Thanks, but once again, we are not serving anything that needs to be served hot. It’s an afternoon buffet, not a dinner party. No hot casseroles, soups, stews, chilis, etc. If we were, I’d be all set with all kinds of vegetarian recipes.
Because I can’t stand them, and they make Mr. S ill. Thus no green peppers cross our threshold or our lips. Except perhaps what few slivers of them slip through in salsa or something. I always substitute for green peppers in recipes – usually red peppers, but we also have a thing about how so many corn recipes get overpowered with red pepper flavor. I saw another corn quiche recipe with tomatoes in it and thought it sounded good.
Shit baby, that’s just a casserole, it don’t need to be piping hot…people take it to afternoon potlucks all the time and all you gotta do is make it within 2 hours of serving…or are you having one of those “Garden Parties”? In that case, if you want substantial, how about tempeh thai noodle salad? Although that seems quite an undertaking… guess I misunderstood the tone of your request. Thought you wanted a substantial and different maincourse that all of your guest and the vegetarian one could particularly enjoy. Fuck me for offering a warm and hearty alternative…
Well, it wouldn’t be just one dish we’re taking to someone else’s potluck, so it’s not “all we gotta do.” We’re the hosts, and were doing most of the work ourselves. The party starts at noon and we need to shower and dress, load the van with all of our homemade (on the day before) food/beverages/coolers/supplies, go to the grocery store and pick up the pre-ordered food, get over to the hall and finish the setup, probably prep the veggies and fruit at the hall so they can be as fresh as possible, and who knows what all else . . . We won’t have time for cooking the day of. Especially not casserole for fifty.
I did specify a buffet made up of cold and room-temp foods, and I did specify I didn’t want anything that needed heating (hence the prohibition on a crockpot dish). I even repeated that qualification in response to two other suggestions.
I also mentioned that I do know how to make plenty of dinner-party-type cooked vegetarian dishes, but that was not what I was looking for.
I also did NOT say that I wanted to feed everyone with the option; just provide an alternative for one guest. (I didn’t mention that I was thinking of keeping it back until she arrives, just to make sure she gets a crack at it.)
I also mentioned that the party is in a few weeks, on a July afternoon, not particularly suited for a “warm and hearty” dish. I’m sure it’s delicious, but it won’t work for this event.
As you have guessed, you didn’t seem to have understood my parameters for what I was looking for, so I reiterated them when I declined your suggestion (politely, I thought). Sorry if that offended you.
Well, You never mentioned a hall or fifty guests. I thought this was an intimate affair. One vegetarian out of fifty, wanna accomadate them … well fuck them, fuck me and you… that’s the vibe I’m gettin’ for this thread.
Quiche is for pussies.
When I was vegetarian I adored cold party food. There is so much variety- spinach dip with crusty sourdough bread, hummus with olives and toasted pita, pasta salad, cold bean salad, deviled eggs, wonderful cheeses, fruit salad, potato salad…it’s all really good.
I think she’ll be happy even without any special effort- she can make a cheese and veggie sandwich if she needs a main course. But I think she’ll just be thankful you didn’t throw bacon in the spinach dip or salami in the pasta salad.
I just want to say that the cookbook The Occasional Vegetarianis great for this kind of thing. As a matter of fact, our menu tonight is from it, and would fit the bill for this thread: antipasto (olives, roasted peppers, cheeses) and pasta salad with goat cheese and arugula.
Baba ghanoush is fantastic and VERY easy to make - you DO have to bake the eggplant; however, you can do it way ahead and serve it cole.
And samosas are kind of gross if they’re not hot (they’re pretty oily and the oil sort of sets - blech); however, a easier, healthier choice is pita. Personally I also dip sliced veg in baba ghanoush and make a massive shwank of myself.
You could also do veggie party sandwiches on tortillas - that’s easy and fast - spread them with cream cheese and add whatever guts you like - I like dill pickle, tomato, olives, etc, and they look pretty when you slice them.
Finally, a noodle salad of some sort is always nice. I LOOOOVE noodle salad.
Anyway - if you make even 1/4 of the things listed in this thread the vegg will have loads to eat (assuming she doesn’t have an appetite like a football player), and everyone else will have some new things to try.
To further your hummus idea, you could make a variety of different flavours like black bean and orange, curry, peanut sesame, roasted red pepper, etc.
How about (veggie) sausage tarts? My mom’s recipe is really easy and they taste great both hot and cold, so they’d be fine for a buffet. If you don’t want to use the rather unhealthy (but oh so tasty) pastry, perhaps you could use circles of lightly toasted bread cut to fit the bottom of greased muffin tins?
