Sausage in a Snuggie, and other Field Roast Gems

I Heart Field Roast!!!

I received several comments and e-mails on my use of Field Roast sausages in my Thanksgiving stuffed mushrooms. Folks ask if these wonderful sausages were a soy product and what to do with them. The story is, they are not soy, but rather the most sexy combination of veggies. The Italian sausages use an eggplant base, the Chipotle sausages are mainly peppers, and the Smoked Apple Sage are Yukon gold potatoes and yummy apples. They are packed with protein, but it’s all about the vegetables and no one will miss the animals.

You can go to the site and find some outstanding recipes, but I’ve also modified 3 recipes I LOVE to include Field Roast sausage…one for each flavor. If you come up with any of your own, please share. I’m forever looking for ways to bring these babies in my life. I have to say, my very fav is tossing the apple-sage with potatoes, onions, rosemary, olive oil and a splash of balsamic, then roasting for an hour. Heaven. But, try these too!

Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Chowder
Serves 8

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pkg. Field Roast Chipotle sausage
2 med. onions, chopped
2 lg. garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, cubed into approximately ½” cubes…just eyeball it
1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, cubed into about the same size as the sweet potatoes
6 c. vegetable broth
1 bag of baby spinach (the size bag you get in the pre-chopped salad section)
Tabasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste

Heat 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Slice up the sausage in approximately 1” slices and brown in pot. Remove sausage from pan and drain. Put onion and garlic in pan and sauté until onions are clear. Put the sweet and Yukon potatoes in and cook until they are tender, which will take about 15-20 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and simmer for about 20 minutes on medium high. Lower the heat and simmer another 20 minutes. When the potatoes are soft you can either mash everything up a little by hand, or I use my hand blender and zap it a few times. It’s not totally smooth, but a little chunky. Add the sausage and then stir in spinach. Let everything simmer until spinach is wilted. Start adding pepper, salt and Tabasco sauce until you have the seasoning to your liking. Serve warm.

This next one is so good, and so easy. You could sprinkle with parmesan soy or cow cheese and put over pasta or serve it on it’s own. I’d never had traditional Italian sausage and peppers until this one. Now I’m addicted! Hope you love it too.

Italian Sausage and Peppers
Serves 4

4 sweet bell peppers (I mix colors, but use whichever you like)
1 pkg. Field Roast Italian sausage
1 fennel bulb, sliced and then diced into chunks
1 lg. yellow onion, diced into chunks
1/4 c. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. dried oregano

This is so easy, you’ll die. You just chop the veggies and sausage up in a large bowl, then toss with oil. Add garlic and oregano and keep tossing. Dump everything into a large skillet and cook over medium heat. You want the veggies to cook and brown slightly, and sausages to brown. Again, this is great over pasta, but just as good with roasted potatoes, polenta (omg, imagine smoked Gouda polenta??). You will love this!

Sausage in a Snuggie
Serves 4 meals or 16 snacks




This is a quickie, since the sausage take very little time to prepare. I like to brown mine first though, instead of cooking it all in the crescent roll, but do whichever.

Pam or vegetable oil spray
2 little pipes of crescent rolls
1 c. rough honey mustard
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (you could easily eliminate this, but I’m thinking the crescent rolls would disqualify this from vegan anyway)
1 pkg. Field Roast Roasted Apple Sage sausages

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare a cookie sheet with the vegetable spray. If you’re making this for 4 use 2 triangles of the crescent rolls per sausage. The sausage comes in 4 links. Before you put the sausage on, take the 2 triangles and close up the perforation. I just kind of pinch it together and smooth it out. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the mustard on the dough and then sprinkle cheese over. Place the sausage in then roll the whole thing up. If you’re making “snacks,” slice each sausage into 4 chunks, and slice each triangle of pastry in half. This isn’t brain surgery…just make a smaller version. Pinch up the seam and then place on the cookie sheet with the seam down. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

And the Winner Is......

