A vegetarian guest is coming to my dinner party - what can I cook?

You are inviting guests to an upcoming dinner party and you do the courteous thing by asking the people if there's any food they don't like or can't tolerate. One person gets back to you and says they're completely vegetarian. Lucky you asked don't you think?

Many meat-eaters I have met have said they find vegetarian food bland and boring but this is far from the truth. You can create a wonderful menu and the meat-eaters won't even realize that they have eaten entirely vegetarian food.

You do have a couple of choices though. Firstly, if you're really keen on a particular dish you could create a vegetarian option. For example, if you're cooking a meat lasagna, you could also prepare a smaller vegetarian lasagna dish and your guests won't even realize they are eating different dishes.

In this case, it's a good idea to reassure your vegetarian guest that you are doing this so they know you have catered to their needs so they can completely relax and enjoy their meal without trepidation.

An important point to remember when having a vegetarian guest to dinner is that you should not cook the vegetarian food in the same oil that you have just cooked a meat dish in first - do the reverse.

The other option of course is to cook an entirely vegetarian meal and my suggestion is to combine a theme with this idea. In this case I will use an Italian theme as an example.

As your guest arrive you can serve some hors devours - like crackers and eggplant dip or slices of tomato with mozzarella and basil layered on top.

For a starter you could serve an eggplant parmigiana antipasto dish - followed by a vegetarian lasagna or a pasta with a pesto or Napolitana sauce. The great thing about eggplants (the French name is aubergine) is that they are known to be a satisfying substitute for meat with their lovely chunky texture. For dessert you could serve some Tiramusu which is the most recognized Italian cake or something as simple as pre bought gelato.

Want some great vegetarian recipes? Try this cook book:



Stay tuned for more dinner party ideas soon.

In the meantime you might like to visit my amazon.com dinner party store.

Randa
The Hostess with the Mostess