Menu ideas for spring veg/non-veg dinner party?
I'm hosting a dinner party next month for 6. One friend is vegetarian, but the guest of honor is not, and for that reason I am hesitant to prepare an entirely vegetarian menu. However, I want everyone's dinner to be equally lovely, and not to have my friend just eating the side dishes.
One thought I had was to prepare a few (3?) pasta dishes, both vegetarian and not. What are other ideas for menus that include veg and non-veg options?
I should note that the guests are all delightful and easygoing people who are not going to get up in arms no matter what the menu is. I just want the meal to please everyone. Thanks for any suggestions!
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6 Comments:
How formal is the dinner? For a more formal dinner, the pasta option sounds lovely--although I am vegetarian, I'm not fond pasta, I have to admit, but most people are. Eggplant Parmesan is another Italian dish that can be prepared lightly for spring and could be paired with meats for the carnivores.
Other suggestions are having a Mediterranean spread with warmed pitas, that the guests could fill with food to their liking--either lamb or chicken for the meat-eaters or falafel, hummus for the vegetarian, with various sides like stuffed grape leaves, olives, cheeses, and such.
Doing a similar 'bar' type thing with burritos or tacos--meat for the meat-eaters, but veggies and cheese and other toppings for the veg. Other meat/non-meat combos include meat/no meat chili and cornbread with Tex-Mex sides might be fun. Having one meat and one non-meat paella-similar. Even stuffed portabellas--some with meat other without meat could be meal.
Also, if the sides were great I certainly would still be very pleased to make them a meal! Anytime I go to a dinner party and don't find myself eating the garnish, I am a happy camper as I am sure your vegetarian will be!
HeartofGlass at 8:10PM on 05/09/09
It all depends on what you have in mind for dinner BBq, pasta, steaks, seafoods, ect. What i do is make whatever I planned accordingly and have many different sides some with meat and some with no meat. for instance if I was going to BBq ribs and burgers I would some meatless burgers around too because I know meat eaters that will have the veggie burger because they felt like one. Then have all the sides for a BBQ, which for the most part is meatless except if you make beans that have bacon in it, but here would be corn on the cob, and potato salad, slaw, green salads, mac salad, mac and cheese, then appetizers before hand maybe. This is just an example.
pjracz10 at 11:34PM on 05/09/09
Yeah, most of the time I am so grateful to have more than potato salad to eat that it doesn't matter if I have a dedicated "main dish". Cooking fish en papillote is lovely light and spring-y, and you could fill one packet with only vegetables or add mushrooms/marinated tofu. A nice salad or some other side, some good bread and salted butter and maybe a rhubarb cobbler for dessert?
sophiawest at 1:01PM on 05/10/09
With apologies to HeartofGlass, I'm going to suggest pasta primavera with lots of spring vegetables like asparagus, baby peas, spring onions, chery tomatoes, and fiddle necks if you like them and can find them. Augment with albeit out-of-season sweet red peppers, zucchini chunks, carrot slivers, whatever looks fresh. Add some kind of killer garlic/cheese bread and maybe a butter lettuce salad with a light lemon vinaigrette and toasted pine nuts. If strawberries are available, a glace strawberry pie or maybe parfaits layered with sweetened, crushed berries, whipped cream, and a nutty/oat/crumble mix.
If the guest of honor would miss meat for one meal, you could have an extravagant antipasto platter with salumi, cheeses, olives, pickled vegetables, grissini, crackers.
zucchini at 7:46PM on 05/10/09
@zucchini--even though I don't like pasta, that doesn't mean no one should serve it--like I said, I know most people like it and your menu sounds awesome and seasonal--I like the antipasto spread too with the primavera, since that means the cook won't have to make different meals for every preference and will only have to make one 'showcase' dish.
HeartofGlass at 8:15PM on 05/10/09
I suggest googling Peter Berley, who wrote the Flexitarian Table. He gives recipes that can move from veggie to meat eaters. So, you could possibly make the same basic recipe for everyone and just flip out the protein portion of the meal to accommodate the vegitarians.
meem21 at 10:14AM on 05/11/09