Thanks for all the yummy recipes. I've been baking lovely lemon knots and Kathie's cheesecake cookies. Next I'll tackle gingersnaps, thumbprints, everything-cookies, and some molasses thingies that look divine. But, we did do the drawing Thursday evening for the lovely milk glass cookie jar and Johanna is the winner!


So, congratulations to Johanna, and thanks to everyone for the recipes. I'm going to try to come up with some kind of creative giveaway in January, but want to make sure it's something interesting. I'm supposed to travel to Europe soon and will have my eyes peeled for a fun little tidbit.

Now I'm going to get to work on writing down a "cheat sheet" for my vegetarian Thanksgiving spread. Stay tuned.....

My First Vegetarian Thanksgiving

The word that best describes my sentiments towards Thanksgiving would have to be “tradition,” and I can’t imagine I’m terribly unique to other Americans. I used to think it was a southern thing, but after living in the north for ¼ of my life, I realize Thanksgiving traditions abound all over this country.

Perhaps this is why, as an adult preparing your first Thanksgiving, this meal can be intimidating. Especially if you’re audience is a mix of folks who do not necessarily share your gene pool. Everyone has their favorite version of the core elements; cranberries, potatoes, turkey, stuffing and pumpkin.

This was not my first Thanksgiving outside of my Grandmother’s kitchen. I crossed that line quite a few years ago when work kept me in a very snowy Chicago. This was my first vegetarian Thanksgiving, and I’m certain my guests and family had visions of Tofurky dancing in their heads (Ok, are you picturing it? Pretty funny stuff, isn’t it?).

I wanted no Tofurky. In staying true to my mission to make meals which are appealing to both veggies-heads and critter-eaters alike, I wanted to accomplish the following:

1. Stick with the Thanksgiving core
2. Vegify my most favorite family recipes
3. Add a few of my favorite new twists
4. Lighten things a little so that the propensity to do the “beached whale” thing is minimized

What I came up with was pretty great, and even though my guest list was only four folks long, there were oodles of leftovers to send home. And, I can’t speak for everyone, but I actually ran a mile further than I’d run 2 days prior, so I’m going to say, “mission accomplished!”

Le Menu

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seed
Chipotle-Pumpkin turnover-lettes

Citrus and Dark Greens Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Roasted Sweet and Regular Potatoes
Cornbread Stuffing with Apple Sausage stuffed in Mushroom Caps
Shitake Gravy
Jalapeno-Cranberry Relish

Almond Pear Cups with Dark Chocolate

And here’s how you do it:

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1-1½ cup fresh pumpkin seeds
½ Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300. Rinse pumpkin seeds and dry really well. This should render about 1 – 1 ½ cups of seeds. In a bowl put ½ Tbsp. of olive oil, and all the spices. Toss well in order to cover all seeds with goodness. Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and pop in the oven, tossing every 10 minutes until golden brown. The whole process takes about 30 minutes, then let cool and store in a dry, covered container or serve warm. Great with something cool and bubbly or a holiday margarita!

Chipotle-Pumpkin Turnover Bites

In keeping with my love of phyllo, here is yet another filling for this dough from the Greek Gods! If you don’t know how to deal with phyllo please refer to post. The filling is quite easy, and just delicious.

1 ½ cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just pumpkin)
1 Tbsp. adobo sauce (I know it seems wasteful, but you’ll die if you use more)
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
5 slices very crisp soy bacon, crumbled (I HIGHLY recommend Lightlife brand, as I’ve tried them all and this is the best I’ve found)

Mix everything together, but definitely save the bacon crumbles for last. Put 1 Tbsp. of the pumpkin mixture in each phyllo then start folding, using melted Earth Balance to paint between layers. You can freeze these little babies, or just put them right on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until golden. These are so yummy, and surprisingly, not heavy. And you can eliminate the cheese for a vegan version. You’re getting your traditional pumpkin, but with a kick!

Citrus and Dark Greens Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

I’m not kidding when I say, this could take the longest of any of these recipes.

