Dinner party help!!!

ButterflyGirl23

Hi

I am planning a dinner party for some of my work colleagues. It will be the first time they have tasted my cooking so I am a bit nervous! Most of them are vegetarians and the ones that aren't love veggie food.

My problem is that I can't come up with a good menu! I have been through all my recipe books twice but I can't make a decision. I only know what to do for dessert, chocolate of course.

Can someone please give me suggestions for a starter and maincourse?

Thanks!

Desert Rose

Her is an idea: A humus dip with pita bread and vegetable sticks (carrot, celery, peppers, cucumber and cherry tomatoes -to give the plate more colour) for starters and maybe a vegetarian stir fry with the option of noodles or rice. Not sure if it is a good combo though..

sweet-rasmus

Prehaps a light soup to start and a good lasagne is great as a main course, with salads. I'd just go with whatever my favourite food was

Desert Rose

As Sweet Rasmus mentioned Lasagna is also a good idea, if you don't want to use veg you can use soya mince. You can find it in the health food stores. With the right spices, herbs and sauce it tastes good!

Lornen

If you're looking for a simple enough pasta based main that doesn't rely on faux meat products, I would recommend Spinach and Ricotta Canneloni!
Super tasty and canneloni tubes are available in most supermarkets


You could also serve an Italian styled anti pasto dish for starters. You can toast some bread and serve with some olives, feta, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and loads of other tasty nibbles

Mary-Ellen

I'd second spinach and ricotta lasagne/canelloni Hmmmmmm :pac:
I use a variation of this recipe:
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/5530/easy-one-step-spinach-lasagne.aspx

I made this lately too, mushroom risotto:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/risotto/grilled-mushroom-risotto
It turned out great could be a starter or main
I'm not great for following recipies think I used dried porcini, portabello and button mushrooms.

I make this mushroom masala too (indian curry)
http://www.indianrelish.com/mushroom/mushroom-masala.html
and you could do samosas or onion bhajis with dips for a starter

Best of luck with the cooking

Absurdum

Risottos can work well, but they are very time consuming to cook and can look a little bland on their own, I've cooked this one a few times and it's delicious:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roastedbutternutsqua_67878
obviously using vegan butter and parmesan, serve with a couple of side dishes such as roasty potatoes and garlic bread and it's really nice.

schemingbohemia

This is an oven baked risotto from Delia Smith
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/italian/oven-baked-wild-mushroom-risotto.html
Could be worth trying - though with mushrooms it might be worth checking with your guests as some people hate them - i was going to cook the above for my mates until I found out one of them can't eat mushies.

The main thing would be to make things easy on yourself so have stuff that can be prepared in advance or that you can chuck into the oven while you prepare other stuff.

This soup could be done in advance and the addition of the parsnip crisps on top would make it look good
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/what-should-you-be-cooking-this-month/curried-parsnip-and-apple-soup-with-parsnip-crisps.html

ButterflyGirl23

Wow there is some really good ideas here!
I have some lasagne and risotto recipes so I will look at them and also love the dip idea with the veggies. I have a lovely platter dish that I can put them on!

What salads best go with a lasagne? I was thinking of a simple mixed leaf salad tossed in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also would I need anything else like garlic bread or a more hearthy salad?

Lornen

ButterflyGirl23 wrote: »

Wow there is some really good ideas here!
I have some lasagne and risotto recipes so I will look at them and also love the dip idea with the veggies. I have a lovely platter dish that I can put them on!

What salads best go with a lasagne? I was thinking of a simple mixed leaf salad tossed in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also would I need anything else like garlic bread or a more hearthy salad?

Ina Garten has a great recipe for garlic bread, she uses a ciabatta loaf and it's gorgeous.

It's a little bit different from the usual baguette garlic bread.

http://www.food.com/recipe/garlic-ciabatta-bread-ina-garten-barefoot-contessa-back-to-basi-412726

Desert Rose

I think Greek salad can go nicely with lasagna, It usually has tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, (some people add a little bit of lettuce or peppers or even onions) and then oregano and olive oil.

Desert Rose

... but then again if you make the veg plater you don't want the same veg in your salad so mixed leaf salad as you mentioned might be the better idea!

sweet-rasmus

ButterflyGirl23 wrote: »

What salads best go with a lasagne? I was thinking of a simple mixed leaf salad tossed in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also would I need anything else like garlic bread or a more hearthy salad?

Ah yes, I've always found that lettuce is simply delicious with lasagne! You can't go wrong with a mixed leaf salad

Now I really want to make a lasagne to enjoy