Vegan entertaining

Smuterella

OK, so, I have a new good friend who is vegan, and I stupidly invited her over for dinner and now have no idea what to cook.

I've got some vegan soups in the freezer for first course, no sweat there, but what can I make for a main and dessert that is reasonably impressive but not overly complicated (I'm a good cook but I don't want to spend hours slaving for this meal).

I can do curries and things but that seems a bit "vegan cliche"

Any ideas for vegan dinner party style food?

Thanks!

Shannafo

I don't know about a dinner party...but one of my favorite meals right now is spaghetti squash with veggie marinara. I'm not a vegan but I love this meal I serve it with roasted garlic french bread and a nice big salad. Dessert sorry can't help there I don't really eat desert. What about a sorbet or sherbet? Or maybe a grilled apple or pear dish. (they always look so good when I see them prepared) There's my two cents worth.

Smuterella

Thank you - i'm not sure if i'm able to get spaghetti squash here easily - though it is something I have always wanted to try!

BloodToilTearsandSweat

Feeding my vegan sister is always a challenge, but i find mexican food works well. I do a quesadilla with the following for the mix inside: i can red kidney beans, mashed with 1 cup salsa, oilves, cilantro, cumin and ancho chilli pepper. You could also add some jalapeños for a bit of a kick. Simple fold in half, and grill lightly then cut in 4 wedges. You can add vegan cheese inside or pass on that all together. Serve with a nice pico de gallo on the side and homemade guacamole. You can pass on the sour cream for her but add a dollop for you if you wish. A nice side salad can complete things. Cheers!

Zaffy01

I currently have been eating "vegan" for the past two months, and one of the things I love to do is stir fry. Get some random veggies (broccoli, zuchinni, carrots, onions(yum!), bell pepper, etc.) and stir fry them up and serve them over some brown rice and you are golden. One of my favorite sauces for the stir fry is Soy Vay Island Teriyaki. So Yummy!

For desert you should check out "vegan zombies" chocolate cake on youtube, it is SOO good. here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz2q1SZw7-Q he has some great recipes, you might want to poke around to see if you can come up with other dinner ideas here!

One last note, if you decide to go with the BloodToilTear's idea of quesadillas, be careful of the tortillas you buy, some flour tortillas are made with animal lard as their oil, so be sure to read the ingredients!

Good Luck!

relativistic

Just a quick mention, I doubt sorbet is vegan. Garlic bread probably has butter also.

Make sure you get vegan alternatives for any of those!

AnarchoGen

coconut ice cream is a GREAT dessert!

LMHinson15

Sorbet is vegan if it uses raw unbleached sugar. Are you making it from scratch? I've got a (ridiculously simple) recipe for basil-lime sorbet. The only "non-vegan" element would be the kind of sugar you use.

sweetiepie31612

If you're having a dinner party and there will be vegans and non-vegans, what about Kabobs? You could cook up a bunch of veggie kabobs for whoever wants them and then just add meat to some if you think people would complain about a completely vegan meal. Find a vegan friendly marinade and serve over brown rice or with a side salad.

lizz11

I think Mexican would be an easy route. I love black bean & sweet potato enchiladas, bean toastadas with a fresh pico de gallo, or lentil tacos.

Lasagna substituting tofu for ricotta is good. I especially like a tofu-cashew ricotta for extra richness.

The butternut squash macaroni and "cheese" on this site is really good: www.ohsheglows.com (I've made it without nutritional yeast and it was still tasty)

Edit: The blog I mentioned above also has tons of vegan dessert recipes.

jdelisle

Someone just asked me for a bunch of Vegan recipes so I'm going to copy and paste:

Breakfast - "Apple Pie Breakfast"
http://www.cookingwithjax.com/2011/01/apple-pie-breakfast.html

Lunch - "Carrot Soup" (use olive oil in place of butter).
http://www.cookingwithjax.com/2011/09/carrot-soup.html

Dinner - "Spaghetti Squash Parmesan" (leave off cheese or use a cheese substitute)
http://www.cookingwithjax.com/2011/10/spaghetti-squash-parmesan.html

Dessert/snack - "Pina ColadaPopsicles"
http://www.cookingwithjax.com/2011/02/pina-colada-popsicles_20.html

barefootmom2

veggie potpie Stew
(230 calories per serving, calls from fat: 10, total fat 1.5g, total card 45g)
1 small onion, diced medium
1/2lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c yellow split peas
3 c veggie broth
1.5 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tablespoons thyme (fresh)
1 c water
1/4 c flour
3/4 c frozen peas

Preheat a 4 qt pot over med-high heat. Saute onions in oil until translucent, add mushrooms, garlic, sage and salt and pepper and sauté 3 minutes (until mushrooms have released moisture). Add split peas and broth. Cover. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 5 mins, then add potatoes and carrots. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes until split peas are tender. Stir occasionally. In a measuring cup mix flour and water to dissolve. Add to the pan with the thyme, frozen peas. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes stirring often. Stew should be thick. Taste for salt and seasoning.

Can serve over sweet potato biscuits (recipe follows)-100 calories, 4.5g total fat, 15g carb
1 c mashed sweet potato
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2-3 tbsp cold water

Preheat oven to 400 and cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together sweet potato, oil. maple syrup, vinegar, and salt. Sift in flour, baking powder and nutmeg. Fold flour into sweet potato mixture. add to tbsp water and lightly knead until dough holds together (5-6 times). Don't over knead. Group dough in gold sized pieces onto baking sheet. bake for 12-15 minutes.