¼ cup Pom juice
Juice of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup light olive or vegetable oil
Salt and white pepper to taste

1 grapefruit, sectioned and sliced
1 Satsuma or orange, sectioned and sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced very thinly and rinsed well
1 bunch of kale or chard or spinach or whatever other dark green (I used my beloved kale, in dark purple as it looked amazing with the fruit)
Seeds from 1 pomegranate, to garnish all over the top

Mix Pom juice, lemon juice, garlic and Dijon in a jar or blender, and mix well (or shake). Stream oil in slowly to emulsify and then add salt and pepper to taste. Put in fridge to chill.

Carefully section the citrus and then dice into bite sized pieces. Clean the greens really well and then chop very finely. Especially if this is kale, as it can be kind of thick. Toss fruit, fennel and greens together, then sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the top. Serve with dressing on the side, or dress just before serving.



Roasted Potatoes

1 lb. bag of small potatoes (I used little Yukon golds, but it would be cool to find thos purple ones that look like fat fingers)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1” pieces
3 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. orange zest
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
½ Tbsp. dried rosemary, or 2 Tbsp. fresh
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (I have good balsamic, but for this I use the cheap stuff)

Clean potatoes and slice the large ones in half. Mix with sweet potatoes, shallots and garlic, then toss in the zest, olive oil, salt rosemary and balsamic. Make sure all is well covered, then roast for 30 minutes covered with foil, then uncover and continue roasted for 15-30 minutes longer, or until potatoes are brown and shallots are caramelized and maybe even a bit burnt.

I must add that, to this roasted potato baking sheet I placed the sausages on the edge of the pan when I took the foil off so as to brown and crunch-up the sausage.

Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Cornbread Stuffing and Apple Sausage

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1 ½ cup diced celery
1 cup diced white or yellow onion
½ cup diced green onions
4 cups vegetable broth
1 batch cornbread (see recipe below), crumbled in a large bowl
3 cups cubed, toasted white bread
2 Tbsp. dried rubbed sage, or to taste
1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 pkg. Field Roast Apple Sage sausages

Heat Earth Balance over low heat and put vegetables in and sweat. Once veggies soften and onions become opaque pour in broth. Bring to a low boil and cook for about 30 minutes. While vegetables are simmering, place both corn and white bread in a large bowl and toss together, then pour broth and veggie mixture over bread. Add sage, seasoning and salt and pepper. Consistency should be quite soft and mushy. This too can be put in a casserole dish and frozen ahead.

Preheat oven to 350. Clean mushroom caps and scrape out gills. Dry well and place in rimmed baking sheet. You may pour a ½ cup of broth or white wine in the bottom.

Slice sausages (previously browned in pan with potatoes) and chop into smallish cubes. Mix in with cornbread dressing. Place heaping serving in each mushroom cap, then cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until toasty on top.

Shitake Gravy

¼ cup, very finely diced white onion
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
3-4 shitake mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 Tbsp. flour
2 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper

Sauté white onion in Earth Balance until it starts to turn gold, then add mushroom. In a small jar mix flour in ½ cup of broth and shake well. This makes a slurry, you can now add to the mushrooms. As this thickens you add the rest of the broth and add salt and pepper to taste. I actually zapped this with my hand blender, but if you like it chunky you can omit this. This gravy is also really yummy if you add a splash of bourbon…especially if you’re making mashed potatoes.

Jalapeno-Cranberry Relish

1/2 jalapeno, fresh (you can add more, but I wouldn't initially)
1 pkg. fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 orange, sliced in quarters, but with peels left on (cut off the stemmy ends)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pecan halfs

Dump all ingrediants in blender and blend away. Taste and add sugar if need be. If you want to add more jalapeno, go ahead, but don't go crazy and be mindful of your audience.

