Vegan Southern Feast: Sausage Okra Gumbo, Bacon Cornbread, Maple Bourbon Sweet Potatoes, Perfect Brussels Sprouts

• 1 batch pizza dough 
• 1 batch bean spread 
• Sauteed Brussels sprouts 
• Roasted cauliflower and garlic
• 3 Cups fresh spinach
• 2 tubes Field Roast sausage

Ingredients for pizza dough:

• 4C wheat flour
• 2t salt
• 2C warm-to-hot water
• 1 packet active yeast
• 1.5 T sugar

Directions:

1. In a glass measuring cup, mix your sugar and warm water together. Add the yeast and make sure it starts jumping. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. 
2. Mix your flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the yeasty water to the flour bowl. Mix together and then knead like the wind.
4. Knead some more. Get out all of your anger at your past self for not stocking enough nooch.
5. Clean and oil the bowl, roll the dough around it in to get it all oiled up, and cover it with a dish towel. Let it sit in a warm place for 2 hours. 

Ingredients for white bean spread:

• 2 cans (3 cups) white/cannellini beans
• 4T water
• juice of one large lemon
• 2T  soy sauce
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 3t dijon mustard
• 3T tahini
• 2t garlic powder

Directions: 

1. Blend in a blender. Or a food processor. You got this. 

For the Brussels sprouts:

• 1/2 pound shaved Brussels sprouts
• 1T olive oil
• 1/2 t salt

Directions:

1. I usually like roasting these, but today I was feeling sauteeing them first to soften and oilize them against the crunchy roasted cauliflower. 
2. In a sauce pan, heat the oil over medium high heat, then add the sprouts and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, until totally soft.

For the cauliflower and garlic:

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped very finely 
• 1 head garlic, separated into cloves
• 2 T olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Line a big baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread the cauliflower and all the garlic cloves onto the sheet.
3. Drizzle the oil over it all, and mix with your hands to spread it and massage it into the cauliflower. 
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper over everything.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350F. 

Assemblage:

1. Put your pizza stone in the oven and preheat it to 350F. Whee!!!
2. Roll out your pizza dough. Today, my dough was really yielding and it let me spin it like a real eyetalian. 
3. Form the crust so that it puffs up when it bakes, because puffy crust is the best.
4. Spread the bean dip in a thick layer all over the dough (not on the crust part).
5. Top that layer with all the cauliflower and garlic.
6. Top that with the Brussels sprouts. Try to spread everything evenly. And densely.
7. Top that with the spinach. It’ll shrink down almost immediately upon being placed in the hot oven, so don’t worry about it being all poufy. 
8. Top that with the sliced sausage. 
9. Top that. 
10. Bake for about 20 minutes until the crust starts to get golden.