I'm not complaining, really, well I guess I am

[rthstewart]

So my SO, dear, darling long suffering person, LST, has FOR YEARS, wanted to invite his co-workers over for St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo, or something.  Always.  I sort of nod, and say, OK, fine, whatever, sure.

So, it's finally happening, on Sunday, and he got really short with me when he asked about food ideas and I responded that there

Comments

[katharhino]

I think it might actually be impossible to create a dessert everyone can eat, with those restrictions. We had some friends over who were both dairy- and gluten-free and that was difficult enough. We did Thai curry with rice noodles, easy enough for the main dish but dessert was difficult. I ended up making a meringue thingy, sort of like a Pavlova but without whipped cream, with a berry compote. But you couldn't even do that. Eggs. Oy.

[katharhino]

There are also recipes for flourless peanut butter cookies but NUTS and EGGS. Is it peanuts too or just tree nuts?

[rthstewart]

All nuts. And if this was a dinner party, it would be much easier. But here, it's a buffet style finger food, etc. Insofar as dessert is concerned, I found that cookie recipe and I'll make that. I'll get some vegan chocolate and fruit. Done. Yes, I'd thought to do meringues (or buy them) but nope. And this is supposed to be St. Patrick's Day. HA HA HA. So beans. Raw vegetables. The Irish potato gratin is a no go -- dairy. I"m worried about the kid food -- I'd intended to do mac & cheese, and already bought those ingredients. I was just looking for some Indian vegetarian kid dish -- samosas, etc, but wheat. Never mind that these aren't go to dishes for me when I cook for a crowd. I'll go to Whole Foods and figure something out.

Oh, and my husband said, "no need to bring food."

[fenchurche]

The nuts issue really isn't a problem there. Sunbutter cooks up just like peanut butter and is safe for folks with nut allergies... and I *highly* recommend Ener-G Egg Replacer for preparing foods for vegans or those with egg allergies. You can usually find it at natural food stores and, at least around here, it's often sold in regular grocery stores as well.

[anirt]

Is sunflower ok? Sunflower butter is great. I think Whole Foods is probably going to be a better effort/reward ratio, though. Fruit sorbets without animal gelatin or pectin?

[rthstewart]

Whole Foods it is. I have my standard go-tos for these kinds of events and none of them are going to work. I was looking at some Indian dishes, like paneer, but there's the cheese, so no. And there's the wheat, so no. I was going to do a turkey and vegetarian chili -- but keep the vegetarian more mild than I would otherwise and make hot sauces available. I am worried about the stock. They are supposed to be gluten free but I really didn't' want to spend the time and money to make my own. I think maybe I'll just buy chicken and cook it. Brown rice. Vegetables. Not at ALL what I was planning to do for a supposed Irish finger food buffet but I'm seriously screwed here

[adaese]

What a horrendous combination!

[slyvermont]

I guess I'm glad I don't entertain that often, or that my friends don't seem to have these issues. At least not the friends I invite over for meals.

I'm just curious -- in a situation like this, does every food you serve have to meet everyone's needs? If there is one gluten free dish, for example, is the gluten free person happy, or do they insist on being able to eat everything? Personally, I think someone who is vegan who insists that there is no meat, dairy, etc., is a rude guest and should stay home!

My vegetarian friends have never insisted that everything I serve is meat-free. Same with my friends who are modified Kosher (no shellfish or pork).

The first thing I thought of when I saw Irish meal was a meat and potato stew. Which I realize doesn't meet the needs of your guests, but that would be my first instinct.

[rthstewart]

It depends on the situation? If there is someone with nut allergies, I typically don't do anything with nuts at all. I don't want to worry about inadvertent cross-contamination. Same thing with gluten -- I just don't use any in the cooking. I disregarded any beef (as in meat and potato stew) both because of the vegan and the guests (4 of them) who don't eat beef for religious reasons. Also, a lot of stews use gluten for browning the meat or milk or cream to thicken the sauce. With vegetarian guests, I just make sure we have hearty sides. I can cook my way around lots of obstacles but this is ... hard.

I'm currently thinking of abandoning the chili -- which is a good option but I'm still doing 2 separate ones and going with roast vegetables, roast chicken, brown rice. Which is really not how this was supposed to be at all but whatcha gonna do?

[learnsslowly]

The thing with Jewish guests - assuming you are not yourself Jewish - might get even more complicated, depending on the degree of observance etc. Checking with someone who actually is Jewish would give you more accurate information, but my understanding, from a Jewish flatmate at university, is that meat and dairy products in the same meal (even if not both eaten by the same person) is not acceptable, and it might be unacceptable to serve dairy food that has been stored or cooked in anthing that has ever contained meat, or vice versa. I offered to cook the whole flat my minimum offence, minimum allegey lentil meal in pans that had never been used for meat, but because I am not Jewish, the fact that I am not Jewish made the meal unacceptable to her. (Total avoidance of skin contact between me and the food would not get round this point). If you are Jewish yourself, then I'm guessing this would not be a problem. Not all Jewish people would necessarily see it that way, I understand. In the end, the rest of the flat contributed money for

[rthstewart]

Thanks so much. I'm not on notice of a full, strict Kosher guests! My friends who are don't tend to dine out much because it is so difficult. The lentil recipe sounds delicious. I've resolved to cook chicken for the 2/3 of people coming who will eat it and substantial rice-based side and roasted vegetables and a potato. EArlier today I was toying with a vegan shepherd's pie. I saw one with lentils that looked good and another with simple mixed veg. But I've not done any of these before and I never do new dishes for at parties. On that path lies crying hysteria. I'll have cheese available for sprinkling if they want that. It's AMAZING how many of these recipes involve flour and/or nuts. Dessert/pudding.... ehhh vegan chocolate and fruit. Thank you so much for your thoughtful response.