“The Entertaining Vegetarian”

by Stephanie Janard

Hello and thanks for reading the very first “The Entertaining Vegetarian”! This is the launch of a column that hopefully will serve as a guide to interesting and not-too-hard, not-too-expensive vegetarian entertaining. 

The idea for this column occurred to me because, as a single vegetarian, I am in the unique position that only about one percent of the rest of the population share. It means I have the choice of going to lots of events where there is sure to be a dearth of edible food, or – I can throw my own parties! I choose the latter. This way, I can enjoy a rewarding social life, and share delicious vegetarian food with my veggie and non-veggie friends. 

Readers are invited to submit questions; in fact, that will be a regular feature in this column starting with the next newsletter. Ask anything related to entertaining from a vegetarian perspective – from recipes to etiquette! 

For this column, we are going to throw a “New Year’s Day” Open House party. Keep in mind that “Open House” means a certain period of time where guests can come and go at any time during a set range of hours. This is a relaxed type of party that puts little pressure on the host/hostess and is a low-key, but still celebratory way to cap off the holiday season. Here are some helpful tips for a successful open house party:

* Hours that are good for this sort of party are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
* Never keep the drinks and food in the same location. This keeps the traffic “flow” of your guests moving, instead of crowding in one area.
* Don’t get behind in your food preparation so that you’re still working frantically to get everything ready when your guests arrive. A relaxed host is a happy host. And a happy host means a festive party!
* Have a TV room available for anyone who wants to stay on top of the New Year’s Day football scores. Make sure snacks are provided in that room as well.
* Have a few different types of appetizers, plan on about 10 per person if bite-sized, less if larger. Also have one good “hot dish”, like a crock-pot soup, stew or casserole. 
* Have a bowl of wassail or punch out - spiked or not. Other beverages can include wine, beer, sodas, “soy-nog”, tea & coffee. To keep it simpler for yourself, serve as little as two types of beverages – one hot, one cold. 

In the South, where I’m from, people there believe for good luck, you have to eat your black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day! So I’m including a good vegetarian version of this dish in the recipe section. Be sure to serve it with plenty of good bread, either French, wheat, or your favorite kind. On a cold & blustery day, there aren’t too many things more comforting than dipping soft fresh bread into a hot bean broth. To contrast with this warm filling dish, serve a crisp appetizer of veggies & dip. Recipes follow…

Colorful Crudités with Creamy Ginger Sesame Dip

Toss out the tired old carrots and celery – and replace with zingy yellow, green and red pepper strips, cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives! Serve with this flavorful dip:

3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 clove garlic
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sweet white miso
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
½ cup mashed tofu
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

Chop the ginger and garlic in a blender or small food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend until creamy. Yields about 1 cup.

“Good Luck Black-Eyed Peas”

This recipe is adapted for vegetarian tastes and uses liquid smoke instead of meat for flavor. Serves about 15. Again, don’t forget the crusty bread and Earth Balance margarine (better than any other vegetarian, or dairy, margarine/butter out there!)

2 lbs. Dried black eyed peas
liquid smoke to taste – remember, you can add it in, but you can’t take it out, so go easy at first
1 green or red pepper, finely chopped
½ or more cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
3 ½ cups vegetable stock
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 dried hot peppers, crumbled
2 tablespoons oil
About 6 or 7 cups of water

Step One: Rinse and drain well the peas.
Step Two: Sauté vegetables in the oil in a heavy kettle or pot.
Step Three: Add the peas, stock, dried pepper, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Add a teaspoon of liquid smoke. Cover and simmer about an hour.
Step Four: Add the water and return to a boil. Simmer another hour, adding more liquid smoke if you prefer. Stir occasionally. Check the beans at this point, but ideally, you want this dish to cook at least 2 and ½ hours or longer. 

Don’t forget dessert…you can make your own, or for even less work, pick up something in advance…baklava is always an excellent choice, and usually vegan except when made with honey. Or, in keeping with the easy & comforting food theme, try this yummy crisp:

Holiday Plum Crisp