Vegetarians invited themselves for Christmas- got beef ordered!

[EdenFlower]

So, my vegetarian relatives and asked if they can join us for Christmas? I have it planned- joint of beef on order, I've perfected my roast potatoes and like them cooked in beef dripping, likewise the yorkshire pudding, my sprout recipe is cooked with pancetta, starter is parma ham and figs...and so on! Grrr! Now everything will need to adapted to be veggie because I'm not doing two versions of everything. It was already adapted to be gluten free for MIL but now two more special diet guests is a push.

Would it be rude to ask them to bring their own veggie options with them- nut roast and vegetarian gravy or whatever it is they eat?

Actually I forgot, the OP is having beef.

As you were.

@YouJustFoldItIn

Everything having the same flavour - beef dripping - will make a meal bland.

Go on then. How many different types and flavours of fat will you be using to cook your roast potatoes and Yorkshire puds?

And my sprouts, and my main, and my starter?

Loads.

@scottishnames

Everyone Please stop going on about nut roasts. That's NOT what most vegetarians like. Nor do many of us like 'welingtons' - stuff encased in soggy pastry. Pastry doesn't make anything festive; it's just a fatty, stodgy filler.

Vegetarians LIKE vegetables. If you want to add fat - eg to roast potatoes - then a good quality olive oil is - to very many of us - a much greater treat than dripping would be to you. and lighter, and healthier, and more ecological ...

I'm a vegetarian of many years standing and love a mushroom wellington.

OP could you have an honest conversation with them- say the beef & ham are ordered, the menu was sorted and you’re at a loss with a veg Christmas dinner? Ask them to either give you a recipe or at least point you in the right direction, or bring their own if they’d prefer?

Were I them I'd offer to bring my own main dish. Not veg and stuff.

Get a pre-made vegan or vegetarian menu from M&S or similar. Explain them that you are used to cook with meat and most of the stuff meets animal fat at some stage of cooking so you feel uncomfortable cooking something extra for the risk of being contaminated.

Finding it funny was what was most objectionable.

Exactly. Nasty people, I’ve known lots like it.

I wish people wouldn’t lump all vegetarians into one bunch. We have different tastes?

I would always offer to bring my own. Often, other people's idea of a veggie alternative is a bit odd or just something else that I'd prefer not to eat. I'm sure they won't mind.

Something like this looks relatively quick and easy to make and is freezable: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cranberry-lentil-bake

Or the wellington idea mentioned upthread is a good one!

I do love a nut roast though and when I can be arsed to make it, the meat eaters also have a bit.

@mewkins

I would always offer to bring my own. Often, other people's idea of a veggie alternative is a bit odd or just something else that I'd prefer not to eat. I'm sure they won't mind.

Yes! I’ve seen macaroni cheese and lasagne suggested on this thread.

I’d be happy to just not eat the meat.

Quorn has a new beef roast entree. You may find the meat-eaters get a kick out of tasting both!

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/310164654

[quote MattDamon]Quorn has a new beef roast entree. You may find the meat-eaters get a kick out of tasting both!

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/310164654[/quote]
Check they eat quorn. It really doesn’t agree with some people.

I think the op said they don’t like fake meat.

@Ionlydomassiveones

Are we still banging on about nut roasts for vegetarians? Ugh. News flash - vegetarianism has moved on since the 1970s. Just because supermarkets sell them doesn’t mean vegetarians actually want or like them.

I LOVE nut roast.

@Displayname

How about messaging and saying something along the lines of:

‘So thrilled to have you here for Xmas, we are having this this and this, I’m terrible at thinking of Xmas veggie options (along with oven space!), - have you got any suggestions as to what you’d like to eat?’

Obviously if you think they’ll just reply with a long list of everything they love to eat and expect you to cook then don’t send that!

that's a good idea, they might spontaneously offer! my MIL asked me to bring my own (bought) nut roast last time she hosted. Too hard to pick one up in sainsburys I guess.

but only reading this thread do I realise that was a tad ..... unwelcoming.

There are loads of really good butternut squash recipes, baked/roasted with olive oil and garlic, a few chilli flakes, stuffed with things like bulgar, halloumi or feta, dried fruits, quinoa and spices. I think you could make that taste quite Christmassy and she'll have plenty of sides to eat with the cauli cheese and other veg.

@YouJustFoldItIn, are you a vegetarian?

Or an individual tart of caramelized red onions and goats cheese. You can make it and freeze it in advance.

Mushroom bourgignon pie made with red wine and a flaky pastry lid.

Being vegan myself I would happily take my own meal and I would not expect the host to go out their way for me

I doubt they will be offended if you tell them your entire dinner is cooked in dripping lol

Thank goodness, Laetitia someone else who's trying to explain that vegetarian Christmases do not have to feature meat substitutes.

There are so many, many delicious vegetarian dishes. Just look at recipes by Ottolenghi or Nigel Slater (free, online) for fancy examples. But really, as Laetitia says, something good and plain and "tasting of itself" as the famous cookery phrase goes is so much, much nicer than fake anyting, or than nibbling the bits round an over-meat-filled Christmas dinner.

@YouJustFoldItIn, are you a vegetarian?

No but i do enjoy lots of veggie food and I try to eat less meat than I used to.

Rubbish. I’ve already said I would forgive an honest mistake. I would want to know.

Who are you forgiving? The poster didn't serve the chips or misrepresent them as being vegetarian. You'd forgive yourself maybe?

I love nut roast, but that's besides the point.

I wouldn't mind in the slightest if someone asked me to bring my own veggie stuff, but I would be a bit perplexed if they meant my main course, all vegetables, starter, dessert and potatoes!