the cob finished off with red, white, & blue shortcake.

Maybe I’ll have a holiday mash-up, serving the best of Thanksgiving and Christmas with a roasted brussels sprout salad, the polenta, mushroom, and kale casserole, Christmas spritz cookies, and a vegan cheese plate! OMG! And for Valentine’s maybe I’ll make a romantic dinner with roasted red pepper soup and dumplings, morel crusted tofu, and decadent molten chocolate cake. Seriously, I want to eat all of these things—right now.

I love Candle’s commitment and passion for sustainability, for healing the planet with food and love. Thank God for the Candles and for Joy and Bart and Angel and Jorge.

And for this book. We are all so lucky to have this book. Let’s get cookin’.
Love,
Alicia

Table of Contents

Foreword by Alicia Sliverstone
Foreword by Laura and Woody Harrelson
Introduction

menu one
Super Bowl Big-Game Party

menu two
Lunar New Year

menu three
Valentine’s Day

menu four
Passover Seder

menu five
Easter Brunch

menu six
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

menu seven
4th of July Backyard Barbecue

menu eight
Thanksgiving

menu nine
Christmas

menu ten
New Year’s Eve

Resource Guide
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Index

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/15/2014
Drawing on their extensive catering experience, the co-owners and executive chefs of New York City's high-end vegan restaurant Candle Cafe share recipes meant to satisfy all holiday guests, including omnivores and meat eaters. Their follow up to the Candle 79 Cookbook includes ten menus (e.g., Super Bowl Big-Game Party, Passover Seder, Christmas) that provide a thoughtful selection of cocktails, appetizers, first and main courses, and desserts. These dishes, appropriate for their intended occasions and sophisticated enough to be special, won't leave traditionalists feeling deprived. Most resemble familiar favorites; for instance, the rosemary portobello steaks with celeriac puree, cabernet reduction, and brussels sprouts seem similar to (and just as indulgent as) steak and potato dishes that appear on many Valentine's Day menus, and they're followed by the requisite molten chocolate cake with raspberry coulis. VERDICT You'll be proud to serve and eat these vegan foods, and party hosts won't be tempted to hide them at the end of their holiday buffet.

Library Journal

08/18/2014
In the third cookbook from this vegan, sustainable restaurant (Candle 79 Cookbook, The Candle Café Cookbook), Chefs Pierson, Ramos, and Piñeda tackle a very specific type of problem: holiday cooking. Broken down into 10 distinct menus for 10 specific holidays, this book uses festive food as the window through which to experience the height of vegan cooking. From major American holidays such as the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving, to more ethnic celebrations like the Passover Seder and Cinco de Mayo, the reader can rip a menu off the page or mix and match to create a distinct flavor. Despite the obvious pitfall associated with meat alternatives or vegetables, unique flavors appear throughout this cookbook’s pages. For example, “seitan & tempeh fingers with sweet mustard dipping sauce” and jalapeno cornbread sticks offer pungent notes while “sweet potato latkes with almond crème fraîche” and “mâche & endive salad with creamy avocado vinaigrette” cater to a subtler, more classic taste. This book will inspire home cooks to add zing and zest to their vegan recipes. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"In their stunning new cookbook, the authors celebrate life with recipes that feed the body, nourish the soul, and protect the animals. Vegan Holiday Cooking is another step toward a happier and healthier planet for people and animals alike."
—Gene Baur, cofounder of Farm Sanctuary

“If you’ve woken up to the power of a plant-passionate diet but don’t know how to make it sexy and festive, look no further. Vegan Holiday Cooking totally transforms conscious cuisine. This food has style and glamour. You’ll learn how to throw a fabulous soiree or relaxed gathering with zero deprivation and 100 percent compassionate celebration. I can’t think of a better way to feed the people I love. I’ll be cooking from this book for years to come.”
—Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Diet and Crazy Sexy Kitchen

“These incredible recipes convinced even a world-class carnivore like me that vegan food is delicious when done right.”
—Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“This book is about celebration and fun—no deprivation, just pure joy and yumminess.
It inspires me to plan a year of parties.”
—Alicia Silverstone, from the Foreword

“From sexy cocktails (check out the Persephone and Chai Kiss Valentine’s specialties) to decadent desserts (we can’t wait to try the Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts with Vanilla Bean–Coconut Ice Cream!), you will want to cook this amazing food for every holiday. Better yet, why wait for a holiday to roll around? It’s time to become host or hostess extraordinaire!” 
—Laura and Woody Harrelson, from the Foreword

From the Publisher