What level of sophistication or formality does the cooking club require? Is a hot entree needed? do you have help for the plating?

My thoughts go to something along the lines of a bowl constuction, but could be arranged on a plate such as leaves of boston lettuce & arugula, quinoa, pretty roasted vegetables— each type separate such as sweet potato- asparagus - red pepper and a flavorful sauce drizzled like a tahini one. this recipe from the kitchn for a turmeric tahini sauce is quite good

https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-roasted-eggplant-and-brown-rice-bowl-with-turmeric-tahini-243324

A riff on a salade nicoise using smoked trout, grapefruit, avocado would be good.

Maybe something transitional and recognizable? Like a strata, with layers of sliced roasted vegetables? You can use firm tofu as a cheese substitute for creamy texture, or a nut cheese for richness. Alternate starchy veg (sweet potato or winter squash, rutabaga, etc.) with tasty things like peppers.

Or you could do a Middle Eastern feast, with falafel, baba ganouj, taboule, Turkish salad, carrot salad, olives, stuffed grape leaves, etc.

Oh, so many possibilities here.

You could do hummus with carrots and celery sticks, a cucumber/tomato salad with a yogurt dressing and falafel over rice with a tzatziki dipping sauce. Dates with honey and topped with chopped pistachios or gluten free honey/date bars would make a nice dessert.

or

salsa and/or guacamole with tortilla chips, refried beans, Spanish rice and tofu tacos in corn tortillas. Tofu will easily pick up the Mexican seasonings. If you want more of a salad, you could do tofu ceviche with tortilla chips. A traditional Mexican dessert is bread pudding, but a rice pudding with raisins and nuts could be a nice substitute.

Sounds like fun. I'll be looking forward to reading what you decide to serve. :)

A nice winterish salad with grapfruit is one that might work. This recipe is excellent. I think it's from an old issue of Country. Add some sort of roll and I'm set.

This serves 8, so you'd have to make the recipe and half again.

Avocado/Grapefruit Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch

slices
2 large red grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, and the white membranes

removed
Boston lettuce leaves, washed and chilled

Poppy Seed Dressing
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
5 Tblsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil (NOT olive oil)
1-1/2 tsp grated onion, drained on paper towel
2-1/2 tsp Poppy Seeds

Arrange several slices of avocado and grapefruit on a bed of lettuce, alternating slices for color; chill.

Make dressing by mixing sugar, mustard, vinegar, and salt. Slowly add oil, beating vigorously between additions (dressing will be very thick). Stir in grated onion and poppy seeds. Spoon on salads and serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings.

If you want to go veggie, then perhaps a tart like this one as a starter? You could make small dainty tartlets. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pear-walnut-blue-cheese-tart

this? https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/whole-truffle-roast-celeriac-with-cheese-sauce-hazelnuts

or this? https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/caponata-cheesy-polenta

It sounds fun.

I make a bean salad that is both gluten free and vegan and lovely if I do say so. It could be the "main dish" and you could fill in with things like fruit and avocado.

Mediterranian bean salad I vary the beans, using one can of red kidney beans and one can of cannelini beans and If i am doubling the recipe, using pink kidney beans and navy or pea beans.

A delightfully crunchy and satisfying bean salad bursting with Mediterranean flavors, including lemon, garlic and fresh herbs. This healthy salad is vegan and gluten free, but mostly just delicious! Recipe yields about six 1-cup servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked kidney beans
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced in half or thirds lengthwise and chopped(I prefer pea pods cut into 1 inch lengths)
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• ¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 ½ lemons) Plus the grated rind
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• Small pinch red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a serving bowl, combine the prepared kidney beans, chickpeas, onion, celery, cucumber, parsley and dill (or mint). ( I add the dill and parsley just before serving…..and use more parsley than called for)

2. Make the lemon dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper flakes until emulsified. Pour dressing over the bean and vegetable mixture and toss thoroughly.

3. Serve immediately for the most flavor, or let it marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for a couple of hours or longer. Leftovers should keep well, covered and refrigerated, for several days. If necessary, wake up leftovers with a little sprinkle of salt or drizzle of lemon juice.

NOTESFor 15 cans of beans….I used pea pods instead of celery, added the parsley at the last minute and the dry dill weed with the dressing the day before. and grated the rind of all lemons used.

I would make Thai. I think I'd start with fresh spring rolls. Easy to make with a little practice. Sometimes for parties, I have people make their own, which is fun. Rice papers are gluten free.

If you want a hot dish, then Phad Thai or a vegetable stir fry or a yellow curry over rice. Lots of recipes made with gluten free rice noodles.

Maybe an Asian slaw or green papaya salad. For dessert I would make Coconut Black Rice pudding. It's delicious and looks striking. With fresh papaya or sliced strawberries on top.

https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-black-sticky-rice-pudding/

Maybe stuff something... always looks more gourmet to me: stuffed acorn squash, stuffed peppers...

Love tzimmes...sweet potato, carrot, dried fruit casserole. I made the one from the NYT, but here's Martha's version: https://www.marthastewart.com/318407/tzimmes

Don't forget about soups...love a mulligatawny...you can make it without chicken if you want.