Almond-Pear Tarts with Dark Chocolate


3 bosc pears, pealed and diced (you could actually use any pears, but I love bosc)
1 cup apple cider
1 vanilla bean, cut in half and goodies scraped out into the pears
½ cup melted Earth Balance
1 tube marzipan
½ cup sliced raw almonds
8 sheets phyllo pastry
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, melted

In a small pan, put pears, cider and vanilla bean over medium heat and cover. Cook about 20 minutes and then cool. Remove bean pods.

Preheat oven to 350. Cut phyllo in half, and cover with damp cloth. Take each ½ sheet and paint with melted Earth Balance, then fold in half lengthwise, then widthwise. If you need to alter this a bit, you can. This will be used to line each muffin cup. Press “shell” down into cup, and repeat for all the cups. If you just have an 8 cup tin then leave the rest of the sheets in damp cloth. Pinch off enough marzipan dough to form about ½ Tbsp, and roll in a ball, then flatten and place in the bottom of each cup. Put 1 Tbsp. of the pear mixture over, and continue creating these little pear cups in each. Sprinkle each with almond slivers. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Edges may be really brown, but you can knock those off if you don’t like that. After the cups have cooled, drizzle with melted dark chocolate, and continue to cool.

Ok, so that’s it! Easy as pie…well, actually no pie involved, but you get my point. I served champagne and then a little pinot noir. You could go crazy and serve Beaujolais nouveau, but I can’t stand the stuff, so that’s out for me.

Everyone left the table full of many traditional favorites, but no animals died and we didn’t feel like a Free the Whales infomercial. Win, win! Now what to do for Christmas and New Years????

Cookie Countdown!

Ok....so this is THE week. I've received 5 delightfully delicious cookie recipes so far, but was really going for more like 20. So, please post a link to your cookie recipe in my comments or e-mail me the recipe. I'm going to post all the recipes I make, and will include a link to your blog, or at least give you credit. This is really exciting!!!

And remember, I'll be drawing for this cookie jar on Thursday from the recipe sharers. Great luck...it really is lovely.

P.S. One of my favorite drop-by-blogs is having a holiday give-away. Please check her out http://dillydallas.blogspot.com/2009/11/giveaway-through-dec-weekend.html and good luck!

More Quickies from The Big Easy

(this is a pic of Evelyn's...a favorite in the French Quarter)

Sorry for not posting over the past week, but I’ve been in Southern Louisiana, where I spent much of my early life. It was so wonderful seeing my family and high-school friends. I also ate like a little freak; from beignets and coffee at Café du Monde, to the most amazing meal at Herbsaint. I also prepared a few decent veggie meals for my meat-loving brother-in-law, and I think he was pleasantly surprised.

Next week will be a big cooking week for me. I want to test out my Thanksgiving recipes before posting them, because right now they live only in my head. But I promise to share, if my guests don’t die. Until then, I do want to share more “quickies,” that can literally be made up in minutes and require very few ingredients. These are modifications and accidents I’ve held onto over the years.

Spicy Eggplant Dip

This spread is great stuffed in baby pita pockets, served with fresh veggies, or piped into a cherry tomato or small potato.

2 ½ lbs. eggplant
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 ½ tsp. harissa (this is a Middle Eastern condiment, and can be found at any good grocery, like Whole Foods, or a Middle Eastern specialty store)
3 Tbsp. vegan mayonnaise or soy sour cream

If you have a gas stove, preheat your oven to 400, then turn on a gas burner and “toast” the outside skin of the eggplant. If you’re like me, and are gas-burner challenged, broil the eggplant, turning until all outer skin is charred, then turn to bake. Bake for 45 minutes on a baking sheet. When finished, let cool, then scoop out all the pulp and mash well in a bowl.

To the eggplant pulp, mix in the garlic, harissa and mayo or sour cream. I would make the ahead and then add salt and more harissa if you want, but you really need to let the dip “marry,” before adding. Harissa can be super-hot.

Easy French Lentil Dip

Again, super-great with toasted pitas. Just drizzle pita halves with really good olive oil and sprinkle with dried oregano and bake until crisp. Delicious!

