She Wrote the Most Influential Vegetarian Cookbook of All Time. These Are the Holiday Recipes She Makes Now.
Half a century after its publication, ‘Moosewood Cookbook,’ an American classic, offers fresh inspiration for a meatless holiday feast. Vegetarian or not, these are recipes you’ll want to add to your festive repertoire.
GREEN PARTY Guests gather in a barn at Taconic Ridge Farm, in Hillsdale, N.Y., where chef Leah Guadagnoli and Mollie Katzen, author of the classic ‘Moosewood Cookbook,’ created a vegetarian holiday dinner with beloved Moosewood recipes.
By Dana Bowen / Photography by Landon Speers for The Wall Street Journal
Dec. 13, 2023 12:00 pm ET
ASK VEGETARIANS about their most cherished cookbooks, and Mollie Katzen’s hand-lettered, whimsically illustrated “Moosewood Cookbook,” which turns 50 next year, frequently tops the list.
“It’s always so flattering to hear, but I had no idea it was going to reach so many people!” said Katzen, 73, as she seeded delicata squash for a dinner she was preparing with Leah Guadagnoli, 34, chef-founder of the popular Fancy Feast Supper Club based in upstate New York. And yet, the first of Katzen’s 12 books—self-published for customers of the cafe she co-owned in Ithaca, N.Y., and later picked up by Ten Speed Press—went on to become one of the most influential vegetarian cookbooks of all time. Its globe-trotting recipes and encouraging voice brought plant-based cooking from the hippie periphery into the American mainstream.
Mollie Katzen at the dinner; Leah Guadagnoli with the Feta Walnut Dip served in endive leaves (find the recipe below).
“It was the very first cookbook I owned,” said Guadagnoli. “Coming from the Midwest, where meat was always front and center, I found her way of cooking revolutionary and empowering.”
Katzen and Guadagnoli, both artists, met through a mutual friend. Though they don’t identify as vegetarian, the meals they’re both known for are. “There’s so much creative possibility with vegetables—the colors, the textures, the combinations,” Katzen said. And when it comes to entertaining and cooking for crowds, “it’s way more fun and inclusive,” Guadagnoli added—because this way, everyone can eat the same dishes.
After months of brainstorming—Katzen from her home in western Connecticut; Guadagnoli from hers upstate—their collaboration culminated in an epic feast of Katzen’s recipes last month at Taconic Ridge Farm, in Hillsdale, N.Y. Guadagnoli collected vintage plates for the 100-person family-style meal; her friends embroidered napkins and made floral-and-fungi arrangements. “It was Hudson Valley creativity at its finest,” said Katzen, who signed sauce-splattered, dog-eared cookbooks guests brought from home.
For the event, the barn at Taconic Ridge Farm was decorated with floral-fungi bouquets; copies of the Fancy Feast recipe zine and the ‘Moosewood Cookbook’ were on hand.
Despite the nostalgia, dishes like Feta-Walnut Dip and Mushroom Gravy felt fresh and current. “Vegetables never go out of style,” Guadagnoli said. Some tweaks were made: The famously rich Cauliflower Cheese Pie was topped with a tangy mini tossed salad, and the Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding became vegan with oat milk and whipped coconut cream.
In that way, Katzen and Guadagnoli’s meal looked forward as much as it glanced back, acknowledging how vegetable cookery continues to evolve and appeal to a wider audience. It was a delicious argument for turning a holiday celebration or any special meal into a plant-based feast. Here, Katzen and Guadagnoli offer tips for making it happen:
Think Like an Artist
For festive tables, lean into the beauty of plants. Guadagnoli garnishes soups and salads with flowers; tints pasta, risottos, bread and even cocktails with vibrant vegetable juices; and surrounds dips with colorful arrays of sliced watermelon radish and carrots in varied hues. “Dips are a great portal to vegetable love,” Katzen said.
Delicata Squash Stuffed With Couscous-Date-Pistachio Pilaf
Stock Up
Big, veg-based meals mean plenty of trimmings for homemade stock. “Think herb and mushroom stems, innards of squash, onion and garlic peels, carrot skins,” said Guadagnoli, who keeps a bag of scraps in her freezer until it’s full enough to make a batch. Freeze extras so you always have delicious stock on hand for soups and sauces.
’Tis the Seasoning
Bold seasonings are the workhorses of successful plant-based meals, so look for recipes that feature explosions of flavor, like Katzen’s Maple-Mustard Brussels Sprouts. The sweet-spicy glaze gets its satisfying depth from sesame oil and soy sauce. Consider Crunch | Choose salads with sturdy greens like endive and radicchio, and crunchy vegetables. Katzen’s Jicama-Fennel-Grapefruit salad—a great make-ahead dish—stays crisp for hours.
Prep Ahead
Guadagnoli started cooking for the dinner a week ahead. She froze soup, gravy, pies and cookies and stored dips and sauces in the fridge. “It’s key to undercook things so they don’t overcook when reheated,” she said. Vegetable dishes are delicious at room temperature, which makes timing far less fraught.
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