Please critique my menu

[MrsArbuthnot]

Friends for dinner on Saturday. I love cooking so happy to put in the effort. Mix of vegetarians and omivores. Prefer not to do a dish only for vegetarians, all dishes on table help yourself style.

Starter
Twice baked soufflé
Roasted garlic tomatoes
? Salad

Homemade bread ? Focaccia

Chicken cooked in Sherry and cream sauce with shallots and tarragon

Spinach and ricotta puff pastry pinwheels

Green beans with almonds

Roasted butternut squash

Chocolate mousse with cherries in kirsch

? Maybe cheesecake as well.

@SoupDragon I have filo in the freezer, so might need have to be that if I can't get puff.

I would personally swap out the roasted butternut squash for sweet potato, or regular potato.. I can’t remember the name of them but the little roasted squares of them roast in some garlic oil with some herbs?

@SoupDragon

Prefer not to do a dish only for vegetarians, all dishes on table help yourself style.

The problem with this is that the omnivores often eat all the vegetarian stuff leaving nothing for the vegetarians.

I had planned to cook enough for everyone

I think it sounds great. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m reading it from a vegetarian perspective, and it would feel a bit odd — a lot of cheese/dairy from the soufflé starter, ricotta pinwheels, mousse and possibly cheesecake, and yes, also rather dry. I think the pinwheels are essentially another starter. It looks like not a lot of effort for the vegetarians. I know you say you don’t want to make a separate main course for vegetarians, and that is rather what it looks like.

@MrsArbuthnot do you have room for one more?! It sounds lovely. I think it's a good idea to switch the veggie option as pp have said. There is a lot of cheese, especially if you do cheesecake as well. A meringue dessert could bring a bit of crunch. Plus, I love meringue 😂

I also think it'll looking the veggies only have sides, whilst the meat eaters get a main dish.
Are you sure a veggie meal wouldn't work better?

@Tullig

I’m reading it from a vegetarian perspective, and it would feel a bit odd — a lot of cheese/dairy from the soufflé starter, ricotta pinwheels, mousse and possibly cheesecake, and yes, also rather dry. I think the pinwheels are essentially another starter. It looks like not a lot of effort for the vegetarians. I know you say you don’t want to make a separate main course for vegetarians, and that is rather what it looks like.

Actually the mousse is vegan.

Actually the mousse is vegan.

And?

[quote Boohoowhoareyou]@MrsArbuthnot do you have room for one more?! It sounds lovely. I think it's a good idea to switch the veggie option as pp have said. There is a lot of cheese, especially if you do cheesecake as well. A meringue dessert could bring a bit of crunch. Plus, I love meringue 😂[/quote]
That's a good idea, maybe a vegan meringue.

Why a vegan meringue? . You’ve got eggs as your starter.

Ok, I will ditch the puff pastry.

I just prefer not to do the 'main and sides' style of eating. More a feast so every can choose what they want. Perhaps I will do another vegetable dish. I saw a recipe for peppers stuffed with chickpeas and couscous which looked nice.

@PurpleDaisies

Why a vegan meringue? . You’ve got eggs as your starter.

Why not? Some of the feedback is too much cheese in each course, so don't want to overdo the eggs

Why not a veggie moussaka? Or a veggie pasta dish?

I’m not a fan of the pinwheel idea. I’m
Always disappointed with a puff pastry veggie option. I feel like I’m in Greggs.

Tbh is is a nice squash recipe. www.recipebridge.com/recipe/80/131281/hamilton-squash
I serve it as a main with green beans, roasted tomatoes and salad.

Personally I would like a veggie version of the chicken. Sound like it would be nice with mushrooms , or with the Linda McCartney Fillets. And then served with rice or potatoes.

@MrsArbuthnot

Ok, I will ditch the puff pastry.

I just prefer not to do the 'main and sides' style of eating. More a feast so every can choose what they want. Perhaps I will do another vegetable dish. I saw a recipe for peppers stuffed with chickpeas and couscous which looked nice.

I agree with you, but the menu you outlined does sound as if there are distinct starters (you headed one part of the list ‘starters’) and the chicken dish does sound like a meat-eater main course in a way that pinwheels, green beans and roast squash aren’t.

@MrsArbuthnot

Ok, I will ditch the puff pastry.

I just prefer not to do the 'main and sides' style of eating. More a feast so every can choose what they want. Perhaps I will do another vegetable dish. I saw a recipe for peppers stuffed with chickpeas and couscous which looked nice.

I think you’re right.

I’d make the butternut squash into more of a substantial vegetarian main - stuffed with rice as you say, and baked, with flaked almonds and chickpeas, spices etc. Make extra rice as the carbs element (not potatoes).

Then add another simple veg dish like spinach to the green beans.

A lot of soft creamy cheesy dairy things:
Soufflé / ricotta / cream sauce / mousse / cheesecake.

I wouldn’t offer the ricotta pinwheels after soufflé, or mousse and cheesecake and soufflé all in the same meal.

@MrsArbuthnot

Ok, I will ditch the puff pastry.

I just prefer not to do the 'main and sides' style of eating. More a feast so every can choose what they want. Perhaps I will do another vegetable dish. I saw a recipe for peppers stuffed with chickpeas and couscous which looked nice.

I think the problem with that is that (as a vegetarian) I don’t see what you initially suggested as a feast. I had a pre Christmas meal with friends and there was homemade bread, two dips for it, spinach and feta parcels, a bean stew, vegetarian moussaka, roasted vegetables, fried courgette, and a potato dish (as well as other meat options). That felt like a feast. Pastries, green beans and butternut squash doesn’t feel like a feast to me. If you want a feast type meal, then I’d scratch the starter altogether and just have the main event.

@Bimblybomeyelash I feel like I’m in Greggs.

That's the squash recipe I had in mind! And I can make it ahead.

@SoupDragon

Prefer not to do a dish only for vegetarians, all dishes on table help yourself style.

The problem with this is that the omnivores often eat all the vegetarian stuff leaving nothing for the vegetarians.

So much this. As a vegetarian amongst omnivore friends and family you feel like a twat asking people to stand down from eating all the veg as well as the meat.

This is a personal preference and you know your guests better but spinach and ricotta is such a dull taste combo however you dress it up.

What about making Gado Gado if you want potatoes - just make enough so that everyone has plenty and then the meat eaters can have with their chicken and the vegetarians can have with the green beans. The satay dressing gives it a bit of zing.

I wouldn't bother with the salad- it doesn't go with much else you're serving.
Focaccia- honestly just buy a good one to save time and get some excellent olive oil for dipping.

Okay.

Soufflés with roast tomatoes and salad

Bread

Butternut squash stuffed with rice

Spiced courgette, pepper and chickpeas in filo pastry, maybe with feta

Sautéed spinach

Green beans with almonds

Bean stew (thanks @toastofthetown )

Chicken in Sherry

Meringue with fruit
Chocolate mousse with cherries

Is that more like a feast?

Sounds delicious.

Personally I’d ditch the filo parcels as a savoury dish and do something like baklava as a sweet.

Sounds much better. I love feta so I’d add that too. It wouldn’t be too much cheese for me personally.

@DedalusBloom I'm not sure gado gado goes with the chicken.

I'm not sure why it has been suggested that I don't do meat. Not everyone is vegetarian, and yes I know that omnivores don't have to have meat at every meal, this is meant to be a treat.