Last luncheon I had was vegetarian and gf, so I served a frittata with mushrooms, peppers, onions and lots of basil and parsley with cheddar. I had a side salad and gf corn bread I made using only corn meal. I served stewed apples (like apple pie without the crust) with ice cream for dessert.

I always enjoy this salad as a side: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14260/mediterranean-lentil-salad/

I adore Justine Doiron’s savory pumpkin tart. I have made it several times and it is always well received. You’d have to have a gluten free crust recipe you like.

Another go to nicer guest recipe I rely on is Martha Stewart’s Stuffed Swiss Chard. I probably play a little fast and loose with the stuffing recipe, I know I always add currents, and I know I prefer walnuts to pignoli. I go with what I have as far as cheese.

I havent made it yet, but this roasted vegetable tian with polenta would be beautiful, and making polenta the star is always fun

Are you talking vegan? Or vegetarian? If eggs are allowed this is good Sweet Potato and Pepper Spanish Omelette | Egg Recipes (egginfo.co.uk)

Double up all the flavourings.

Oh my, this is amazing! I so appreciate the responses! For every single one of these, I'm like "I'll do this!" Should have started here instead of googling recipes.

I can't get over how pretty those spring rolls are. I never think of them in that way. Same with the swiss chard. I wonder if I can get swiss chard out of season...I usually buy it at the farmers market. Same with dates. And I forgot all about polenta.

The idea of peas pods instead of celery is genius, as is a deconstructed bowl.

Love the unexpected Avocado/Grapefruit Salad and the lentil salad. Sweet potato omelette is also unexpected.

Off to the market to see what I can find. I'll practice a few of these for dinner!

Thanks so much, I'm inspired!!

Since it is January I would do warm menu items, unless of course you have a very warm January.

Starter:

https://simple-veganista.com/vegan-mushroom-soup/

Main:

A vegan curry with rice

Dessert:

Maybe an apple based cake or something along those lines as it seems like it would work well with the other items. I just did a quick google and found this one: https://sarakidd.com/gluten-free-vegan-apple-glaze-cake/#tasty-recipes-1003041-jump-target

For a plant based meal in January, I would consider something like mashed cauliflower topped with a mushroom ragu. Roasted green beans could be a lovely side or a bright salad.

Another cold weather dish would be pumpkin enchiladas (or sweat potato) with soyrizo, greens and corn. That is easy to make ahead or a veggie lasagna.

If I were doing the spring rolls, I would also make something hot. I have done a thai pumpkin soup that is super easy, basically stock, pumpkin, coconut milk and thai red curry paste.

This salad is always well received when I serve it. I often sub dried cranberries for the cherries.

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11649/apple-pecan-and-blue-cheese-salad-with-dried-cherries/

Ooh, we love black sticky rice!

i prepared a vegan meal for relatives on New Year’s Day. I’ll make the below recipe again but using cauliflower or another vegetable instead of tofu. I used a mild curry paste because of my SIL, but it had a little bite and was flavorful. With the tofu I served more broth so it was more a soup. Side was quinoa with almonds, cucumber, shredded radicchio, and oil and balsamic vinegar.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022862-brothy-thai-curry-with-silken-tofu-and-herbs

Lots of great suggestions. For January, I will toss out a suggestion for a dish I invented "Three Pea Salad" which consisted of blackeyed peas (a traditional food for New Year's good luck), pea pods, (lightly steamed and diced) and pea shoots or green peas. When I made it, I took a path of least resistance and just chopped up some scallions, red pepper for color and celery for a little added crunch and topped/marinated with buttermilk ranch dressing. Would be OK with a white wine vinegar and evoo dressing too, maybe seasoned with some Fines Herbes. I actually have a small jar of "Buttermilk Dressing Seasoning" I got from Penzeys, so you can make vegan versions of a creamy dressing if you use tofu. Serve over spring greens or nice leaf lettuce. Top with sunflower seeds if you want a little crunch. Very pretty salad starter.

An easy peasy vegan dessert is to buy the little phyllo cups, fill with vegan pudding made with silken tofu, top with a dab of fruit preserve and a toasted almond slice. I can buy vegan pudding mix in the health food section of my local grocery. Lemon is very good in this, as is vanilla, depending on your preserves. Another option, vegan pudding layered with stewed spiced dried fruit. Also yum, and comfort food. Can also top this dessert with some crushed toasted almonds. Could also do a tart for presentation, vegan crusts made with oil are good. The one I make is rolled out between layers of waxed paper. A quick emulsion of oil and water binds the flour.

Stuffed cabbage rolls would be a great vegan main dish. Futzy to prepare, but after that, easy to cook and serve. Also many great ways to use winter squash in main dishes, even in vegan lasagna as a colorful mix with spinach and tomato sauce. I make a winter gratin with butternut squash and tomato that is good. I also have served stuffed acorn squashes. I usually like, but I have not found it as popular with my non vegan friends. A favorite stuffing for me is a mix of breads and wild rice, with brown lentils for protein, and maybe some onion and celery for flavor contrasted with raisins or dried cranberry and maybe walnuts. I tend to just throw in a dash of poultry seasoning or Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning in my stuffings.

