Thanksgiving Fit for a Vegetarian

Thanksgiving is always a tricky one for use for two reasons:  (1) Joe always works as Thanksgiving is one of their busiest nights of the year and (2) Joe doesn't eat turkey, hates cranberry sauce, and doesn't like anything pumpkin.  So....what to do.  I obviously still want to celebrate it since it is one holiday that always reminds me of family and food, cooking and celebrating.  So I set out to create a Thanksgiving meal for us non-meat eaters.

I began with a salmon with puff pastry and pesto recipe I got from Giada's book that Sandra got me (she always gets me these signed cookbooks!).  I figured it sounded fancy enough to make the meal special.  Then I knew we had to have stuffing, so I made one with apples, sauteed mushrooms, and rosemary mixed in.  Finally, I didn't want to add another carb and no vegetables, so I decided on making my cauliflower mashed "potatoes."  I had made these before and Joe liked them, so I knew we were set. 

Yum-o!!  After we stuffed ourselves, Joe headed off to work and I settled onto the couch with my mac and a steamy mug of homemade peppermint hot chocolate.  It was just delightful.  In case you want to know how I made that, here's the recipe I used:

1 c skim milk (I know they say full-fat is better, but I don't drink the stuff so this is what I had)
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 oz each of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. 

Bring everything to a simmer over low heat and stir until the chocolate melts.  Serve with whipped cream and crushed peppermints.  De-lish!  And because I used some sweeter chocolates and not plain cocoa, I didn't add any sugar or sweetener to it, but you could do it that way too (works well if you want to use splenda or stevia for a sugar-free option).