What's a good vegetarian meal that's easy to make but will impress my guests?

Question

I am new to cooking so I can't do anything too complicated (but am willing to try a complicated recipe that is not easy to mess up!). I am having guests over and want to impress. Any ideas??! I hired a chef that charged me up the roof to make a lasagne so now I'm motivated to splurge on ingredients and make everything myself and still save!

Answer 1

pasta salad with a lot of fresh vegetables.

it looks bright and cheerful

serve with warm garlic bread and cheese, if you eat cheese.

Answer 2

eggplant parm (look for a vegan recipe) and red velvet cake made with bananas (there are several vegan subs for the normal type)

Answer 3

Tortilla Pizzas.

Small chop up individual bowls of onions, garlic, mushrooms, olives, peppers, tomatos, whatever seasonal veggies or your favorites.  The sky's the limit.  

Involve the guests in creating their pizza(s).  Time it around other activities so that they can make it when they are ready.  This is not an everyone sit down at once meal.

Put generous olive oil on a baking sheet and place tortilla on it.  If you use sauce basically "paint" it on.  You don't want anything soggy on this.  Sprinkle cheese if you wish (or a fat-free or vegetarian substitute), and desired toppings.  Don't make the overall thing too thick.  Bake 425-450 depending on your oven until the crust has browned a bit (or as much as you like).  Slide onto a cutting board and cut in at least 4 sections (6 if you know the trick:)

The main thing is to make sure you have enough olive oil to lightly "oven fry" the crust.  It makes it able to be a finger food.  Not enough oil you may need a fork to eat it, too much and it will "deep fry".  Try a couple of test runs before springing it on guests:)

Answer 4

This is from America's Test Kitchen.   You need a skillet that can go from stovetop to oven.  Just so you know before you get started but if you don't have one, the recipe below says what you can do as an alternative.

Skillet Baked Ziti

from the Episode: Easy Skillet Suppers

To complete this recipe in 30 minutes, preheat your oven before assembling your ingredients. If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking. Packaged pre-shredded mozzarella is a real time-saver here. Penne can also be used here.

Serves 4 1 tablespoon olive oil  

6 garlic cloves , minced  

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes  

Table salt and ground black pepper  

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes  

3 cups water  

12 ounces ziti (3 3/4 cups)  

1/2 cup heavy cream  

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese  

1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves  

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese  

Making the Minutes Count: Measure the water and the pasta before you begin cooking. Prep the Parmesan and basil while the pasta cooks.

1. Heat Oven: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees.

2. Simmer Ziti: Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch, ovensafe nonstick skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15 to 18 minutes.

3. Add Cheese and Bake: Stir in cream, Parmesan, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve.

Answer 5

Capellini Pomodoro with vegetables

Ingredients:

Capellini pasta (angel hair)

8 medium tomatoes, cut into ½” pieces

11 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 Tbsp olive oil

8 large button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c diced zucchini

1/4 c diced onion

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Asiago Cheese

Directions:

1. COOK capellini pasta according to package directions.

2. MIX diced tomatoes, chopped basil, garlic, oil ,zucchini, mushrooms and onion. Season with salt and pepper.

3.             Sauté over Med-High heat for 3-4 minutes.Remove from heat.

4. DRAIN pasta. Toss pasta with tomato mixture into the sauté pan and heat throughout.

5.              TOP with grated Asiago cheese

6. SERVE immediately

Serve with foccacia bread with a small plate of balsamic vinegar and olive oil to dip, and a mixed green salad.

Answer 6

*With any of these entrees, I"d serve a big Greek or green salad and garlic bread.*

EGGPLANT PARMESAN W/ TOMATO SAUCE

2 pounds (about 2 medium-sized) eggplant

Salt

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup fresh bread crumbs, seasoned with 1/4 chopped fresh basil leaves and 1/4 cup pecorino

2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce, recipe follows

1 pound ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and towel dry the eggplant. Slice the eggplant horizontally about 1/4-inch thick. Place the slices in a large colander, sprinkle with salt and set aside to rest about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the eggplant and dry on towels.

In a saute pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil until just smoking. Press the drained eggplant pieces into the seasoned bread crumb mixture and saute until light golden brown on both sides. Repeat with all of the pieces. On a cookie sheet lay out the 4 largest pieces of eggplant. Place 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over each piece and place a thin slice of mozzarella on top of each. Sprinkle with Parmigiano and top each with the next smallest piece of eggplant, then sauce then mozzarella. Repeat the layering process until all the ingredients have been used, finishing again with the Parmigiano. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the top of each little stack is golden brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Basic Tomato Sauce:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Spanish onion, chopped into 1/4-inch dice

4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded

2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes

Salt

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve.

This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

--Mario Batali

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Real Fettucine Alredo

1 pound fettucine noodles

8 Tbsp. butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup freshly grated Parmigginao-Reggiano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg

As the water for the pasta begins to boil, melt butter in large sauté pan over low heat.  Add cream to butter and let it warm.

At the same time, salt the pasta water and cook until al dente, according to package instructions.  Drain pasta thoroughly, and mix with butter and cream in sauté pan over low heat.  Add cheese and toss until sauce thickens slightly.  Season with pepper and nutmeg.  

Remove from heat and serve immediately with additional cheese on the side.

Serves 4-6

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Mushroom Walnut Sauce for Pasta

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

8 oz. Mushrooms - sliced

1/4 C. Walnuts - chopped

3/4 C. Heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp. Black pepper

1/2 C. Fresh Parmesan - grated

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute mushrooms and walnuts until mushrooms are golden. Add cream and cook stirring frequently for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Turn heat to warm and when cream stops simmering, add pepper and Parmesan and stir until sauce is smooth. Do not boil. Serve over pasta.  Especially good w/ stuffed pastas, like cheese ravioli.

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-Penne with 5 Cheeses

Kosher salt

2 C. heavy cream

1 C. crushed tomatoes in thick tomato puree

1/2 c freshly grated Pecorino Romano (1 1/2 oz.)

1/2 c. shredded imported Italian fontina (1 1/2 oz.)

1/4 c. crumbled Italian Gorgonzola (1 1/2 oz.)

2 tablespoons ricotta cheese

1/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced

6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 pound imported penne rigate pasta

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil in a stockpot.

Combine all the ingredients except the penne and butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.

Drop the penne into the boiling water and parboil for 4 minutes. Drain well in a colander and add to the ingredients in the mixing bowl, tossing to combine. Divide the pasta mixture among 6 shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1 1/2 to 2 c. capacity) Dot with the butter and bake until bubbly brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes.

--Ina Garten