Ok, back to the dip…

1 c. green lentils
6 Tbsp. prepared tapenade
1 tsp. Cognac or brandy

Put the dried lentils in a strainer, rinse and pick-over for stones. Put the picked-over lentils in a pan and cover with 4 cups of water. Add 2 Tbsp. of salt and 10 whole black peppercorns. Bring lentils to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for about 40 minutes. Drain lentils, saving 1 cup of liquid. Put the lentils in a food processor or blender with tapenade and ½ the cooking liquid. Process until smooth and add a bit more liquid, if you need to, to make a smooth, dip-like consistency. Once this has cooled a bit, stir in the Cognac or brandy. Taste for salt and pepper then put in a glass container and chill in fridge for at least 3 hours.

High-Fried Chickpeas



These are addictive! Make my version, and then get funky with different flavored oils, herbs and spices.

1 can chickpeas
1-2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 ½ Tbsp. dried thyme leaves
1 Tbsp. white truffle oil

Drain the peas then pat dry on a cup towel until really dry. In a nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil. When oil is hot add the chickpeas and fry until they get crispy all over the outside. Add the herb leaves and a pinch or two of salt. Let these cool in the pan then drizzle with the truffle oil. You may need to drain a bid on a towel, but they really aren’t too oily, typically. They are so good with drinks, and again, you can switch around the spices based on your drinks or meal. So fun and different!

Ok, Found THE Cookie Jar

I am such a little freak about certain things. Looking for this cookie jar gave me a great excuse to visit some of my favorite spots like Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel and even a really cool artisanal spot across from the Art Institute. I found some nice things, but nothing that really was in my budget and had personality. I ended up in Andersonville, at some really cool vintage shops. I’ve found many treasures in this part of town...actually may have finally scratched my 2 year chandelier-itch!



So, here it is. I fell in love with this little jewel, and think it would fit well in many different kitchens. You could even use it as a flower vase, but I secretly hope you use it as a keeper of all yummy things. So, again, if you post a comment with a link to the cookie recipe, or just a comment with the name of the cookie, and then e-mail me the recipe, I'm going to put your name in for my draw on Thanksgiving Day. You can put more than one and an extra entry for vegan.

I'm so delighted with myself for coming up with this holiday idea. Ha! Goodness, I hope all my family and friends like cookies. I mean, who doesn't like cookies?

I Get the Cookies, You Get the Jar (but not this one..it's mine!)

Here's my plan: Traditionally, I am not a baker. Now there are a few exceptions, but baking for the holidays has not been something I've made a tradtion of. This year is different. For some reason my family hasn't come to the practical and reasonable practice of drawing names, so I've decided I'm going totally Martha Stewart, and I'm going to bake cookies. I'm going to bake cookies like a freakin' elf.

There's one challenge, and that is that I don't have a lot of good cookie recipes. I will say, I actually do know how to make checkerboard cookies, and they're really good. But I need some new tricks.

I also really want to make some new food-buddies, that can teach me a thing or two. And I want the "old" friends to share too. So, in addition to just sharing to share, I'm going to go looking tomorrow for a really lovely cookie jar. I LOVE cookie jars, as they have a particularly wonderful significance in my family. Cookie jars mean nothing but good things, right?


So, I'm going to post a picture of my cookie-jar-find tomorrow, and between now and November 28th (that's the day I start baking)I would love it if you would post in the comments the name of your favorite cookie (extra entry for vegan recipes)and either a link to the recipe and a link to your blog, if you have one, or if there isn't a link to the recipe then just post the name, but then e-mail me the recipe. Does this make sense? I'll have my Sweetheart draw a name right after we eat.

My target is to learn 25 new recipes and send all my family and friends wooden boxes, with individual "bundles" of the different cookies. I adore homemade gifts and just think this will be a win-win!!!

So, start digging through your recipes, and I'll go shopping for the jar. I'll choose a name on Thanksgiving day and ship the jar to the winner Friday, in between errands. Sounds good??? I'm so excited.

