Vegetarians or friends of vegetarians - what do you serve at a party?

Question

My husband and I are planning to throw a joint thank you for all our friends who helped us move/come see our new house party. Several friends are vegetarians (not vegans - they eat dairy products and fish) and I want to give them something to eat besides veggies and dip, but my mind is blank.

Vegetarians, what is your "wish list" for foods at parties (your food, not other peoples ;)?

Anyone else, any ideas of what I can serve? Like I said, it's a thank you party, so I don't want to serve boring food.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

EDITED TO ADD:

I'm not sure what my friends' deal is, but they always described themselves as vegetarians. I just recently found out that they eat sashimi (sushi), and to my knowledge that is the only meat they eat.

Thanks everyone! Keep 'em coming!

Answer 1

The Good thing is that most of the foods you make for vegetarians can be served to everyone as opposed to the other way around if your foods are meat based.

Shrimp Cocktail
Cheese Quesadillas
Vegetable Lasagna
Salad
Garlic Bread
Apple or blueberry pie

Now I'm hungry!!!!!

Answer 2

When I do dinners for veg friends, I usually make pasta (because it's easy to make a lot of) with alfredo sauce and serve grilled chicken that meat eaters can add on top of the sauce. You can buy the jarred alfredo, but I make a semi-fake that's super easy. Just saute a few cloves of chopped garlic in a little butter, then add a few cups of heavy cream (enough to coat the amount of pasta you use) and heat until almost boiling. Add salt & pepper to taste, then slowly sprinkle shredded parmesan while stirring. Keep adding the parmesan until you get the consistency you want. It should be about the consistency of pancake batter. Toss with the pasta and serve immediately. (it doesn't reheat well)
There are lots of other appetizers other than veggies & dip you can serve, like hummus and tortilla roll-ups and ricotta turnovers with marinara. A good idea would be to check out some vegetarian cookbooks at your local library.

Answer 3

Actually, hummus and veggies are simple and quick. I also think chips and salsa could work. Since your vegetarian friends eat dairy, you can mix some salsa with softened cream cheese. That's really good!
You could also serve fruit "kabobs".
You also might want to look into some pre-made veggie meatballs and make some Swedish ones. That's a crowd pleaser.
Good luck!

Oh btw- your vegetarian friends who "eat fish" are not real vegetarians if they eat the flesh of an animal. Now you don't have to worry! lol.

Answer 4

A nice beany stew would go lovely with your mash and carrots. I would include something green too like broccoli (on the side) or spinach (in the stew). To make a really simple beany stew, first fry some onion, garlic, peppers and carrots in a big pan, add veg stock, tomato puree, and a can or two (you don't say how many you are catering for) of mixed beans. Season to taste. Or you could make it into a bean shepherd's pie and have the mash as your topping. Mmmmmmmmm what's for pudding?? :-)

Answer 5

It seems every couple I know has one person who is a vegetarian--at first the thought of having a dinner party for all of these people was daunting, I was sure someone would be disappointed, but it really is as simple as a regular dinner party. One of my favorite recipes is broccoli-carrot lasagna (found at www.cookinglight.com). The dish is hearty enough to be eaten as an entree, however, if you want to grill chicken or fish to go along with it, smaller pieces of lasagna can be given to the carnivores in the crowd as a side dish.

Answer 6

First off..I wanted to clarify that vegetarians don't eat fish. Fish are animals and vegetarians do not eat animals. The definition for vegetarian is reliable dictionaries has been the same for a hundred years...simply put..vegetarians avoid the flesh and slaughter house by-products of all animals.

The following link is straight from The Vegetarian Society regarding fish: http://www.vegsoc.org/fish/

Vegetarians eat alot more then veggies. We eat pasta and other grains, fruit, beans and other legumes and so much more. I usually serve lasagna or baked ziti at a party (with vegetarian friendly cheese like Horizon brand that contains no animal rennet), a tossed salad, crusty bread.

Answer 7

just about anything sans meat works really. My mom is vegetarian and she loves cheese enchiladas, portobello mushrooms, lasagna, fruit salad, whatever. You're thinking way too hard about it. Seasoned and grilled portobello mushrooms, peppers, and onions are SO great. I might even make them for myself tomorrow.

Answer 8

veggie pizza,, veggie lasagna... thats a good one.. just make them like the regular, and instead of meat just add a few extra veg..
pita bread an hummous.. there a a millian veg recipes out there. just make a pretty food selection and everyone will be happy that you were thinking of themm.. and be ready to answer any ingredieants for those who are vegan....

Answer 9

my best friend is a vegetarian....if they like fish, have shrimp cocktails as an appetiser and also salads are always good-pasta salads, crab salads, stuff like that...then, get veggie burgers...there always good....you can also get veggie meat balls and make a no-meat tomatoe sauce...thats REALLY good from experience...rices are good....make a paella with yellow rice and all kinds of seafood!!(and im not even a vegetarian)!!! BEst of Luck!!!!

Answer 10

They both are Perfect for your health. If you eat both, you're better off. But yea, I had choose fruits because they taste better.