Stuffed portabellos!!  with....twice baked potatoes !

I made a black bean salad yesterday that was good, but even better today for lunch after having been refrigerated overnight.
Black beans-drained, whole kernel corn-drained, a medium onion-diced, medium bell pepper-diced, two fresh tomatoes-diced and drained, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and a packet of Splenda. 

Some form of spicy black bean soup? Could be done on an egg in a casserole dish or dutch oven I guess. You could serve with popadoms as a side for people who could eat them.

For a snack, Vietnamese vegetarian spring rolls, as the wrapped is made from rice paper I think that would meat the gluten free requirements.

veggatarian stuffed cabbage stuffed with zukes,squash and rice. stirfrys over white rice.  zuchinni and squash casseroles, some with cheese and some without. or just do kabobs, meat ones, meat and veggies, veggies only, this one would be easy

I like @Fred19Flintstone's idea -- lots of options for wraps -- cheese, beans, ground meat, grilled meat, grilled veggies, a few different sauces.  Sounds great!

Personally, I trying to come up with one vegan, gluten-free, dairy free dish will disappoint the meat-eating majority.  Maybe a nice bean salad, or a regular salad that either had beans in it, or people make their own and there's a nice bowl of red or black beans, or garbanzos, that they can add to their salads, AND some kind of easy dish with meat for the meat eaters.  I've never tried to cook for 25-30 people, so I don't know.  But for the meat part, maybe a huge pot of chili (or even a meat chili and a vegan chili, which can be delicious), or burgers and hot dogs.

fruitguy said:

and we have 4 vegans

I would like to do just a large salad, but looking for some wow factor.

Thanks,
James

theres 30 people to feed so focus the meal around the 4 unhappy people with no diet restrictions when its the vegans turn to cook i hope they just cook meat   you could just make a salad and give every meat eater a tin foil ball to throw at the vegans

Fix what you like. Can't please everybody so don't try.  

fishlessman said:

fruitguy said:

and we have 4 vegans

I would like to do just a large salad, but looking for some wow factor.

Thanks,
James

theres 30 people to feed so focus the meal around the 4 unhappy people with no diet restrictions when its the vegans turn to cook i hope they just cook meat   you could just make a salad and give every meat eater a tin foil ball to throw at the vegans

I kind of go the other way with this.  I enjoy the challenge of cooking for picky eaters, as long as I get fair warning on what the restrictions are (and, with the caveat of a personal pet peeve - if you claim to be ALLERGIC, you better have an epipen.  Otherwise, you are just being a PITA).

Salad, to me, is what vegans end up eating in "normal" restaurants.  I'd try to jump it up again with lasagna or grilled veggies or veggies based salads (rather than lettuces).

I do not, however, make the whole meal vegan.  If they can't stand to watch me eat my (humanely raised) pork chop, hasta la bye bye

To start with an amusing aside. My son is wed to a fairly strict vegetarian. They live in Portland, OR, where most restaurants are vegan and vegetarian friendly. To keep a balance, my son requires they dine at places that have at least 1 meat option.

Here's my suggestion. Having cooked for smaller numbers of finicky tastes, I went w. quesadillas. Kind of like pizza, just toss onto the tortilla what you want, w. some cheese to bind it all up. Takes just a few min. on the Egg for each persons combo to cook.

But vegans make things more problematic. They won't eat cheese. I won't eat erzatz cheese. Sorry, nutritional yeast sauce is not no way cheese.

Came across something that works in the middle. There's a mid-east blend called Za'atar. Toasted sesame seeds and  various herbs. There is a variant called dukha that adds pounded nuts. Swab a pita w. good olive oil, coat w. the herb mix, and toast. The oil does the binding that cheese would do. For those who want, diced meat like lamb, and cheese can be added.

You do have my sympathy. When I grew up, the rule was "be glad you have anything to eat."  While I still hate eating boiled cabbage, the sentiment remains true.

caliking said:

I know this doesn't help much, but I'm with @fishlessman. I hope the vegans are considerate enough to think about your dietary desires when they are planning meals.

The salad idea sounds nice and easy. For soup options - gazpacho (great for summer), and a spicy (think Indian) cauliflower soup without dairy.

Really - you'd want vegans who hasn't cooked meat in however many years to cook you a pork chop?  That sounds like a thin bone in cutlet cooked to 175 to me.  I'd rather have a tasty tofu dish.

I think you could use coconut milk as a dairy replacement in soup.  Depending on what kind of salad you're thinking about remember mayo isn't vegan.  Honey isn't either (apologies if you knew this already, but we have 2 vegan families in the neighborhood and every year all pasta and potato salads at the block party are mayo based).

I know it isn't really summery food, but I'd be tempted to just do a big batch of pasta sauce.  Sauté some onion and garlic in olive oil, add a bunch of sliced peppers and mushrooms, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and then maybe like 4 cans of crushed tomatoes and some tomato paste to thicken if needed.  Salt and pepper to taste, checking throughout the process.  Finish with fresh basil and serve over gluten free pasta.  Grated Parmesan at the table for those that want it.

caliking said:

I know this doesn't help much, but I'm with @fishlessman. I hope the vegans are considerate enough to think about your dietary desires when they are planning meals.

Same here, though I wouldn't be surprised if they served a completely vegan menu just to try to make their point. After all, part of the reason they are vegans is because of how they feel about the treatment of animals, no? So why would they serve you veal - or perhaps worse, foie gras? Besides, I don't want a vegan cooking meat for me anyway.              

“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit.” Bourdain  

In a group of 30  people, odds are less than 1 in 4 that even ONE of them is gluten intolerant.  Odds are much greater that it's somebody who enjoys being problematic.  I'd suggest all attendees unwilling to eat "people food" be encouraged to bring something fitting their dietary restrictions.

My son-in-law is a heavy metal fan.  I, however, do nothing to accommodate his musical tastes when I'm driving...

I have a killer asparagus soup recipe thats pretty tasty and you could grill the onion, asparagus, and garlic before you simmer it and blend. Hell I may try that next time. It's on the menu tonight minus the grill tonight.

Since so many people are bringing stuff I would say make whatever you like and then just be sure to label it such that those with certain restrictions will know to avoid it if they choose.

fishlessman said:

fruitguy said:

and we have 4 vegans

I would like to do just a large salad, but looking for some wow factor.

Thanks,
James

theres 30 people to feed so focus the meal around the 4 unhappy people with no diet restrictions when its the vegans turn to cook i hope they just cook meat   you could just make a salad and give every meat eater a tin foil ball to throw at the vegans

This. I would do a meal that people can put what they want on their plate. Fajitas give you a lot of flex. Black beans, flank steak, chicken, maybe some shrimp.  All the sides.  Some can skip the tortillas. No need to punish the masses. If they are still hungry tell them to go eat some bushes in the front yard.