"Fancy" vegan foods?
Posted by Anonymous on Mar 11, 2006 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
My friend decided she really wanted to have a dinner party. Unfortunately she can't cook, so while it's her party, the food is pretty much the responsibility of me and my boyfriend, the only two people in our group who know what the word "saute" means lol
So I was wondering if anyone know of some sure-to-impress vegan recipes? Especially stuff that omnis will like too.
Thanks so much :)
Monica
Wraps usually go over well.
Get some torillas and lettuce, veggies, vegan cream cheese, whatever and roll them tightly and then slice so you have bite sized snacks.
I would say go with making something easy like veggie chillie with wraps and stuff so that everyone can dig in and pick up what they want, if you do it with TVp for the omni's. or maybe a big roast? like marinaded tempeh (i like beer&mustard) and some steamed veg with a good sauce cos then you can do most of the work in advance too.
you could make a really good dessert, maybe some fruit kantens/jellies or a big gateaux-y cake.
in terms of nibbles, maybe some crudite and dips and some bruschetta? easy stuff again for advance prep too. also stuff that your friend can help with and learn about if she's interested?
last time i made a proper big dinner i did gazpacho soup, nut roast with 4 veg, fruit kantens with a peachy sauce and a sticky ginger cake for anyone who had space afteer that. it was awesome and it was easy cos most of it i could make ahead so i could actually talk to the folk who came over, was nice :) hope this helps.
I had a dinner party a few weeks ago and we served a "tapas" style buffet. We had a huge platter w/ olives, various seasoned nuts (tamari cahews and pistacios, and pumpkin seeds, roasted red peppers in olive oil, marinated cippolini onions, roasted garlic, hummus- 3 kinds-(green onion, red pepper, and kalamata olive), roasted baby carrots, and eggplant. We also had chips and salsas, pita chips and crusty bread and bread sticks. With all this, and a large salad and some wine, everyone was happy!
I highly recommend the chocolate turtle truffle torte on this site. It will impress ANYONE! Serving an antipasti platter is also a great idea. Olives, hummus, tapenade, baba ganouj, etc. with pita crisps, crostini, baguette rounds etc. will keep everyone happy. Also, it doesn't include too much prep work. Hope you have a good time!
I don't have any fancy ideas right now (brain is tired) but if you are interested in a cookbook, you might want to look at The Voluptuous Vegan. It's quite fancy, but the recipes are easy enough for the average cook, I think.
I haven't tried too many recipes yet-- only a few desserts, but they're quite good! And look really fancy.
Oh yes, the voluptuous vegan is one of my favorite vegan cookbooks. Of course, while my husband loves every dish I've made from that he still whines when he sees that book on the kitchen counter b/c it almost always means a lot of dishes afterwards. Anything from that book is sure to be fancy and sure to please everyone!
YES...Voluptuous Vegan is the way to go!
There are risotto recipes that are made with veg broth and/or wine without cheese. Grilled portobellos work well, as do many Asian dishes.
Or, you could make Mexican, with veg chili, guacamole, salsa, etc.
Have fun.