What's your best vegetarian dinner party recipe?

[OzFreeBird]

Hi all

I'm looking for a top quality vegetarian dinner party recipe, maybe something which doesn't completely encapsulate using beans in all their myriad of uses. I'm a bit tired of beans and pulses. I found a neat recipe for artichoke strudel in puff pastry which sounds heavenly and is very impressive to serve. Can anyone share a tried and tested recipe that is frugal yet will make your dinner guests leave with a smile on their face and a happy memory in their heart?

Thanking in advance

[tigo]

A friend of mine makes a vegetable saute when she has company. It is normally whatever veggies are in season. The first time she served it to me it had zuchhini, yellow squash, orange bell pepper, garlic, red onion, pitted and crushed kalmata olives. She sauted them all in butter and olive oil (if you are vegan just olive oil would work). The seasoning was sea salt, cracked black pepper, fresh basil and parsley and a small amount of lemon zest. After they were looking good she added a small can of crushed tomatoes and cooked it down a little. It was served over linguini and she had a bowl of grated parmesan available for those who wanted it. It was a beautiful dish and you could pretty much add whatever veggies you like.

[ritabelle]

I had a vegetarian guest at a barbecue once, and since the rest of the food was meat, meat, & more meat, I made him a chile reyeno (sp?), a poblano pepper that had a filling of corn & cheese, battered & fried. It was a big hit all around as the carnivores tried it as well.

I don't still have the recipe, but you could probably find one on allrecipes.com or other recipe sites.

[JerryG]

and veggie spaghetti. Make some homemade bread . . .

Round it out with some salad

[Darlene]

Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
Eggplant Parmesan


This is a fav, just omit the meat~

This is a nice refreshing main dish.Love the lemon & the garlic!

Fusilli with Broccoli & Beans
1 bunch broccoli (1 1/4lbs),cut into small pieces

1lb fusilli (tight twist) pasta

1T olive oil

3lg cloves garlic,minced (use less if you must)

1 can cannaloni (white kidney beans) drained & rinsed

2T fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp S&P

1tsp lemon zest

2 oz shredded prosciuto (I use ham)

1/2 c.(or less) grated parmesan cheese

~Cook pasta adding broccoli the last 2 min.Drain,reserving 1/2 c. of the cooking liquid. Place in serving bowl,keep warm. In same pan pasta was cooked (or separate pan while pasta is cooking) saute garlic in oil 'til softened. Add reserved liquid & remaining ingredients except cheese. Heat through.Add to pasta, add cheese & toss together.

[FrugalWitch]

Spaghetti or spinach lasagna

[Edna_E]

Chili Relleno Casserole: Get a sqaure cake pan, layer 4 long green chilis (can use frozen or canned if you don't have access to freshly roasted and peeled ones) side by side along the bottom, sprinkle with about a cup of grated cheese (Mexican Blend works well if you're being non-frugal and buying grated cheese, I'm too cheap and use Jack or Asadero), then repeat with another layer of chilis and another layer of cheese. Then mix the following together and pour over the top: 3 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup flour. Bake it at about 300 until it looks nicely tanned (like slightly pale biscuits). Makes 4 servings. If you use a non-stick pan, this comes out VERY clean, otherwise I'd grease and flour the pan first. This should double or quadruple well in a rectangular pan - basically, the chili should cover the pan in one layer, and just use the rest of the ingredients proportionally to the chili. Also, some people would salt the egg mixture slightly.

[Edna_E]

Oops! 1/2 cup milk.

[Neeley]

I love fillo(phyllo) dough casseroles. I just layer the dough, various vegies (cauliflower, squash, carrots, peppers, spinach etc...), cream cheese, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts,and shredded cheese. I just keep layering everything, but making sure the top layer and the bottom layer are the dough. I also add mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup sometimes. It really just depends on what is in the kitchen. I then bake according to the dough directions.

Vegetarian taco pies are good as well. I just substitute soy crumblers(instead of beef) made by Boca or Morningstar Farms.

[Nada.Leona]

If you can find it, there's a recipe in the Company's Coming Meatless cookbook (it's school-bus yellow) that has the BEST minestrone recipe in the world! Soooooo good -- I used to make it when I was younger. It was the only way my brother would eat beans or vegetables for a long time. The only difference between my version and the recipe is that I skip the canned green beans and I toss in a package of Ramen noodles (broken up small).

[OzFreeBird]

Thanks Ladies some great ideas there!!

Nada, I love your avatar, what an incredibly cool pic! We'll see that little pufferfish on the next Disney/Pixel Animation "Finding Nemo" pic, for sure! It put a smile on my face!

[Marie78]

I was thinking spinach or veggie lasagna. I think it's filling served with fresh bread/rolls and a salad.

[jinx]

I was vegetarian for many years. When ever I went to someones house for dinner, they served pasta with tomato sauce, some sort of parmesean, or a large salad of some type. Not thst I wasnt grateful that they accomodated my dietary restriction, but I also got tired of eating pastawith tomatoes Here is recipe for a pasta dish that is not a tomato sauce.

mushroom stroganoff with tofu and tempeh
serves 8 (it is easy to half)

1 pound of pasta of your choice
2tbs butter or canola oil
1 large white onion sliced thin
1 clove garlic minced
2 1/3 cup thinly sliced portabello/shitake mushrooms
2 1/3 cups sliced white button mushrooms
(all button mushrooms can be used if portabello/shitake are not available)
8 ounces tempeh cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 cups low fat sour cream or soy substitute
1 cup tofu
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs dry sherry
1tsp dry mustard
2 tsp dried dill
dash paprika

cook pasta according to package directions and keep warm
heat butter or oil in a large skillet
cook onion and garlic until soft and translucent
add mushrooms and tempeh and comntinue to cook
cook stirring until mushrooms are completely soft
remove from heat

In a blender or food processor, combine the sour cream or soy substitute
add tofu, soy sauce, sherry, and mustard.
blend until smooth
place into a double boiler, or a heavy sauce pan heat slowly until just warmed
pour sauce over past sprinkle with dill and paprika.
serve at once.

this is so good that non vegetarians will enjoy it.
Tempeh is found in the produce section of larger supermarkets.