Also try

Curried Chickpeas & greens- SO GOOD. huge hit with my meat and potatoes husband and 3 year old
2 tsp EVOO
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
1 (12oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 pounds kale, stems removed and chopped finely
1 (28oz) canned chickpeas

Coat pan in oil over med-heat, add mustard seeds. Cover the pot and let the seeds pop for about a minute. Add another tsp oil and sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and sauté for a minute. Add the tomatoes, mix to deglaze the pot. After 3 minutes add curry, cumin, coriander, gram masala and salt. Add the kale in batches (it will cook down). Cover and let simmer for a minute until all kale is cooked down. Add chickpeas and cook about 5 more minutes. Taste for salt and serve. (can use with tofu instead of chickpeas).

I serve this with quinoa that is seasoned with garlic, onion and cumin.

amonkey794

Chocolatecoveredkatie.com

She does do more than desserts

tmarie2715

Feeding my vegan sister is always a challenge, but i find mexican food works well. I do a quesadilla with the following for the mix inside: i can red kidney beans, mashed with 1 cup salsa, oilves, cilantro, cumin and ancho chilli pepper. You could also add some jalapeños for a bit of a kick. Simple fold in half, and grill lightly then cut in 4 wedges. You can add vegan cheese inside or pass on that all together. Serve with a nice pico de gallo on the side and homemade guacamole. You can pass on the sour cream for her but add a dollop for you if you wish. A nice side salad can complete things. Cheers!

I heard vegan cheese melts weird... Is that a myth?

darkling_glory

Some vegan cheeses melt weird (some don't melt at all). For melty goodness, stick with Daiya brand. It's the best I've found so far.

What about something simple.

Veggies & Hummus for an appetizer
Green Salad
Pasta marinara w/ extra veggies (a lot of jarred sauces are vegan, just read the ingredients for one with no meat/cheese. I like Archer Farms brand from Target. Then just sautee up some zucchini and add that in with the past and sauce)
Garlic Bread (use Earth Balance vegan buttery spread, or stick with olive oil. Most Italian breads are vegan - check your ingredients)
Fruit Sorbet for dessert -- I really like Ciao Bella brand - blood orange or mango sorbet? Yum!

Easy Peasy!

Smuterella

Thanks everyone!

gingerb85

Greek/Lebanese!

Fattoush salad. Hummus. Baba ganoush. Mujaddara (lentils and rice with caramelized onions). Falafel. Baklava (made with agave nectar instead of honey) for dessert.

Or Mexican - guacamole, veggie fajitas, black bean soup, Mexican hot chocolate cookies for dessert.

hbunting86

Hmm falafel?

How about 5 bean mexican chilli?

Mexican chilli bean burgers

Roasted red pepper and tomato quinoa

Aubergine parmigiana - use vegan cheese as opposed to parmesan & mozzarella

Tomato, avocado, cucumber, spring onion and basil salad all finely diced, and then served in little gem lettuce cups

Mexican mushroom cups - flat mushrooms grilled, and topped with a mix of fresh tomato, mashed mixed beans and chilli, then placed back under the grill to warm

Baked sweet potato fries with salsa dip

Balsamic broccoli and cauliflower bake - part boil the broccoli and cauliflower and then place on baking sheet and sprinkle balsamic and vegetable oil to crisp up... delicious!

...just a few ideas :-)

bedoozled

I'm in LOVE with both of these meals right now, both of which are relatively easy, vegan, gluten-free, sugar free, soy-free etc. etc....good for anyone!

Vegan Bean Chili (I modify this recipe - http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2011/02/hearty-vegetarian-chili-with-polenta.html, by adding chipotle, cilantro, a little lime juice, tomato paste, and replacing the brown sugar with maple syrup. Haven't tried it yet, but I bet adding a dark beer would be pretty good too!) I usually serve it with these Quinoa Corn Muffins http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/03/black-quinoa-corn-muffins.html - if ingredients are hard to find, you can just use all corn meal instead of corn flour, or substitute all-purpose (GF or some other variety to keep it Gluten Free, if you feel like it!), and flax seeds are also okay instead of chia seeds - a negro modelo, maybe a salad, and you're good to go!

The second meal is Gluten Free/Vegan Pizzas - I use Bob's Red Mill's GF pizza mix (I think a lot of stores sell this, and it's turned out flawlessly whenever I make it), and again, substitute chia seeds or flax seeds for eggs. I add a little extra cornmeal to the base - I like the texture - and top with whatever sounds good! Most recently I did one homemade tomato sauce/black olives/basil/arugula, and one homemade kale pesto/sauteed leeks and mushrooms. Delicious!

Dessert wise, you could go with a flourless chocolate cake (or in a similar vein, chocolate truffles), fruit salad...there are also a bunch of tasty looking results here http://www.tastespotting.com/search/vegan+dessert/1 : ) Good luck!!

MichelleRenee13

Greek/Lebanese!

Fattoush salad. Hummus. Baba ganoush. Mujaddara (lentils and rice with caramelized onions). Falafel. Baklava (made with agave nectar instead of honey) for dessert.

Or Mexican - guacamole, veggie fajitas, black bean soup, Mexican hot chocolate cookies for dessert.

Spot on. My grandparents are from Lebanon and Lebanese cuisine has quite a few options for a vegan. Potato Kibbie is A+, although a bit labor intensive.