Serious menu help needed!
In about 3 weeks, I am having a large family gathering to celebrate my son's adoption. Right now, it'll be about 22 people - all omnis! (includes 8 kids, 1 is gluten-free).
Now, here are my dilemma's:
1) I have social anxiety and really hate having lots of people in my house.
2) There are a LOT of picky eaters in the family, including several who think vegan means bad food.
3) I need to prepare most if not all of the food the day before, since we have the adoption finalization in the morning and then everyone's coming over for lunch afterward.
What can I feed 22+ people, that I can prepare the day before, that won't scare omnis, and that will allow me to somewhat relax and not freak out while I have so many people over (meaning - the food can't require constant attention/fussy details).
PLEASE HELP ME!!
Fajita/taco/tostada bar (corn tortillas are g/f)
I second hanashi's idea of the taco/burrito bar. For the "meat," either crumbled tofu cooked with taco seasoning (the kind in packets from the store..check for milk and stuff! there are accidentally vegan ones out there though) or smushed up chickpeas with taco seasoning. Have that (maybe in a crockpot to keep it warm? or just keep it on the stove on low or something..dunno), sauteed peppers and onions, refried beans or black beans like at Chipotle, some rice, guacamole, salsas, tofu sour cream and all that jazz. You can ask the omnis to bring shredded cheese too so that they have stuff.
Mmm..I really want a burrito right now.
Or a sandwich bar could work too - if you have a crock pot you could make some mock sloppy joe or pulled pork mix, and lay out all kinds of lovely fixings and tell them that if they want real meat or something like that, bring it themselves.
A taco/burrito bar is a great idea. You could also make some enchiladas or something to go with it.
If you don't think your guests will like Mexican food though, you could do an assortment of salads and bread/crackers/veggies with various dips and spreads. Potato salad and pasta salad generally taste better the next day anyway, and you could do a big garden salad with a few dressings on the side. For the dips/spreads...hummus, rosemary white bean, bruschetta, warm spinach dip (they won't realize it's tofu), maybe corn chips with salsa/guacamole/bean dip for the gluten free person.
And of course an awesome dessert. Cookies, brownies, or cupcakes are easy to make ahead and serve.
Thanks a bunch for the suggestions, however, a Mexican bar won't work...I know my Mom for one does not eat Mexican food, and I think there are others in the family (esp the kids) who won't as well. I don't know, maybe I'll just do a bunch of make ahead salads. I really want to impress them with vegan food but I know I'll just be disappointed anyway so I may as well just make something easy. Thanks for your suggestions and help, I do appreciate it! :)
What about chili or some type of stew? You could throw everything in a crockpot and be done with it. Add some homemade bread or cornbread, a salad and a yummy dessert.
Congratulations on your son's adoption!
I've had good luck with having a soup bar when I needed to make food ahead of time. Make several kinds of soup that omnis are familair with and don't think of as "vegan food", they just think of as food. Tomato bisque, veggie chili, corn chowder, roasted root vegetable stew, wild mushroom and rice soup, butternut squash bisque, minestrone, that sort of thing. Soups taste better the next day anyway.
The day of you can reheat the soups on the stove or in crockpots, cut up a bunch of store bought baguettes and make a giant salad.
OMG, lebkuchen. How exciting! Congratulations! :)
I will brainstorm on food ideas & get back to you, but I wanted to say congrats! Do you have your son at home already? Where is he from, how old, what's his name, etc.? I'm excited for you!
Congratulations lebkuchen! I'm so happy for you!
If you can find vegan puff pastry where you live, you just thaw it out, cut it into strips(maybe an inch wide), brush w/ melted eb, sprinkle on whatever herbs you like, twist it up and bake. It takes 10 min. and they'll keep.
Maybe roasted veggie "fries" w/ a nice dip. Hummus or a white bean dip?
a sweet moroccan stew over rice?
a salad sprinkled w/ fruit or nuts?
Make your favorite dessert the day before. Good luck!
Thank you all - these are really great suggestions! Thanks JC! We've had him since May and the adoption finalization will be right before Thanksgiving. His name is Jackson, he's 8 months old, and he's a New Englander like his mommy and daddy! :)>>> He's such a little sweetheart, we just love him to bits and we can't wait to make it official.
