Vegans: do you know what to cook for guests?

I'm watching Come dine with me and it seems like the vegan on it doesn't have a clue what to cook for meat-eaters. Avacodo, tofu starter and risotto main course.





He's claiming he's trying to 'convert' them with this menu and surprise surprise they didn't like it and said it wasn't filling enough.





Is it just me or if you're trying to show people that a vegan diet can be just as good as a meat one then wouldn't you cook something like shepards pie, spaghetti bolognase, friend 'chicken' or sausage pastry pie? I've cooked these for my friends and they honestly couldn't tell the difference (they're the type of friends who would take the p*ss if it was disgusting).





As long as you find good meat substitutes and know how to season well then you can really impress meat eaters. But to claim you're trying to 'convert' meat eaters with avocado and tofu is just ridiculous.





What do you cook for meat eaters?Vegans: do you know what to cook for guests?
Starter: A banana


Main Meal: Apple Crumble pie


Dessert: A carrotVegans: do you know what to cook for guests?
what a trolly pathetic answer.

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everyone i know like bean burgers and hummus with pita chips
I would rather have a good, normally meatless dish than a mock-meat dish meant to replicate the original. Something like vegetable soup, pasta primavera, etc. would be more appealing to me than tofu/mushroom burgers, for example.





I can't pass on the real cheese, though.
theres always pasta--or a veggie stir fry with rice and nuts.


chips with guacamole...mashed sweet potatoes...


im getting hungry=)
I actually did cook tofu for my family once, and they seemed to like it. My mom had a vegetarian recipe (with cheese) that she split and made half with feta and half with Follow Your Heart. The family members who tried both couldn't really tell the difference. Next time I visit my family, I want to make a seitan dish for them.





I think I'm pretty good at cooking tofu, so I'd find a really flavorful, savory dish to make. But if you're not, you can do a tempeh chili, marinated and grilled tempeh, stir-fry, etc. Seitan is trickier because I don't like using my seitan on the same day I make it.





But chilis, stews, casseroles, and the like are good. Also make a good dessert--let 'em know that vegan doesn't mean denial.





But you're right--you want hearty dishes that will wow them.
Hi, when I had my family for dinner at Christmas, I made fresh mushroom soup, roasted vegetable lasagna, and for dessert we had vegan vanilla ice-cream with mango crumble, all this was vegan and they ate the lot and asked if I would cook it again another time!


That menu he cooked is so bland and boring, doesn't seem to put in any effort what so ever, He wouldn't of converted me if I was a meat eater!
That's a good question. My family eats meat as do my friends...if I were to cook something for them to ';convert'; them, it certainly wouldn't be tofu!


:-)


Personally, I love it, but it IS an acquired taste.


I think I would probably fix a great tossed salad to start and then maybe make some lasagna rolls with spinach and soy cheese or faux ground beef and spaghetti sauce. I might also make some veggie stir fry or veggie lo mien with some vegetarian egg rolls.


I would make a vegan dessert of chocolate cake or maybe some homemade fruit sorbet.


I've actually tested the egg rolls, stir fry and chocolate cake out on my parents and sister and they liked them all.
I cook for people exactly what I would cook for myself. I don't believe in eating meat therefore I won't prepare it for people just because they do. If they don't want to try what I make then they don't have to eat at my house. I do cook with a variety of the meat substitutes though so it's not like I always serve people tofu. I make chili, stews, tacos, pizza, etc. I don't try to convert people to my diet, but in my home they will eat what I cook =]
Well, using meat substitutes isn't the best idea in the world; the meat eaters would argue, ';Why not just eat the meat?';. By trying to convert them, you would need to show them other options that never once required meat.





I like risotto, but... it MUST be made well and that takes over an hour of cooking and stirring as well as a lot of skill and patience.





I would probably choose:





Refried beans made from scratch with canned pinto and black beans and boiled down vegetable broth mashed into a paste and seasoned. Served as an appetizer with chips and salsa.





Baked tomatoes stuffed with sauted mushrooms, onions, garlic and rice. Served as a side.





Tofu stir-fry with various vegetables, cooked in sesame oil and mixed with a light peanut sauce served on top of whole wheat angel hair pasta.