Oh, and another thing...one of my favorite inspirational blogs is Pencil Skirts & Pearls is having a great give away. Click here to see her lovely blog and enter her give away!

Happy holidays everyone! Can't wait to give this a shot.

Simple Soiree-Worthy Snacks

If you have read any of my posts you may have picked up, I’m all about efficiency. Efficiency = most abundant results coming from the least amount of effort. And my expectations for results include exciting taste, amazing quality and interesting aesthetic.



That being said, let’s first talk about my love of phyllo dough. I need to do a video on this one, as working with phyllo’s paper-thin dough is the ONLY difficult aspect of this wonder product. I do not have the knowledge, patients or time to make phyllo from scratch, but it comes in the frozen section of any grocery store, and can be kept on hand for impromptu creating. I typically make several dozen hors d'oeuvres at a time, and keep them in individual bags to be popped into the oven with 30 minute’s notice.

I re-used pictures I posted early for my Pear filling recipe. The final product will look the same. Now, I will describe the process of working with phyllo in as much detail as possible.

Step 1: Thaw your phyllo for at least an hour before prep-time. Dampen 2 tea-towels, but make certain they are not “wet,” as this could make your dough soggy. These towels will be used to keep your stack of phyllo sheets from drying out. You want to lay them completely out and keep them completely covered.


Step 2: Have a pastry brush and approximately ½ - 1c of melted Earth Balance. Working very quickly, lay a full sheet of they phyllo on your work surface, with the long edge up. Cut sheet in half, using one half for each pastry. You can use oodles of butter or Earth Balance, but in an effort to balance delicious with healthy, I paint ½ the sheet with E.B. then fold in thirds, left-side 1/3 across, then again to form long, vertical dough strip with 3-layers.

Step 3: Put NO MORE than 1 Tablespoon of filling in top of long, vertical rectangle, staying approximately 1/2” from all sides. Did you ever fold a flag? You’ll bring the left-top corner down to the right, to form an angle top and cover the filling. Flip the top-right corner straight down, then you will have a straight top edge. Bring the right-top corner down to the left, creating another angle. Keep going
until you have a triangular “packet,” then brush with E.B. and put on a baking sheet. That’s it. Keep going until you have a full sheet, then either bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until golden or freeze. If you freeze, preheat oven to 350, and pop frozen pastries in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden.

Now…..Fillings. You could stuff any of these fillings in mushrooms, or cut squares of the phyllo and stack those and press down in mini-muffin tins to form little “cups.”

Pumpkin-Parm Filling

1 cup canned pumpkin, NOT pie filling
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon chili powder

Dump all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. That’s it.

Wild Mushroom Filling

2 cups whatever mix of mushrooms you have or find. The wilder the better, I say. Clean and trim
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon, dried thyme
¼ c. cooking sherry or white wine or vegetable broth
½ cup toasted bread crumbs
Salt to taste

In a medium hot pan, add olive oil and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes, then add mushrooms and thyme. Cook 5-10 minutes, until mushrooms are dark and tender. Add liquid and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Make sure liquid doesn’t evaporate. Turn heat off and put mushroom mixture in bowl or food processor. Because I have a hand mixer, I just blend in the bowl, but you may need to use a food processor or could even use a blender. The point is, you want a finely chopped mushroom mixture. Take this mushroom “mush,” and mix in bread crumbs. Here’s your filling. Taste and add salt as needed.

Creamed Spinach Filling

1 box frozen, chopped spinach (or fresh that you’ve cooked down and chopped)
1 Tablespoons Earth Balance
½ cup finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and white pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup vegan cream cheese

In a medium pan, heat Earth Balance and sauté shallots and garlic. When shallots are translucent add spinach, mix well and cook for 5-7 minutes. Take spinach off heat and add seasoning and cream cheese. Mix well and taste to adjust seasoning. Done!

A few trays of these gems, some chilled bubbles w/ tiny slices of pear in long flutes, and some great music...you are good to go. Go take a bubble bath and have a fun night!