what shall i make tonight?

[miss_chase]

Hi, I have 6 or 7 people coming over tonight and i want to cook something or somethings simple that isn't a big sit down meal. one person is vegetarian so i could do all veggie stuff.

any ideas?

[woofgang]

http://www.cellartastings.com/en/food-tapas-recipes.html

[woofgang]

Is the veggie person offended by the sight or smell of things they wont eat or not? You can do lots of little nibbly things with bruschetta or any other kind of super bread then people can help themselves eg mushrooms a la greque, slices of waxy potato boiled then fried in olive oil with onion, sling some rosemary in towards the end of cooking time, a dish of some prawns or other delish fish if it won't offend your veggie friend. Bake a camembert in the box, fry some halloumi, its all fiddly but simple, the great thing is that you don't get it ready all at once, you just keep adding stuff, people nibble all evening. Really excellent if you can eat in the kitchen. don't forget the salsa, hommous etc. do potato skins in the oven, nachos, they are dead easy.

Do you know what i relly love? fondue!

[miss_chase]

thanks for these.

forgot to say - i don't eat cheese!!!! so non-cheese receipes best please.

like the tapas stuff though... and no, veggie mate is fine with other people eating meat...

[ursula62]

How about doing fajitas - then its up to people what they put in their tortillas? You could do a selection of scorch-fried veggies - e.g. peppers, onions, carrot strips, courgette slices, aubergine slices, chick peas and tomato slices; some chicken or beef strips for the meat eaters (stir fried with onion rings and strips of pepper); then have various toppings as well. The most popular/traditional toppings are guacamole, salsa, soured cream, shredded lettuce, refried beans, grated cheese, chopped coriander, sweetcorn.  Have a nice huge bowl of tortilla chips and a big bowl of salad and everyone's happy.

Finish off with a choice of fresh fruit salad and something very chocolately - typical Mexican!

You can buy salsa seasoning in packets in the supermarket or make your own marinade - I use a mixture of ground cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, dried oregano, garlic, freshly ground black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.  Leave for at least 2 hours before cooking if you can, but if not, don't worry as it sticks to the veg/meat when you fry it.

[hannahjo]

Does the veggie eat fish? If so one of my favourite recipes of all time is cumin spiced salmon. Put some salmon fillets in a dish with the juice of half a lemon, some olive oil, a clove or two of chopped garlic and one or two teaspoons of cumin (to suit your taste). Roast in an oven at 180 degrees for 12-15 mins (I think! I cant remember exactly but salmons easy enough to judge). I usually serve with stirfried veg (see post above about anti bloating food for recipe) and basmati rice, but you could serve it with loads stuff, steamed veg, potatoes, cous cous� anything!