Dinner for friends
Posted by Dafodil on Oct 02, 2006 · Member since Dec 2005 · 72 posts
Hi all! I'm having a friend and her (very picky) 3 year old daughter over for dinner on Wednesday night. My friend is what I would call a "plain palatte" ie, everything very familiar, nothing "fancy" or too "ethnic". Very frustrating to cook for, but nevertheless, they are coming over and I am in a quandry over what to serve. I was going to try to keep it totally vegan, except alot of vegan foods that aren't junk foods are unfamiliar to them. They are not vegetarian or anything. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as what to serve? I'm serious when I say that they are plain eaters...they won't even eat rice unless its white! ::)
try the simply lovely quinoa recipe from The Garden of Vegan
Is lasagna too ethnic? lol. I use the spinach casserole recipe from here as a filling for lasagna. I also slice zucchini pretty thin and add it as a layer. To me with lasagna, the richness of the tomato sauce, and spices cover up the fact I'm using tofu instead of ricotta cheese, and whole wheat noodles instead of regular etc. Serve it with a side veggie( I would suggest garlic roasted asparagus with olive oil and red pepper slivers but that's just me) and a salad, or some homemade garlic bread and well, hell you serve that and I'll be there...what time Wednesday? :P
How about vegetable soup? Use frozen (ie recognizable and familiar)veggies, vegetable broth, a little bay leaf...
Or vegan chili using TVP which looks like ground meat but isn't...familiar for them, vegan for you. And most people like chili.
Thanks for your suggestions....I think I am going to go w/ plain pasta w/ tomato sauce or pizza. Tired of worrying about it. Thanks again! :)
For picky kids and childish adults, I like to steam some very mundane but colorful veggies (carrots, beets--which not all kids like) cut into pretty flower shapes with a metal Japanese vegetable cutter. Do some cucumbers the same way, and you've got finger food to entertain little hands. Of course, if you don't have cutters like that, you can score long V shapes down the sides at even intervals and then slice them-- voila, stars or petally flowers!
Pasta is a GREAT choice for kids-- I think you made the right choice. Add bread and some homemade pesto to dip it in, and you've impressed your friend with your elegance as well as giving her something she'll eat. I'd skip the pine nuts and sub them with something less allergenic, just in case (since the child is young and the mommy is timid.)
Another thought, if you do decide to go with pasta may I suggest a veggie pasta. Where I live we have a wide variety of brands that are 100% Vegan and they come in all kinds of kid enticing shapes. That's what I make for my nephew, he loves all the colors, and funny shapes, can't tell a difference from the plain ol pasta, and he gets a few extra vitamins. That way you feel good about the food you are serving, the 3 y/o is happy and maybe mom won't be too suspicious of the non white pasta.
I also agree with Duckalucky about the bread and a dipping sauce, if your friend's child is anything like my nephew they LOVE to dunk foods, although I might serve her a marinara sauce, I don't know how 3y/o's take to pesto :-\
Maybe some southern comfort foods? The pasta made me think of a cold pasta salad; I dont know if that isnt plain to some people but a bowl of chili, a slice of corn bread and some pasta salad on the side sounds like a great meal. All three are things I miss at non-veg BBQs :( I wish for once I didnt have to cook all my own food.. sigh. lol. Good luck though!! Little elbow pasta would be great for the kids and I agree on the colored veggie pasta.