Veganish dinner party just got unexpectedly bigger; what (else) to cook?
July 21, 2017 7:41 PM   Subscribe

I had a couple of last-minute RSVPs to a dinner party tomorrow, bringing the total up to a terrifying ten people. 2 of us are vegan, the rest are a mix of vegetarians and omnivores, but the menu I had planned is all vegan. Is this going to be enough food? And if it's not, what else can I serve that won't expand the budget and prep time too much?

This is the menu I had planned:

Guacamole and chips
Banh mi-inspired crostini with mushrooms (1-2 per person)
Tomato salad (6 servings)
Corn fritters (the recipe says it serves 2 but I can add more corn and make them small).

Curried sweet potatoes with lentils (6 servings)
Ratatouille (6 servings)
Rice (lots)

Peach pie

I am most concerned about the dessert - a tenth of a pie is too little, but I don't think I have time to bake an extra dessert. If I just get ice cream the vegans will be left out, and I don't want to have to make a special trip to the co-op (close to an hour of walking, in a heat wave) for vegan ice cream.

Please reassure me! Or give me recipe ideas that are large, cheap, easy, and not zucchini lasagna.
posted by Jeanne to Food & Drink (24 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
peach pie is a relatively time/labor intensive dessert... there are plenty of vegan desserts that take way less time that you could add if you have the ingredients around. this chocolate cake is all pantry staples.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:50 PM on July 21, 2017


Also, you can very easily increase the quantities on the sweet potato/lentil dish (if you bought more than was necessary for the 6 servings) and also I think if you serve the ratatouille over the rice, like make it clear it is meant to be served on top of it and not an entree on its own, you'll have plenty of food, no problem.

Your menu sounds delicious, but if you have time constraints, you can skip making the fritters and instead add the corn to the tomato salad. Corn goes wonderfully well in tomato salad. (If it is fresh corn you may need to parcook it a bit. Canned goes straight into the salad.)
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:54 PM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: I should mention I'm not looking to replace anything that I've already got planned, because all the shopping and some of the prep work is already done. It's more a question of whether I need to add anything (fast and easy) so that my guests won't be left hungry.
posted by Jeanne at 8:03 PM on July 21, 2017


Big salad with a lot of things (tomatoes, avocado, tempeh/smoked tofu, beans etc.) is a fine traditional menu-stretcher that will not require a lot of prep (beyond washing/spinning and a few choppings of things).
posted by rtha at 8:17 PM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


Wacky Cake is stupendously delicious, easy, vegan, and my chocoholic father's favorite cake that we make for his birthday with no frosting, just simple powdered sugar on top. You might have every ingredient already. Great with a cup of coffee. Some variations are individual microwave cakes or cupcakes or layered with jam and crunchy nuts in the middle, but you don't need any of that and the classic recipe is tried and true.

Can you make a second dip to go with your guacamole? Tapanade maybe, or a fruity salsa (peach salsa?) or hummus?

I don't know that you need to add too much of anything apart from additional dessert since not having a real slice of pie is super depressing.
posted by Mizu at 8:23 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Appetizers - add a course - great bread and olive oil, possibly with olives on the side. Maybe hummus too. That will fill them up. They can have it with dinner, too, if they want.

You can, of course, add whatever you want as "appetizer".

With the dessert: nuts! They will really fill it out. Also chocolate. You could also include some fancy drink(s) if you want more sweetness. You could also just serve tiny cups of chocolate pieces with nuts.

Another option, but only if you do have easy access: soy yogurt with granola/nuts on it.

Oh! You could also whip up some vegan cupcakes - the "your basic chocolate cupcake" recipe from "Vegan cupcakes take over the world" requires flour, cocoa, soy milk, a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar, and other normal cupcake stuff, if I recall correctly.
posted by amtho at 8:27 PM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


Could you make double the peach pie, or one pie and one galette or something similar? Convert to a couple of peach cakes? I don't know what else you can do about dessert that's not going to be weird.

When I'm worried about stretching food, I usually sneak an extra bread in - you could do naan to tie in with the curry, or a pizza bianca (that's my favorite recipe and it's pretty easy, but there are others).

My other preferred stretcher for vegan-friendly meals is a bean salad, however many beans you want to deal with. This three-bean salad has a sweet-sour dressing that looks like it'll be nice and bright alongside the other items on the plate.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:32 PM on July 21, 2017


Have you made the peach pie already? If not, maybe you could convert it to peach cobbler, which would be easier to portion out to ten people. Adding pecans for a pecan-peach cobbler would stretch it out, too.
posted by current resident at 9:04 PM on July 21, 2017 [5 favorites]


If you can obtain the necessary additional ingredients, maybe expand the guacamole and chips to nachos you make in giant piles on two baking sheets in your oven, one vegan and one non-vegan? Nachos with all the fixins can be quite hearty.

For dessert, if you have lots of rice already, the answer would seem to be rice pudding. If you've got enough bowls it can look fairly elegant with a sprinkle of fancy spice—cinnamon, mace, cardamom...
posted by XMLicious at 9:16 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


For dessert, just add to the pie. At my totally average grocery store in the middle of a deeply red state, you can get vegan ice cream, sorbet and mochi. The ice cream and mochi live in the weird health food freezer in natural foods, the sorbet lives in small containers next to the regular Ben and Jerry's. This is probably true in your neck of the woods, too- the sorbets, at least, I see in literally every grocery store I visit.
posted by charmedimsure at 9:28 PM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


It doesn't sound like enough food for 10 people to me. How about a quick pasta salad or some veggie pasta. Faster than lasagna
posted by gt2 at 11:00 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Add bread to your tomato salad to make panzanella!

