Thread: Vegetarian Menu?

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Hello all, I am new to the forum so if anythings out of context, forgive me. My dilema is i am having a halloween party with a mixed ratio of vegetarians/ vegans, and friends that eat meat also. I just need some Vegetarian ideas for my menu. Only ideas i have so far is tis awesome Brain on a plate Mashed potato recipe ( I Make Projects - A Cannibal-Themed Halloween Supper), I am open to anyoones suggestions!

With mashed potatoes.. Is this going to be a dinner party, or a buffet?

When it comes to serving omnivores, I still make everything vegan. I just make sure it's something everyone will enjoy.

For instance, everyone loves chips and dip! There are all kinds of combinations you can serve. Salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips, hummus with pita chips, spinach dip with crackers, potato chips with onion dip. All of these are already vegetarian, and can also be made vegan.

Most baked goods can be made vegan by replacing the eggs and/or dairy with non-animal-derived ingredients. My favorites are Silk soymilk, Earth Balance margarine, and Ener-G egg replacer. You can make rice crispy treats with peanut butter, or you can use vegan marshmallows (which can be ordered online).

There's also the old stand-by for vegetarians.. the crudite platter. I can't stand crudite platters. I would personally never serve a traditional crudite platter, because that's usually all that's available to vegetarians at parties, and it gets really old. There are so many more awesome vegetarian snacks to be served than raw vegetables.

I have tons of links to recipes that are either vegetarian/vegan, or can be made so. Let me know if you'd like me to post them!

puking pumpkin veggie tray on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I think this is the most wonderful crudite platter I've ever seen.


Grilled Portobello Mushrooms - All Recipes
Could totally see doing this and calling it something icky... just can't think of a name off the top of my head...

I usually have a lot of sweets, just because our party's late and everyone eats dinner before hand. For other foods most everything is vegetarian, except for one meat dish I do in the crockpot. We do witch's finger bread sticks, coffin shaped tea sandwiches (with cream cheese fillings), stuffed olives, cheese cubes with spider picks in them....

I usually do a pumpkin chili from the recipe on this site: Halloween Food & Recipes
It's pretty easy if you use a good vegetarian canned chili (I usually doctor it up a bit with more spices and put out a dish of shredded cheddar, sour cream, and diced green onions for toppings). It looks very festive and you can scoop out bits of the pumpkin flesh when you dish out the chili. Tasty stuff

These tomato/mozzarella bites are usually a bit hit and very easy to make (i use marinated mozzarella balls from trader joe's since they're already seasoned):
Tomato and Mozzarella Bites - All Recipes

My spread isn't especially spooky looking, but the food goes quick! I usually make veggie sushi, chips & dips (blue corn tortilla chips & guac or spinach/artichoke dip), along with several options for meat-eaters as well.

There are lots of dips that can be considered vegetarian. The regular Knorr Spinach Dip Recipe is easy and very tasty one to make.

Here's how to change it up to Vegan standards:

Vegan Substitution- 1 container Tofuti Sour Supreme = 1 package of cream cheese

Vegan Substitution- 1 cup Vegenaise = 1 cup of mayo

Subsitute and follow the package's directions.....



And here is another vegetarian option.....

Cranberry Salsa-Cream Cheese Dip

1 (12-ounce bag) or 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons jalapeno chile peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
Cranberries and/or cilantro sprigs for garnish

Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, (discarding all that are soft or bruised). Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped -- not mushed.

Place crushed cranberries in a bowl; mix together with onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger, and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
NOTE: This it is important to let the flavors develop, otherwise will be too tart.

Pile cranberry salsa over cream cheese. Serve with crackers.

My Halloween/Samhain menu is all vegetarian. Here's what I do:

-deviled eggs with a good amount of mustard, and either cayenne or wasabi added to make them extra devilish
-soy creatures, as I like to call them - spicy meatless Morningstar buffalo wings
-bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and a good amount of vampire-warding garlic
-sangria made with dark rum, rioja or other inexpensive dry red wine, fresh-squeezed orange juice, sugar, sliced oranges, red plums, lemons, club soda and plastic eyeballs
-pumpkin sumthin', also called pumpkin pudding cake or dump cake; this is AMAZING seriously though don't tell anyone how you make it or it might ruin it for them (ha!)- I use 1 stick of butter instead of 2, and pecans.
-roasted pumpkin seeds

So many awesome ideas, thank you all!

V_gan - It a buffet lol, my friends all seem to have a.d.d.... lol

Frankies girl- I am so doing that veggie platter!

Halloweenie- that spinich dip looks marvelous! i think ill add that to the table, along with the normal ranch and onion dips!

paradive- pumpkin chili sounds good too lol!

Meowlet- Deviled eggs is a really good idea, and i freakin love morningstars repituare lol!

I have a vegan friend who attends our parties regularly. I found a recipe for hairball salad with saliva dressing. She loved it!

Hairball Salad with Saliva Dressing for Halloween - - FabulousFoods.com

Another suggestion would be a fruit salad. Creep it up by adding lychees stuffed with grapes for an eyeball effect.



MsM

hmm.. looks interesting.. we normally go for vegitarian stovies (scottish dish which is normally minced beef, potatos and onions.), pumpkin soup, veggie pizzas (which are even nicer if you make them yourself), and nearly everything from the Lynda McCartney party food range. I'm lazy.. I dont like to do too much cooking on Halloween.