Easy holiday potluck brunch

MY MOTHER-IN-LAW USED TO SPEND DAYS preparing for holiday parties. She had everyone in the family put together appetizers, bake breads and cookies, and make salads up until the last minute. The parties were lots of fun, and everyone raved about the food, but with all the organizing and prep, she was exhausted.

Over the years, I've realized that rushing around to buy and make all the food for a get-together is not the way I want to spend my time. I'd rather lose the stress factor and have more time to socialize with family and friends. A seasonal potluck brunch is just the ticket. This way, everyone contributes a favorite dish, the food is always an interesting blend of cooking styles, the atmosphere is casual, and you're finished early in the day so clean-up isn't an extended project.

My first holiday potluck brunch came about as a fun way to get together with friends. I used an idea from a vegetarian cooking class I once taught, where a vegetarian potluck was the final homework project, and collected all the recipes for my get-together a week ahead. I find it's also fun to have guests personalize their recipes, adding a sentence or two about its origin or how it was modifed. I copied this information and stapled it together to make a booklet for each guest. You can even create a title page with the potluck's theme to begin the collection of recipes you make for your guests. An alternative is to have pens and nice paper out with the recipes. Then, everyone can make their own copies.

When you organize an event like this one, choosing a theme brings a focus to the meal and makes it more appealing. Any title can highlight the holidays in a general way, so be imaginative with the name. It doesn't have to be fancy, just something simple, such as Vegetarian Comfort Food Festival or Holiday Favorites. One of my favorite holiday brunches was called Family Recipe Treasures Revisited. Heirloom family recipes were revised to be vegetarian-friendly, if necessary, and to have a lower fat content. One friend brought a version of her grandmother's stuffed cabbage rolls, made with tempeh instead of hamburger yet seasoned in the same savory way. She proclaimed it better than the original.

After determining a theme and creating a title, prepare invitations with an RSVP that includes course categories. This way your guests can check off whether they're bringing a salad, appetizer, bread, side dish, main dish, or dessert. Have everyone select a second option as well. Be sure to get back to them about the option they chose. For more culinary-challenged friends, have easier options available, such as bringing some juice or a grain coffee substitute. After all, not everyone is comfortable in the kitchen, and a holiday brunch isn't about stress or pressure.

This planning stage is also an ideal time to gather information about food allergies so certain ingredients can be avoided, if possible, when choosing and preparing recipes. In addition, when my friends arrived, they all wrote out the recipe title and ingredient cards for their dishes. These ingredient cards were placed in front of each dish as an additional aid to food selection. Without concerns about objectionable ingredients lurking in the dishes, we could all relax and sample each other's delicious food.

The following recipes can be put together for any potluck, or peruse them and use what appeals to you. If you're pressed for time, select a recipe that can be made ahead and reheated. When the day arrives, relax and enjoy the party.

SUBSTITUTE INGREDIENT SUGGESTIONS

FOR MEAT PRODUCTS:

* Soy sausage

* Fakin' Bacon (smoked tempeh strips)

* Chicken-style seitan

* Tempeh (to substitute for ground meat)

* Tofu

FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS:

* Soy, rice, or almond milk (Use soymilk with a small amount of lemon juice as a substitute for buttermilk.)

* Soymilk creamer (for cream)

* Soy yogurt

* Soy sour cream

* Soy cream cheese

* Vegan cheese alternatives

FOR EGGS:

* Flax seed egg replacer (Use 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds blended with 3 Tablespoons water for each egg. This substitution can be used to replace up to 3 eggs in a recipe.)

* Silken tofu (Use 1/4 cup pureed tofu to replace 1 egg. This substitution can be used to replace up to 2 eggs.)

* Ener-G egg replacer (Available in natural foods stores. Use according to package directions.)

FOR CHEESE TOPPINGS:

* Ground toasted nuts or seeds

* Crushed cornflakes

* Bread crumbs blended with a little vegan margarine

* Toasted coconut

FOR CHEESE FILLINGS:

* For cheese layers, try roasted vegetables, such as eggplant, red peppers, summer squash, or sliced sauteed portobello mushrooms.

* For ricotta type fillings, use one 14.5-ounce package of drained firm tofu, blended with 2 Tablespoons oil, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.