It really is very inconsiderate to be a
Vegetarian at a dinner party. This may
sound a bit controversial especially as may people are vegetarian lately. The fact that people falsely think that you
can lose weight; and I think that it is made worse when most vegetarians I know
spot being vegetarians after a certain number of beverages – I wont name names
but you know who you are.
My family essentially carved our way in
this country through farming and my father has returned to it as an alternative
to SKI’ing. So vegetarianism isn’t
something that I could toy with while eating beef from my father farm is not
allowed (eating the profits apparently is not cool, but you still need to have
beef or lamb at least once a day). Nor
would I want to, even if I have evolved beyond the meat with every meal menus
of my childhood.
What makes it even worse is when I am
notified that an emergency dinner party guest was a vegetarian less than 24
hours out from the event. This was
exactly what happened at a dinner party I catered for a couple of weeks ago – I
say catered as it was not at my house but at the BBFF’s so she was the host.
Actually, I don’t even understand how one
can insist on such a requirement. I am a
celiac – which is far an actual medical condition and not a mere choice. When put in a like situation I adapt within
the existing menu and hope that my digestive system doesn’t cash that cheque
until I get home.
The fact was that I had less than 24 hours
to work a vegetarian into my menu. A
task that may not appear to be difficult but when the food has been purchased
and Pork was the key to the main.
This is a new thing that I am trying for
two reasons: firstly, after spending this year cooking with my brother (a chef
that trained at a 5 hat restaurant) he is all about the prep and, frankly, I
think all those little bowls holding the ingredients is hot; secondly, when I
cook during you may find that the main course is not served until 11pm; and
finally, as can be attested by many a previous dinner guest, my cooking after a
few cocktails males for some interesting interpretations of my menu.
So the challenge I faced as I woke up the
day of the event in a Champagne haze was what to serve the vegetarian. Telling them to suck it and just give them
the sides is not part of my dinner party vernacular. Also an individual vegetarian option does not
work either as, lets face it, at my dinner parties everyone wants to have some
of everything – it is just that good!
For the answer I had to look through my
back catalogue of recipes as there was no time for a trial. I learnt this the hard way last time I had a
last minute vegetarian guest added when my attempt to adapt. This resulted in me serving them was
essentially blobs of mushroom infused dough in a vegetable broth.
In the end I decided to take one of my most
loved canapés, which was vegetarian and think big. My “Mushrooms stuffed with ricotta and fresh
herbs” was the perfect choice I just needed to substitute button mushrooms with
field mushrooms. I did make the mistake
of preparing extra field mushrooms for the meat eaters and served them on the
table like you would a side salad. As
anticipated they were a total success, though it probably would have been
better to use button mushrooms for the table.
They were still eaten, but such a large side after an already balanced
meal was a tad gluttonous, even with the light desert.
So the next time you have this issue, or I
guess want a great canapé for your next cocktail party, you need look no
further.
Field
Mushroom stuffed with Ricotta and Fresh Herbs:
Pre-heat oven to 180°. Remove and dice the stalks of mushrooms and mix in a bowl with
ricotta. Add fresh thyme and chopped
parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Turn the mushroom tops upside-down on a roasting dish and spoon the ricotta
mixture into the mushrooms.
Place the mushrooms in the oven and cook
for 15-20 minutes. (This recipe is also great if you substitute half the
ricotta with feta to give the mushrooms more bite.)
I served 2 to the vegetarian in place of
the “Cumin & Coriander Slow Roasted Pork” which was served on a bed of
“Roasted root vegetable & Wilted Baby Beet Leaves”.
I also served a “Panzanella” as a side
salad on the table too. In the end it
was a very successful evening and I am happy to say that at least the vegetarian
knew about and enjoyed wine.
There is one thing that I am not 100% sure
about and that is the wine etiquette for a dinner party. If I am hosting I will generally supply
between half to one whole bottle per person, just a back up – though it is not
unheard of for me to skip out to a local pub for some “Take Aways”.
This is usually later in the evening – you
know when the decision has been made to dance, but you don’t think that whole
group will get passed the bouncer at your preferred nightspot.
OK back to my actual point, there is an
expectation that people will bring drinks too, so you would usually not have to
make the midnight dash to the pub, but I have noticed there is not clear
guideline as to what is to be expected.
I usually take 2 bottles of wine. This allows me to take a bottle of red/white wine
and a bottle of sparkling. I do love
sparkles as an aperitif, preferably Veuve Cliquot or Bolli but it does depend
on how much I like the other guests, and another bottle for the rest of the
night. You can never really guess what
will be on offer and it is better to be safe than sorry.
So my policy is “one bottle for me and one
for the ‘House’” – that is take any special drink you want and a bottle of wine
for the host. While one would expect the
person hosting to have some wine as a regular host myself I know the effort
that is needed to pull it together. To
have them then provide wine too should not be a forgone conclusion. Sure they may have something special for the
evening already planned and that is fine, they don’t need to drink it that
night, it is merely to say, “Thanks for having me”
What do you think/do?
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