Sausage Tarts (1 dozen)
4 oz Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage (if that isn’t available, regular veggie ground round will be fine - you’ll just have to season it yourself)
1/4 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 egg (or equivalent Eggbeaters)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp leaf marjoram, crumbled
1/4 tsp pepper
tart shells
Saute mushrooms and onions until softened and lightly brown. Add veggie sausage, break up with spatula and heat until warmed through. Remove from heat and set aside until cool.
In a medium bowl, beat egg, milk, spices and cheese. Add cooled veggie sausage mixture into egg mixture and mix well. Spoon into tart shells. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.
You probably shouldn’t think of your vegetarian option as being only “for” one vegetarian guest. In my experience, a genuinely good veggie option will be hit hard by omnivore guests as well (and of course, an option that isn’t genuinely good isn’t worth putting out there at all). “Keeping back” for the sake of one guest seems contrary to the spirit of buffet, and implies you should have just made more of the veggie and less of the meat to start with.
Too . . . many . . . yummy . . . ideas . . . head . . . asploding . . .
::POOF::
Well, it’ll be a weird mix of guests. Among our families will be the bulk of the meat ‘n’ potatoes crowd. They’d probably turn up their noses at falafel, hummus, and such. But they’ll also probably be the earlier arrivals. Our friends lean toward more adventurous, and though I can’t think of any who are strictly veg, I know they’ll scarf up the more exotic stuff, of which (I think) there’ll be plenty. I just want to “hold back” enough of, say, a little falafel, hummus, etc., so my aunt doesn’t end up with just some dried-out cheese. In the interest of food safety I’ll have to keep some stuff in the fridge for later anyway.
I do intend not to “hide” meat in anything, and I’ll make sure that anything we order from the store is the same. That’s just underhanded. I think the only meat on the menu will be the deli meat and the smoked salmon fillet. I’ll make sure not to put any meat in the pasta salad (as I sometimes do). We might order pizza if anyone comes back to the house in the evening and wants something fresh/hot.
I just made Thomas Keller’s fancy Ratatouille and it is delicious (link goes back to my blog and has pictures). Plus, you can make it in advance, in large servings and present it cold or at room temperature (and it’s all foncy and Fronch!). Just boil up some pasta/grain and put it in a bowl next to the confit with some parm.
By the way, when I was planning my former co-worker’s office post-baby/moving away party, I asked my blog readers about good buffet/quasi baby shower party recipes and they recommended Smitten Kitchen’s spinach quiche and the red pepper pasta salad. I can enthusiastically second these recommendations. Granted food disappears quickly around the office to begin with, but people were fighting to take the leftovers home.
The red pepper piperade in the Thomas Keller recipe is actually even better than the Smitten Kitchen red pepper vinaigrette (not to mention healthier) so I’d sub that, if you go that route.
Oh and I’m extremely sorry about the triple post but I love vegetarian food:
The best veggie sandwiches are
Brie and membrillo on baguette or
Goat cheese and roasted veggies on baguette.
I still eat fish (gave up chicken this summer and haven’t missed it)-but I chose those veggie sandwiches over turkey/poultry sandwiches anytime they were offered. However, they’re both kind of expensive on account of the cheese.
“Pickled” Mushrooms, buy them in jars, everyone loves them.
Cheese platter. Various Crackers.
Bread platter with different types of bread. Maybe rolls, too.
The above are often spotted at omnivore buffets, and eaten by omnivores also. I would get nothing just for one person, but a number of things that she will be able to eat and others will enjoy.
Using canned or otherwise cooked chickpeas results in squishy, smoooshy falafel that’s difficult to form into patties. It turns out more like paste than anything else.
In addition to the veggie “meat” and such, if your grocery has an antipasti bar, you could load up on garlic-marinated roasted red peppers, some kalamatta olives and feta crumbles and make some really delicious sandwiches that way. Also, a jar of sundried tomato pesto with some gruyere and piled with roasted red peppers and eggplant results in fantastic, simple sandwiches.
Heh, it is to laugh! We have two grocery stores locally. One is the smallest and IMHO worst store in a regional chain, and the other is essentially a meat market that also sells groceries. I prefer the second store (and in fact that’s where we’re ordering the food from) but organics, unusual produce, vegetarian/vegan specialties, “gourmet” foods, etc., are few and far between.
I can (and probably will) drive 40 miles to The Big City to pick up some specialty items, but I don’t think even that big store has self-serve antipasti. (They do have sushi, though. Yum!)
