your favorite vegetarian dish, please

to welcome a new employee (and very good friend), who happens to be vegetarian, i had a bright idea to have a luncheon. then i realized that living in a carnivore-friendly home, i don't have many mind blowing vegetarian recipes that come to mind. if anyone can help me out and provide a vegetarian dish suitable for potluck to please a crowd, i'd most definitely appreciate it. potluck is scheduled for monday. thanks in advance.

Crock-Pot Veggie Soup (very tasty)

4 zucchini
4 yellow (summer) squash
4 carrots sliced
1-2 Large onions, chopped very coarsley
2 large cans veggie broth
s&p to taste
Thyme to taste

place all in crockpot and cook on low til tender, about 6 hours...
serve right from the crockpot...
Very easy!

I happen to love all Frittata recipes. Easy with leftovers and always delicious!! You could substitute cooked Asparagus for Artichokes....enjoy! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

Italian Artichoke Pie


Ingredients:

* 3 beaten eggs (or Egg substitute equiv. to 3 eggs)
* 1 3-ounce package cream cheese with chives, softened
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 ounces)
* 1 cup ricotta cheese
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
* 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained(not packed in oil)
* 1/2 of a 15-ounce can (3/4 cup) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 2-1/4-ounce can sliced pitted ripe olives, drained
* 2 tablespoons snipped parsley
* 1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell
* 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 small tomatoes, sliced

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together eggs, cream cheese, garlic powder, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, and mayonnaise or salad dressing. Stir until thoroughly combined.

2. Quarter 2 artichoke hearts; set aside. Chop remaining hearts. Fold chopped hearts, garbanzo beans, olives and parsley into the cheese mixture. Pour into pastry shell.

3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Bake about 15 minutes more or until set. Let stand for 10 minutes. Arrange tomato slices and quartered artichoke hearts over the top. Cut into wedges. Makes 8 servings.

BTW....feel free to substitute any veggie you like. If you don't like garbanzo's add something else, ie. mushrooms. Just play with it and create your very own recipe!!


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" /> Contessa

Tomato and Vegetable Pie

Frozen Pie Crust. Deep dish Tenderflake .

2 tbsp butter

2 large onions, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic crushed (I use 3)

1/2 zucchini, thinly sliced

3 red tomaotoes peeled and chopped. You don't really have to peel them. You can also use canned diced tomatoes but drain them first.

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1/2 tsp dried basil

salt and pepper

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup grated cheese

Prepare pie crust. Heat butter, add onions and garlic and fry until soft and golden. Add zucchini, tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Cook gently for 10 minutes. Cool (you can put it in the fridge). Make sure it is cool before you stir in the eggs. Stir in eggs and pour into prepared pie shell. Spinkle with grated cheese.

Bake in preheated 425 oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

Be careful not to cook the pie crust for too long ahead of time as the edges can get quite brown when you are cooking the pie. You can also cover the pie with tin foil if this is happening. Also, you can adjust the quantities and sizes of the pieces of onion, tomato and zucchini to your taste.

Pasta is always a good option. If you need a main dish, lasagna and manacotti, etc are so easy to make as vegitarian meals. Nobody misses the meat in those types of dishes, and smother anything in melted cheese and you can't go wrong! On that same note, pasta can also be a great side dish with pasta salads, or a Thai sesame noodle salad. These also go really well with a meat like skewered chicken/shrimp, etc on the side. That way you can also have something for the carnivores.
One of my friends threw a bruschetta party not long ago, and had a great spread with baskets of bruschetta toast, lots of toppings, and a huge salad. She made a sliced beef with horseradish, and lots of veggie toppings for the bread also. She had a traditional bruschetta tomato topping, a white bean spread, choppped liver, sauteed mushrooms, grilled veggies, and some great cheeses/italian meats. Made a great meal for a large crowd, and lots of it could be done ahead of time.

I agree pastas are very versatile.
Thinking in another direction...while I do not have the specific recipes at my fingertips, the following are all easy to prepare for pot luck
vegetarian chili,
eggplant parmesan,
hearty soups like potato leek, mushroom barley or butternut squash come to mind...just substitute vegetable stock/broth for the chicken stock/broth.

Oh and don't forget the portabella mushroom...and Ratatouille.

I posted this a while back. It's fabulous.

Spinach and Artichoke Mac & Cheese

Contessa this sounds delish...is it akin to a quiche? I'm asking because fritata recipes, that I am familiar with anyhow, don't usually have dough crusts. Do you think it could be made as a fritta with no pie crust in a cast iron skillet?

the suggestions so far have been great- thanks! as for soup, although i love soup of all kinds, i'm not sure if it'll work well for potluck. i do love the idea of quiches/pies, fritatta, and pasta... keep them coming. i'll probably make at least a couple of dishes to pass. and depending on how my sunday goes, i hope to make the cheesecake recipe posted by michael in a previous thread.

Here's a great pasta salad recipe I got from my sister

Orzo Salad w/ Lemon, Feta and Pine Nuts

1 lb Orzo, cooked according to package and drained.

Dressing:
1/2 C olive oil
4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2-3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Kosher salt
finely ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar

wisk all ingredients, and toss with the pasta while it is still warm. Cool to room temp and toss in the following:

1/2 C toasted pine nuts
1/2 C golden raisins
1/3 C chopped oil cured black olives
1/3 C finely chopped red onion
1/2 C fresh basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
4 oz crumbled Feta.

Mix all and chill about an hour before serving

How about a Panzanella...have yet to meet someone who doesn't like it! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Quinoa & Black Beans is a favorite of ours...can be served hot, room temp or cold...does not matter...very good!
This should serve 10

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed (sometimes I only use one can) and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Note: I am sure you can add a jalepeno! I have served this with salsa, avacado, sour cream and shredded cheese in separate bowls so my guests can choose how they want to top their Quinoa and Black Beans.

If your quinoa has not be washed, you should let it sit in cold water, so the outer shell comes off and it is not bitter...all the quinoa I have purchased at Fairway and Trader Joes has been washed and there is no need to let it sit in water.

thanks everyone for the ideas! the weekend went by too fast as usual, so not enough time to cook as much as i thought. it sounds like others will be bringing pasta dishes to pass, so i decided to make contessa's recipe for some variation. i'm not sure how well it is made in advance, overnight anyway, so i plan on making this tomorrow morning before work. tonight i'll be making my banana muffins and brownies. thanks again for coming through with some great sounding recipes!

well we just arrived back to brooklyn and i realized that i had left the pie crust in the freezer upstate! which means of course i can't make this in the morning... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> i'll have to make this later in the week since i have all of the ingredients. banana muffins for breakfast and brownies for the luncheon will have to do.