Joy Pierson - Vegan Holiday Cooking from Candle Cafe

Copyright 2014 by Candle Family Foods, LLC
Photographs copyright 2014 by Jim Franco

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

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Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pierson, Joy.

Vegan holiday cooking from Candle Cafe : celebratory menus and recipes from New Yorks premier plant-based restaurants / Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos, and Jorge Pineda.
pages cm
Summary: Acclaimed vegan restaurants Candle Cafe and Candle 79 present a collection of plant-based recipes for year-round holidays including Lunar New Year, Valentines Day, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Passover, and Christmas
Provided by publisher.
1. Vegan cooking. 2. Holiday cooking. 3. Candle Cafe. 4. Candle 79 (Restaurant)
I. Ramos, Angel, 1976- II. Pineda, Jorge. III. Title.
TX837.P52936 2014
641.5636--dc23

2014005259

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-647-8
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-648-5

Food styling by Angel Ramos, Jorge Pineda, and Chris Barsch
Prop styling by Kate Parisian
Interior design by Hope Meng
Author photo by Eric Marseglia

v3.1

In loving memory of Arlene Rosenberg DaSilva and Laksmi Magee,
who remind us that life is a party to be shared with those you love.

When I think of the Candles, I feel love. The entire Candle trio of restaurants, Candle Cafe, Candle 79, and Candle Cafe West, are the happiest, warmest, and most delicious places to be. They are all a reflection of the corethe Candle magic love potionand I dare you not to get swept away by it.

All of the employees of each restaurantfrom managers to busboysare so welcoming and caring. And can we talk about Chefs Angel and Jorge? They are so talented, hardworking, warm, and super-cute, by the way. And whether they like it or not, I always go into the kitchen to give them big hugs and compliments after every spectacular meal that Ive eaten there.

These transporting restaurants and their amazing food are the result of the vision of Joy and her husband and partner, Bart, both of whom Ive known and loved for over thirteen years. Joy and I are crazy in love with food. We appreciate the fine, exquisite flavors of plant-based food and we love dishes that are made with passion, love, and care.

Joy and the Candle family know how to throw a great party. We have celebrated big and small dinners together and they have all been crazy yummy. For my thirtieth birthday partyhmm, a while back nowJoy and Bart sent Seitan Piccata to my home in California for forty guests. If you havent tried it, you havent lived. It is the best dish for a nonvegan eater to try. They catered backstage parties when I appeared on Broadway, sending trays of yummy plant-based goodies to the cast and crew and making us very happy. When I launched my line of eco-tool bags, they hosted business parties at their restaurants, serving food that had a mission that was in sync with mine and that deeply impressed a number of fashion editors. And a Candle Thanksgiving is a treat!

Its truly magical and special, full of fabulous tastes with no bad karma flying around the belly after dinner.

I am so thrilled that Joy, Angel, and Jorge decided to write a book devoted to cooking vegan for the holidays. In addition to the great menus and recipes, the photography and layout of this book are beautiful, and I want to make almost everything I see on these pages RIGHT NOW! Bravo!

This book is about celebration and funno deprivation, just pure joy and yumminess. It inspires me to plan a year of parties, and I am so eager to cook Joys Grandmas seitan brisket and sweet potato latkes for Passover, and mini muffins and French toast coffeecake for my friends and all their kiddies for a spring brunch. Theres the Cinco de Mayo fiesta (Bears birthday) with crispy black bean tacos and caramel flan (Ive had this at Candle 79 and it is insane!), and a cruelty-free backyard barbecue with grilled seitan burgers and spicy corn on the cob finished off with red, white, & blue shortcake. Maybe Ill have a holiday mash-up, serving the best of Thanksgiving and Christmas with a roasted brussels sprout salad, the polenta, mushroom, and kale casserole, Christmas spritz cookies, and a vegan cheese plate! OMG! And for Valentines maybe Ill make a romantic dinner with roasted red pepper soup and dumplings, morel crusted tofu, and decadent molten chocolate cake. Seriously, I want to eat all of these thingsright now.

I love Candles commitment and passion for sustainability, for healing the planet with food and love. Thank God for the Candles and for Joy and Bart and Angel and Jorge.

And for this book. We are all so lucky to have this book. Lets get cookin.

Love,
Alicia

We have worked and played and cooked and danced with Joy and Bart in our kitchens and theirs for over twenty years. We have dined on many fine, innovative meals, lasting many joyous hours, at all of the Candle establishments. These days, whenever were in New York we always find a good excuse to throw a party and have it catered by the Candle Family. Our daughters have literally grown up with the Candle restaurants and a few summers ago our eldest was fortunate and smart enough to train with Chef Jorge, where she honed her kitchen and cooking skills.

We have such good karma with the Candle restaurants. We all first met at Barts small shop The Healthy Candle and became close friends sharing the same mission and commitment. We have been in New York City for the openings of all three restaurants Candle Cafe, Candle 79, and Candle Cafe West. Joy gives us credit for their success, which we happily accept. (As an actor, its easy to accept credit for others work!) But the real testament to their success is that their restaurants are always full of people, meat-eaters and vegetarians alike, enjoying the incredible vibes and delicious food.

In their over-the-top spirit of generosity, it comes as no great surprise that Joy, Bart, Angel, and Jorge offer this fine book for our entertaining-at-home pleasure. Traditionally, holidays are times spent overindulging and celebrating life. As it should be! Theres no greater gift than to prepare beautiful meals that support and nurture health on every level for the folks we truly love. More research is released daily about the need for Americans and the world to shift to a healthier, plant-based diet. A growing number of Western doctors are recognizing the need to recommend plant-based diets to their patients as a form of treatment. When it evolves into lifestyle, the human body has a fighting chance to beat any disease. Good health is our birthright and we can take charge of it for our families and loved ones by recommitting ourselves over and over again to eating organic and vegan. And in this day and age, it doesnt mean we have to sacrifice taste. Fresh, organic food from farm to table has always been the Candle mantra and farm-fresh food always satisfies.