Serving to Carnivores (Omnivores)

[JasonFrishman]

We eat vegetarian in the house; my wife is veggie, I am not (I like to say 'conscious omnivore'.)  While many friends are either veggie or veggie friendly, some are, to put it nicely, dubious of vegetarian meals.

Once upon a time, I lived with 2 Meat Eaters - heavy duty - preparing baked potatoes and steaks for snack (seriously).  At that point I was cooking at a vegetarian restaurant in Harvard Square.  So I was creating and testing a lot of recipes.  The ones that I kept were recipes that I served to my roommates and they didn't say, "This is good, but it would be much better with some chicken/steak."  If they approved, it was a hit. 

Similarly, I have an (omnivorous) friend who told me that his favorite wrap over at New World Tortilla (http://www.newworldtortilla.com/) was, astonshingly, meatless!  He was surprised with himself and happily telling me, as if it was something that I would be quite excited about.

Anyway, what do you serve to people's with carnivorous inclinations?  do you have any standard vegetarian meals that have caught raves from meat lovers? do share!

The easiest one that I can think of right away is pizza. my home made pizza is so good that no one has ever even noticed a lack of meat toppings.
Let's see, what else?  barbecued portabello mushrooms with melted parmesan cheese, oh yeah, I'll have to find and post the recipe, but a curried chickpea with tomato dish that I used to make often during the winter has always been a hit with my meaty friends...

thoughts?

[Alice Levitt]

When I was working at EatingWell, the test kitchen spent a great deal of time testing a sensational Soy-Lime Tofu recipe. Every time I ate it, my comment was "This is so good, I can't believe it's not meat!" I like to make it with gingery soba mixed with carrots and cabbage.

[MonaRaeHill]

I realize this isn't exactly gourmet fare, but the old stand-by casseroles are a good choice, and there's usually leftovers, too (does anyone eat leftovers anymore?)
Shepards pie (made with tvp, reconstituted with chicken-less broth and fried in olive oil with onions, garlic, and other veges), is a pretty easy and guaranteed foolant (my kids never knew the difference if you didn't tell them).
Posole, which is vegetarian, anyway......and a pretty good source of protein if you add some cubes of marinated hard cheese to the underlayer.

[JasonFrishman]

*Shameless Plug Alert*

Mona,
First, I eat & love leftovers. I especially like the challenge of taking leftovers and making them into something else that is interesting. I routinely make at least double of most meals to freeze, use for lunch, etc.
Next, I love shepherd's pie - here is where the shameless plug comes in...
TVP is a really processed soy product, which I am not that big of a fan, and it doesn't have the greatest nutritional profile.
My wife and I sell a similar product that we make, which is also slightly processed, but less so.  It's main ingredient is vital wheat gluten (of seitan fame), so if you are gluten-free it is obviously out. Otherwise, though, we designed the product (it's called FolkFoods Veggie Crumble)  with nutrition in mind - besides the vital wheat gluten there are other sources of protein, as well as a good amount of nutritional yeast, which supplies a lot of the vitamin B complex that a lot of vegetarians are missing.  not to mention that it is tasty.  If you've worked with TVP, you might like trying this...
(just so you know.)
-jason
(we are at the burlington farmers' market on saturdays; come say hello!)

[MonaRaeHill]

In response to your shameless plug....it's something to note, and I've put in my data banks.... bit far away to ride my trike to, though.......and since I only eat shepard's pie in the winter, and it can also be made with Tempeh, as well........well, I don't worry too much about the processing component......a part of me is exasperated that EVERYTHING purchasable at this point, is heavily processed, the only way around it is to just make it yourself........which sort of reminds me of the good old days (when I first became a dedicated vegetarian)..........one had to make almost everything from scratch, including tofu....there just weren't the choices there are now.......the tradeoff of all these choices of course, is processing,......and all I can say to that is........"the more things change, the more they stay the same".............sigh.......

[Undead Molly]

I love this topic! Because I have had to cook for gatherings that included beloved vegan and vegetarian friends and family over the years (and diabetics, macrobiotics, dairy- and gluten-free folks, too! Menu planning for these mixed groups can be a wonderful challenge!) I've given a lot of thought and research to this topic. Even if only one attendee is a strict vegan, I will make everything vegan down to the margarine so they don't have to fret about which dishes are okay and which are not. I also think it is socially awkward for them to have to ask what's animal-free and subsequently be singled out as The Vegan One and I like to spare them that discomfort.

One good stand-by dish for autumn and winter is veggie lasagna. However, I've found a lot of my veggie friends are sick of it because every host who doesn't know what to make for vegetarians goes straight for the veggie lasagna with garlic bread option.

One of the first things I did when I was cooking for mixed group was think about the complaints that people (including myself sometimes) often have about vegan/vegetarian foods. The stereotypes tend to be that the cuisine is:
Either raw vegetables or mushy cooked vegetables
Mysterious, flavorless, mushy soy/wheat gluten blobules
Bland, bland, bland
Visually unappealing (brown, smooshy casseroles)
Places a greater importance on nutrition over palatability
Dry, unappealing whole grain bread products

So when I'm planning a menu I focus more on first impressions that I would if I were cooking for all veggies or for myself and my boyfriend. Smell, color, appearance have to dazzle and woo the meaties. Then flavor and strong textures will win them over completely (it is to be hoped).

What I often do is head straight for Eastern and Southeast Asia, especially India. I have found that even meat eaters who are skeptical about having a veggie meal forget about their reservations when they walk into our warm apartment and are hit with all the smells of simmering curry, baking naan, and garlicky vegetable side dishes. I'll put mild, red paprika and a little extra turmeric in the curry to make sure it is more red than brown. Add the vegetables as late as possible to preserve their color. Make fragrant, bright white Basmati rice rather than brown or short grain rice. Make sure whatever veggies I serve on the side are interesting and not overcooked. I recently made an oven-baked panko crusted asparagus that seemed to be a hit.

I will avoid using meat substitutes completely when cooking for nervous omnivores for the first time. I find it makes them feel uncomfortable and vulnerable to have to ask, "what is this stuff?" when they're eating. I only whip out the seitan on the second or third date.

There is tremendous variety and very little emphasis on meat in Indian cuisine, so that's always a good starting point for me. Avoid Northern Indian recipes for vegans as it incorporates a lot of dairy, but if you can use dairy check out Pakistani cuisine, too. There's also a lot that can be done with Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian. All feature strong flavors, potent fragrances, excellent textures, wonderful colors, high presentation wow-factor, etc. The things you need to win over carnivores.