For dessert would be home made tofu ';yogurt'; with frozen berries and sweetened with agave nectar (blend silken tofu until perfectly smooth and whipped, then add a splash of lemon juice for a yogurt-like texture and taste).





I think I'm full just from thinking about it!
Last time I cooked for meat eaters (and a pescetarian and a vegetarian) I made chickpeas simmered in a sauce of fire roasted red peppers and tomatoes, saffron garlic rice, oven roasted asparagus and vanilla citrus poundcake with strawberries. I wasn't trying to ';convert'; anyone and I wasn't cooking for skeptics, but it seemed to go over well. For the same crowd on Mother's Day, I'm making potato-spinach enchiladas with roasted pepper sauce, chipotle lime black beans, Mexican rice (plus all the trimmings: guacamole, pico de gallo and sour ';cream';) and Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes.





If I was trying to ';convert'; skeptical meat eaters, I would steer clear of tofu, at least of the obvious sort. The sour ';cream'; I'm making is based on silken tofu, but nobody needs to know that (like I said, though, I'm not cooking for skeptics, so they'd eat it even if they knew it was tofu.)
Jenny, I'm sorry if I answer this as a 'Meat eater' or really an omnivore, but as omnivores we can eat anything.





We are not restricted to non-meat diets like yourself, and indeed most of us relish a change on occasion to our normal intake.





My daughter is a Vegan, and has cooked for me on many occasions, never once has she presented me with any meat or pseudo-meat products and the food has always been delicious and filling.





I have to be a bit careful as I am allergic to tomatoes and a couple of other things, but generally no problems.





It would appear to me that the general outlook of vegetarians/vegans is that meat eaters only eat meat, which is totally untrue, we can eat anything you can, and do.





As for meat substitutes - forget them. You wouldn't eat a substitute vegetable would you?
Well, I find that most people in general are very stubborn and do not like to try new things at all.





That said, I just make what I usually make. Good tasty food is good tasty food no matter who you are. But, I will avoid using any 'strange' ingredients. Usually things with different textures, like konnyaku or whatever.





I'm not a city socialite, so... I rarely cook for others. When I do, rarely is their any comment or problem etc. Just make a number of dishes, and there's always something for everyone.





Yeah, Avocado... so many people where I live have never tried avocado even though it's literally found in every grocery store. That's how stuck people are on not trying new things. Generally speaking, it's rarely the food that's the problem, but the person eating it, ';Eew, this is different, I don't like it (different).';
I'm a vegan, and me and my kids eat all sorts of wonderful vegan meals. but i've learnt when they have friends over for dinner to give them something they recognise. Once i cooked a veggie stew with sprouted sunflower seeds, and my daughters friend told her mum i'd given her mouldy plants to eat! so now, i'll do sausage, mash and baked beans (or something similar) obviously they are vegan sauages, but they look like meat ones, and my kids friends happily eat them, none the wiser.
I have plenty of non-vegan friends/family and have ate with them or cooked for them, including picky children. Some dishes they didn't even know were vegan, they enjoyed them so much. If they know it's vegan beforehand, then tend to make faces and not try it. If you just serve it or leave it in a potluck style, they try it and like it if it's a tasty dish. In general I tend to do simple things that they like anyway such as Mexican, Italian, or Japanese food. Desserts are usually a winner everytime: ice cream, cupcakes, cheesecake, etc. The vegan pancake breakfast went well too. For Thanksgiving/Christmas, I tend to bring my own feast with some extra helpings in case others want to try--they usually don't unless again i leave it in the middle with the other dishes and don't label it as vegan. Mashed potatoes and cornbread are always loved.





Mexican: burritos/tostadas/tacos with black beans, guacamole, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. and sometimes lime-marinated tofu, tortilla soup that's like pozole, soyrizo + tofu and potatoes (very heavy and filling, never liked chorizo when I wasn't vegan but this stuff is good)


Italian: spaghetti with garlic bread (you could do a breaded fake meat or tofu if you wanted to), pizza alternative appetizer recipe idea I nicked from Queer Eye years ago (flat bread, olive oil, vegetables)


Japanese: fried rice, fried noodles with tofu/vegetables, noodle soup, sushi rolls, gyoza, okonomiyaki (my Japanese mom will make other stuff vegan for me)
What do you cook for meat eaters?





Meat.