Menu help!

W

wekick

Well-known member
Friends are coming for dinner, and one of them is a vegetarian. I'm curious as to what route you all take, in this case: an all-veg meal, a meal where the meat-eaters can add on grilled chicken (for example), or what?

(I'm set on doing three kinds of cold salads (not sure why 3) that people can choose from, since it's very warm, here, but I don't know whether to add meat to one...

Argh. Maybe you wise ones can solve this for me. Or at least make me stop obsessing about it. smileys/wink.gif Thanks in advance!

 
What I would do.....

would be to keep the salads meat-free, and serve the grilled chicken on the side. That way, folks can add the meat or not, as they like and you aren't limiting which salads the vegetarians will eat.
If one of the salads has some beans or grains, then there will be protein for all.
I'm a fan of lentil or chick pea salads for a vegetarian meal.

 
I would suggest one steak salad...

We LOVE steak salad! Very simple...mixed baby greens, ROASTED sweet red pepper sliced, avocado sliced, and red onion.. lightly tossed (not too much dressing) in a spicy balsamic dressing. Plate the greens and lay slices of rare grilled steak ~ either sirloin or rib-eye ~ over the top. Sprinkle with blue cheese. So good!

 
I agree... nice idea. Maybe chicken made a couple of different ways?...

American-style chicken salad, Mexican chicken (salsa, black beans, corn, etc.), Greek chicken (feta, walnuts, lemon), chicken with avocados and orange segments, etc. Less work for you, more choices for them?

Hot or cold, your choice - just roast a chicken or two and make the different entries from it. Have fun!

 
How many people are coming, Erin? That will point you in the right direction

I have a rule that I follow. For a sit-down dinner where I am serving (as opposed to a buffet) I never, ever make foods that every guest cannot eat. If someone is a vegetarian (and I have had many vegetarian guests over the years), I prepare lovely, tasty food that everyone will enjoy without meat. I simply do not think that not serving meat denies meat-eaters at all.

Is your vegetarian a fish/seafood eater? If so, work around that.

If you are doing a buffet of salads for several people you could put out a platter of chicken or beef or whatever goes with the salads you are creating if you want to- having it on the side at a buffet gives everyone the choice.

 
Thanks, all >>

for the great ideas; I would love to do a steak salad or grilled chicken salad, but I keep coming back to CathyZ's point: why exclude the vegetarian from any of the dishes?

Since there are only 2 people coming, and dinner here is not a huge meal, I think I can do roasted little potatoes, plus a salad with lots of beans and vegetables, with whole grains for protein, and no one will miss the meat. (Except maybe me.) smileys/wink.gif

Thanks for the suggestions!

 
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