Suggestions for a starter and main course for a vegetarian

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Originally Posted by PanchoHambre

I am an unrepentant Carniviore but I have many veggie friends and have lived with a few. My suggestion is to nail down the dinner you want to make for the larger group then determine the veggie dishes from those flavors so there is crossover in the ingredients and the meal seems consistant. That way everybody feels that they are sharing the same meal and one person does not feel they are getting something totally different. It is also nice to have some crossover side dishes. Possibly one of the side dishes for the main meal becomes the platform for the vegetarian entre served alongside it. this way the one veggie in the group is included in the experience of the whole meal.

I love this idea. There are a host of ideas which can be used for this, such as a pilaf of seasoned rice and lamb, leaving out the lamb in the one dish and maybe substituting saute'd portabello mushrooms. You can make a host of pasta dishes that have meat added after the other ingredients. Soups are great for this as well. Just start with a vegetable stock. You could massage such classics as paella, or lasagna, spaghetti, stews, salads, etc.

You could even make hamburgers if you wanted, and substitute large portabella caps for the burger for the vegetarian.

But as you are going to use salmon, you might prepare salmon hors-douvres and make some kind of avocado version for the veggie person.

You really have almost limitless possibilities.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

[GotGarlic]

I participated in a progressive dinner earlier this year that included several vegetarians as guests. For appetizers, I made all-veg Thai spring rolls with peanut sauce, roasted red and yellow peppers with goat cheese on crostini, and tzatziki with pita chips. The main dish was spinach manicotti with salad and focaccia - it was delicious and filling.

[kitchenelf]

I was going to suggest the potatoes Dauphinois, but I see you already mentioned that. I like to put, right in the middle, a layer of sliced tomatoes and gruyere.

I had the same delimma one year when I cooked for a friend's business Christmas dinner. Have a beautiful salad that will be "vegetarian approved" and a few sides. He was very happy eating everything but. It wasn't a perfectly balanced meal, but, it was only one meal.

[Fearless Kitchen]

If you're looking to serve the same thing to everyone:

A vegetable lasagne is always popular. My sister served us one at Christmas that everyone really liked. I think she got the recipe from Family Circle.

Savory pies are also good choices that can even be healthy, depending on the crust one uses (mine are rarely that healthy...) Greek tradition abounds with variations on greens-and-cheese pies. I like a hortopita with dandelion greens - it's something a little different but very tasty.

And if you want something a little richer, I can point you to a handful of medieval savory pie recipes that I made as part of a buffet dinner back in October. They all went over very well. Let me know - I don't want to spam the list.