Dinner Party Ideas

[Purplecarrots123]

Hi everyone, need some help here! Next Saturday I have 8 people coming for dinner in addition to the two of us. I have to cater for the following; vegetarian who are pescatarian, gluten free, one who is vegetarian and eats cheese but not eggs or milk.

I’m a bit stuck on what to cook. I found an easy recipe for salmon en croute which I can use GF pastry for (but this may have egg in the pastry I guess need to check the packet!). I thought chocolate mousse or pavlova for dessert as I can make that gluten free but then both contain eggs. And then I thought roast veg lasagne with GF pasta but then the white sauce has milk in.

With so many to cook for I’m trying to find 1
or 2 dishes I can make otherwise I’ll have about 8 on the go!

Any ideas???? DH is baffled too!

Beef wellington. With a 'take it or leave it' policy

How is that helpful @didntlikeanyofthesuggestions? Do you think you’re being funny?

So you’re looking for a gluten-free, vegetarian dish that doesn’t use eggs, @Purplecarrots123 - yes? Are you wanting to make one thing for everyone?

I’d do Indian - lamb or chicken rogan, and a vegetable option. Or just do veggie for everyone. Gluten is easy to avoid.

Thai could be an option too.

Indian is a great idea - lots of lovely vegetarian dishes.

Have a look at this site @Purplecarrots123

I'd do a couple of curries - lots of dairy free veggie ideas - some pilau rice. Aubergine curry and a chickpea curry and a dal. Do some tikka fish as well if you want. A coleslaw with red cabbage and a lime dressing with fresh coriander and mint. Lots of poppodoms.

You could do onion bhaji too. That's chick pea flour so gluten free.

I had a similar guest list recently. I made a Moroccan tagine with chick peas, tomatoes, apricots etc. Went to buy all the ingredients and found pouches of Moroccan tagine so bought 4 to use instead of lots of jars of spices. Used lots of other veggies and had it all in the slow cooker. It looked after itself and was delicious. Served it with flavoured couscous, large salad, fresh crusty bread etc. It was full of protein but I bought a chicken and served it sliced for those who wanted it. It was a birthday meal so pud was a choc cake with cream. You could source some locally made vegan brownies with a variety of cream/vegan ice cream and fresh raspberries.

Why doesn’t the vegetarian eat eggs or milk but cheese is okay? What about butter? Is the issue with milk lactose intolerance? You can buy lacto free milk and there are plenty of dairy free recipes with substitutes for milk. If they are allergic to eggs, do they tolerate baked eggs in cakes etc (many people with egg allergies can)? Obviously, it would need to be a GF cake.

I can’t work out if this is a joke, or you are a terrible host!

2 curries. One veg, one meat.

Indian is a great shout - lots of delicious veggie and gluten free options. The famous Ottolenghi confit tandoori chickpea dish, while not strictly traditional is an easy and absolutely delicious addition to such a meal. Or frankly, even on its own with naan breads and/or rice and a good fresh salad - maybe a kachumber salad?

Ottolengi’s salmon traybake https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/ottolenghis-puttanesca-style-salmon-traybake/

Chilli's. 1 meat, 1 vegan. Rice, sides. Corn tortillas. Salsa, cheese, sour cream, chopped lettuce, refried beans

Thank you for all these ideas! I feel a lot better now. I’m quite a traditional cook so curry and Indian is a great idea and it hasn’t occurred to me that I could do that. Assume I could make curry’s in a slow cooker?! I’ll practice this week!!

Got it in one. Thank you - as you could probably tell I couldn’t see the wood for the trees!

Indian is a great shout - another one that works is falafel (can get GF and normal pita) - then just get lots of sides and salads like couscous, Israeli salad, hummus. And that’s all very easy to dump in the table if you don’t want to cook!

deserts is a bit harder - maybe a fruit salad with optional ice cream?

You may find a dessert idea here, but not sure how many of these will be gluten-free.

Or try

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/thai-yellow-pumpkin-and-seafood-curry

I've had similar food requests before and find this curry a winner. What I'll do is make a double portion but use a vegan fish sauce and veggie stock instead of fish stock. I'll cook it in advance to the point where you put the pumpkin in. When it comes to reheating, I split the portion in 2 and add the fish to one portion and chickpeas to another and pak choi to both portions. Satisfies both pescatarians and veggies and I always serve with naan, rice and other sides. Always a winner!

https://www.recipetineats.com/arabian-feast-fast-cost-efficient-make-ahead/

https://www.recipetineats.com/maple-sweet-potato-salad-with-whipped-tahini/

I recently did some of these dishes (swapped the sweet potatoes for the lamb) for a not dissimilarly dietary challenged group. Lemon possett for dessert, if your no-to-milk-yes-to-cheese person can have cream. Really easy to make, tasted amazing.

A Thai curry made with coconut milk, with prawns. Served with rice. Stir fried mixed veg as a side. Just use fish sauce instead of soy sauce or use gf soy sauce.

That's GF, pescatarian and popular with most people I think.

You should ask the guests to bring a starter and pudding? If not then fruit salad is a good pudding.

Indian is a great idea but if you're not confident cooking an unfamiliar cuisine, you can make a veggie lasagne and use soy/oat/almond milk for the bechemel and a vegetable fat instead of butter & gluten free flour - or just buy a vegan/gluten free ready made white sauce from the supermarket (in the vegan section) For pudding, you can make vegan brownies with GF flour too, or a fruit crumble with GF flour and buy a vegan custard or ice cream to have with it.

Pumpkin soup for starter
Fish with roasted veggies for main
Vegan chocolate mousse for dessert

Is your vegetarian guest aware that cheese contains milk?? It’s literally made from it. Sorry I don’t have any helpful ideas that haven’t already been mentioned, just came here to ask this!