Last week we highlighted a classic Thanksgiving feast and this week we've gone completely vegetarian. However, what if you're a meat-eating family who happens to have invited a few vegetarians? Do you have to follow the vegetarian menu? Can you still have your turkey? Before you start fretting, I've got a few simple tips on how to turn your classic meal into a veggie-friendly one. And no, you don't have to have to serve Tofurky.

• Start things off by making all of your appetizers vegetarian. Serve things like cheese and crackers, olives, nuts, bread and lentil spread. Your meat-eating family and friends are not going to turn these down.
• When it comes time to make the sides, make sure they are veg friendly. If you've got stuffing that's cooked inside the bird, make sure you have some cooked outside that is completely meat free.
• Make sure the stock you use is vegetarian. One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to cook for vegetarians is overlooking the kind of stock they use.
• Consider adding a hearty side dish such as pumpkin ravioli or baked squash. This will serve as the main course for your vegetarian guests, but will also be enjoyed by the rest of the dinner party. If you don't have time to make something, place an order from a veg-friendly restaurant.

For a few more ways to make your classic feast veg friendly, read more

No Thanksgiving is complete without a smorgasbord of sides to choose from, and this meat-free menu is no exception. There's no bacon, sausage, or pancetta to be found in these scrumptious side dishes, so vegetarians get your plates ready! All of these dishes pair nicely with the main dish: pumpkin lasagna. Start with a stuffing substitute in the form of a mushroom panzanella. Give mashed potatoes a gourmet makeover with caramelized shallots and fresh sage. Round out the menu with brussels sprouts and cranberry brown butter. Want a taste of these delicious recipes? Just read more

These little Stuffed Pasta Sombreros are breaking my heart with their cuteness. They sound delicious too. — Kitchen Unplugged

With its vibrant color and sweet, burst-in-your-mouth berries, cranberry sauce is the quintessential Thanksgiving side. If you've never made homemade cranberry sauce, I highly recommend you try it. The delicious fragrance will warm your house, and it's really not that difficult to make! Sure you could pop open a can, but why not experiment with one of these recipes? The first is super easy and the second is a teeny bit harder, so choose the recipe that best fits your holiday menu. For both recipes, read more

This week's bento comes from Flickr user pantherathecat. I wanted to highlight it because I love its simplicity. For those that think they can't create bentos, this box really says you can. It's a simple layer of leftover beans and rice topped with leaf and acorn shaped slices of Colby-jack cheese. I hope you find inspiration in this lunch!

Growing up in a multiracial house, Thanksgiving was a smorgasbord of flavors. We had classic stuffing along with piles of rice and stir-fried vegetables. Although Thanksgiving does often mean a great, big Turkey with all the fixings, for some it means a marriage of those classics with their heritage.

Recently, New York Magazine asked several of New York's top ethnic chefs to create globalized yet traditional Thanksgiving menus. Each chef took the classics — turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans or Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie — and reinvented them to suit their culinary culture. The result was five delicious sounding menus: Mexican (Aarón Sánchez), French (Laurent Tourondel), Italian (Fabio Trabocchi), Chinese (Joe Ng), and African (Marcus Samuelsson). If you're looking for a way to spice up your Thanksgiving, you could try one of these menus, or mix and match to create your own.

I'm personally hoping to try something off of each one, but am probably going to have to start with the Lemongrass Turkey Rolls, the Pumpkin Mash, or the Potato-Gnocchi Gratin. How about you, where would you begin? Which menu sounds the best to you?

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Just because you don't eat meat, doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to enjoy Thanksgiving! There are so many delicious vegetables in season, that putting together a bountiful, hearty, meat-free meal is completely feasible. To help you out, I'm planning a vegetarian friendly Thanksgiving menu.

When guests arrive have a cheese plate complete with olives, nuts, crackers, and a homemade lentil spread ready and waiting. Get the dinner started with a soothing soup first course. A creamy chestnut celeriac soup is elegant and festive. For the main course serve pumpkin lasagna in individual sugar pumpkins. To look at these recipes — we'll address side dishes later — read more