For dessert: I agree with suggestions for dark chocolate, nuts, and maybe some dried fruits, too. Coconut cream sorbet is also easy, or -- even easier -- frozen banana ice cream.
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 11:26 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


I would think one pie is plenty for ten people, but I know several people who always turn down or split dessert. Still, even if everyone wants some it should cut into 1/12ths just fine and then everyone can have a slice.

For the rest, unless those are main-course size servings, I think you're looking at people trying to fill up with rice or chips because they haven't gotten quite enough of the main courses. So I'd up the amounts on at least two of the salad / ratatouille / lentils, just to make sure people have a chance to enjoy enough of those.
posted by Lady Li at 11:44 PM on July 21, 2017


Chana Masala is an option as well. Basiclly chickpeas, tomato (I use tomato sauce), onions and spices, served with naan bread. Can be served hot or cold, and you control the spiciness.

Since you don't want to walk in the heat, another option is to go to one of the websites that allows you to enter random ingredients from your pantry and get suggestions.

Do you have any fresh fruit on hand to add as a side to the pie? Or, since it is hot, can you make smoothie popsicles? (Get creative about the molds if you don't have dedicated molds)
posted by saucysault at 12:51 AM on July 22, 2017


I would add several different kinds of really good bread, and some more dips. Hummus is easy to make, just whiz up drained chickpeas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice and zest and a little salt and pepper in a blender.

Roast a tray of veggies to go with the main meal - zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, eggplant, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a shake of dried herbs (mixed is good, but anything like oregano will be fine) - but do extra and coarse chop or blend the extra into another dip. People will fill up on this.

I'd add roast cauliflower to the main meal too. It's delicious and easy to make. Also hot pita to go with the main meal. Again, it's filling, and cheap too.

You could also add a dessert option of chocolate-dipped strawberries. If you can find those really big Driscolls berries even better. Just melt some vegan chocolate in a bowl over hot water, dip the strawbs, put on a tray lined with greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge.
posted by essexjan at 12:58 AM on July 22, 2017 [1 favorite]


For an extra vegan dessert you can try avocado cheesecake. I had this last week and it was so good!
posted by Nilehorse at 1:04 AM on July 22, 2017


If you need ice cream, it wouldn't be thought of badly if you asked one of the people coming for dinner to pick up conventional ice cream and another of the attendees to pick up vegan ice cream on the way there.

I know I always ask if there's anything I can bring to a dinner party.
posted by sciencegeek at 3:22 AM on July 22, 2017 [10 favorites]


Are you dead-set on being the only one providing food, and on keeping the meal vegan? Or could you ask people to bring along some extra appetizer, side, or dessert? I bet some of them will be bringing wine or something as a host gift anyway, so you'd just be redirecting their impulse to something practical.
posted by oh yeah! at 3:27 AM on July 22, 2017 [3 favorites]


Seconding wacky cake for dessert-- I usually prefer it with a drizzle-like frosting, but YMMV.

While you have the oven on, no-knead bread dough is fantastic and easy, but may involve a ton of carbs.

Have any if the guests asked what they can bring?
posted by steady-state strawberry at 5:23 AM on July 22, 2017


* Set the guac and chips and some other non-time-intensive snacks out early. Easy ones would be a bowl of nuts and quality bread with an olive oil based dip. If you put that out an hour early, they might fill up on snacks before dinner time.

* Plate the entrees yourself. You can control the portion size, and you can make the plates look pretty enough to seem satisfying even if the portions are small.

* If you are feeling slightly guilty about the smaller portion sizes, remember that they are only small compared to American restaurants but this would be plenty of food in most other cultures.

* Serve a pre-dessert coffee or tea option. This will give people time for their food to settle and actually feel satisfyingly full.

* Add ice cream to the dessert. Some people might just want ice cream, some people might not want neither. It'll work out.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:33 AM on July 22, 2017 [2 favorites]


a fruit plate and a veggie tray set out beforehand will help the rest of the meal go further in helping people feel sated
posted by CarolynG at 7:01 AM on July 22, 2017


Yeah, 'last-minute RSVPs' means you're entirely within your rights to ask them to bring a side dish/nice bread/vegan ice cream to add to the meal. I would even go ahead and be very specific in what you'll be needing. Its the least they can do if they've invited themselves last minute to a dinner party (which I admit not everyone fully understands - people not getting how much work and planning goes into a dinner party is one of my pet peeves).
posted by aiglet at 8:46 AM on July 22, 2017 [2 favorites]


Favorite last minute desert: chilled slices of peeled oranges, frosted with mix of coconut flakes & sugar.
Amazingly good for the next to zero effort involved.
posted by cfraenkel at 11:21 AM on July 22, 2017


One vegan dessert that has been super popular at our potlucks is chocolate baguette. Just use yeast pizza dough that you make into baguettes and roll chocolate chunks up in the middle (i use TJ's dark chocolate). Nobody can resist fresh bread out of the oven and bonus, you can eat it walking around after dinner...perfect if you're still a tiny bit hungry but don't want to sit for another course...and you can just break off a piece your preferred size. Kids love this one too.
posted by The Toad at 1:29 PM on July 22, 2017


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