***and one more vegan baby in the world*** :-D woot woot!
Mamaanna - I really like the soup bar idea. I was toying with the idea of making two big vats of ED&BV's sweet potato & lentil stew, and also veggie stew w/ dumplings from this site, along with cornbread, apps, and dessert. Maybe I'll make those in regular size batches and just make a couple of other soups. That way, all taste preferences should be covered! And homemade bread, too, good idea!
Nmpixie - I would luuurve a moroccan stew over rice but these omnis are NOT adventurous eaters like most of us vegans are. I can just see the reactions....raisins? In stew? Really? *scratching heads and looking for Campbell's chicken noodle in the can* LOL
CherBear - the crockpot..of course! Great suggestion. Maybe a bean soup in there!
Hanashi, PermanentGrin, Sharkie, PonyCakes! - thanks to you all, too! All great suggestions!
So, I just wanted to follow up and say that my party was a success!
I made the following:
Grandma's Cornbread Made Vegan (VegWeb)
Luscious Coconut Bread (VW)
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread (VW)
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (VCTOTW)
Apple Cardamom Cake with Lemon-Maple Icing (Vive Le Vegan)
Sweet Potato Lentil Chili (ED&BV)
One Wild Chick Soup! (ED&BV)
Lemon Chickpea Lentil Soup (ED&BV)
Cashew Crock Cheez (recipe from RI Vegan Awareness)
verdict: people LOVED the chili, the cake, the cupcakes, the cornbread, the wild chick soup, and the cheez! (at least, these were the recipes multiple people specifically complimented). Everything was tried and enjoyed, for the most part. Yay vegan food!
Of course, I was such a nervous wreck that I couldn't really enjoy the party, but now that it's over, I'm glad I conquered my fear of entertaining. I had 23 people in my house at one time and I have major social anxiety. It was a big accomplishment for me!
And now my sweet little boy is now officially, legally my son! Yay!
That's such great news! Yay! Congrats again on the adoption of your son! So glad everyone loved to food, too. :)
mazel tov! i love some of the ideas suggested in this thread--- and i just might try a few for a gathering i'm attending this saturday with nonveg*ns!
Wow! What a feast. You party sounded like such a success; congratulations!
You really outdid yourself with the spread of food; how could anyone have complained about all of your HOMEMADE cooking?! Most people offer store bought foods at parties, which makes your party extra special!
WOW! you made soo much. looks amazing, too! congrats!
Awww, thanks everyone for your sweet comments :) Yeah, I totally made too much food and ended up sending leftovers home with my family! I always worry there won't be enough food...but better too much than not enough, I guess. I wouldn't want to feed that whole vegans-don't-eat-anything stereotype! LOL
lebkuchen. That's great! Congratulations on a successful feast. That menu blows me away. Was there one or two winning dishes that really stood out? I'm sure they were all fabulous.
lebkuchen. That's great! Congratulations on a successful feast. That menu blows me away. Was there one or two winning dishes that really stood out? I'm sure they were all fabulous.
I would have to say, the Sweet Potato Lentil Chili was the most praised and enjoyed dish (as it had the fewest leftovers). I also received many compliments on the Apple Cardamom Cake...people especially liked the frosting, which was great and totally unexpected because:
1) the frosting is a silken-tofu based frosting specifically designed to be lowfat/low sugar; and
2) I almost chucked the frosting when I made it because it called for agar powder and I only had flakes and the flakes didn't dissolve AT ALL and the frosting was almost jelly-like, AND it smelled like I burned the sugar when I caramelized it! But I decided to cool it, then blend it in my Vita-Mix before passing judgment on it. Thankfully, it seemed OK but I was still REALLY nervous about it! *whew!*
I seriously couldn't believe it when my processed-food-addicted, super-picky-eater older brother came up to me and told me how much he loved the cake, especially the frosting! I almost fainted! :)
BTW, I doubled the cake recipe to make a 9" round layer cake...and you guys would laugh, because this cake was MONSTROUS. I mean, it must have stood about 9 inches tall! This doubled cake could easily have served 16 people!! LOL Next time, I'll just do the one layer :)