Loving the suggestions, and adding these recipes to the rotation. Thank you so much, you got me thinking in a new direction. Now I have a theme: Middle Eastern.

For the luncheon, @lisaam's Roasted Eggplant and Brown Rice Bowl with Turmeric Tahini. As she suggested, I'll serve it deconstructed, so adding a row of caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes. Or is this leaning too Italian? Any other veggie suggestions that work well with eggplant and lend themselves to za'atar?

Apps or a salad? Maybe the avocado/grapefruit on an endive leaf?

In keeping with a Middle Eastern theme, any tried and true recipes for appetizers or dessert? Thank you!

pink, your post only just appeared for me. Thanks for the suggestions! Do you have a recipe for the gratin with butternut squash and tomato? Sounds wonderful!

I, too, first thought of Greek cuisine, but the GF restriction stopped me from suggesting it, as most of my T&T have phyllo. So I pivoted to Thai. I love the sound of the eggplant dish - but worry that so many people have an aversion to eggplant, so always check with my guests before I serve it as a main dish. See the Ick Factor thread on the Cooking forum.

For an appetizer, I always just do a Mezze platter, with Dolmas, feta, olives, veggies and hummus, etc. Trader Joe's has great canned dolmas...I just drain the oil very well and squeeze some fresh lemon on them just before serving. TJ's also has wonderful jarred grilled artichoke hearts that work well on a platter.

For dessert, I nearly always serve baklava, which isn't GF, but also have this GF honey cake recipe that might work...served with strawberries maybe?

https://athomewithshay.com/gluten-free-greek-honey-cake/

Another option might be Nigela's Clementine Cake...it's GF and delicious. https://www.nigella.com/recipes/clementine-cake

CLEMENTINE CAKE! Saw it raved about here on GW and have been meaning to make it!

Yay! Thank you!

As another side note, I have served reconstituted dried fruit compote as a dessert with a Greek meal. I topped it with warm vanilla pudding, which I made with milk, but I have also made it with soy milk.

The squash gratin comes from a book my late mother gifted me, "Williams and Sonoma Vegetable" cookbook. Sort of a cross between a coffee table picture book and cookbook. It calls for "pumpkin" but I usually use another type of squash and I can rarely find good meaty pumpkins at the store. Hubbard squash would be fantastic in this dish. I think I usually make it with butternut squash though. Delicata would be an interesting experiment.

Pumpkin Baked with Tomatoes and Rosemary

Bake at 350 so start preheating the oven before assembling the gratin

You will need an 11 or 12 inch square pan or a 13x9 inch pan. You could probably use a round pan, but you need at least 3 inches on the side of the pan.

1 baking pumpkin or winter squash, 2 lbs.

4 TBLSP extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 yellow onion chopped

3-5 cloves garlic

2 cans, 12 oz. each, diced tomatoes (not petite diced. Stewed would even work)

Pinch of sugar

1-2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced. Use HALF of that if using dried

Peel the squash and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Heat 3 TBLSP of the oil in a heavy nonstick pan and in batches, lightly sautee the pumpkin in single layers. Do this in batches to make sure the squash doesn't get mushed and gets evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a platter on hold.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and do the onions, add the garlic in the last minute or so to lightly brown and then the tomatoes. Continue to cook until it forms a thick sauce. Stir in rosemary and remove from the heat.

Layer the baking pan with layers of squash topped by tomato sauce. Start with 1/3 of the squash, 1/3 of the sauce and finish with a final layer of sauce. Drizzle lightly with more olive oil. Bake until the top is lightly glazed and browned in spots and the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a knife. Should take 35-45 minutes but check after 25 minutes as ovens and squashes and pan sizes may vary.

Remove from oven and cool a bit to set. Can serve warm or room temp.

Not being vegan, and loving the taste of Parmesan cheese with squash, I would probably sprinkle some of that between the layers too. Some ground walnuts or pine nuts might be interesting, would probably not be bad but I have not tried that particular hack.

Thank you pink! This looks wonderful! I love that this recipe reminds you of your mom. I'm honored to give it a try!

I once scanned the accompanying photo and posted it here, but that was almost ten years ago. I can't find the photo anymore without spending a lot of time looking. I sort of lost all my old saved CF recipes when my former laptop died and I got a new one. No cloud storage back then, and no compatible way to easily transfer data back then. I will say that is one thing for paper and print, no compatibility issues or change in format over the decades/centuries . . . millennia perhaps, but even then, something remains . . .

I'm super busy or I would scan again. Here's a link to the actual cookbook. Nothing earth shatteringly unique as far as the collection, but all good recipes.

https://www.amazon.com/Williams-Sonoma-Collection-Vegetable-Marlena-Spieler/dp/0743226410/ref=asc_df_0743226410/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312281022958&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6240658270960446776&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017291&hvtargid=pla-568788168202&psc=1

Thanks for sharing the menu details. kudos, sounds like you executed a delicious luncheon!

Sounds lovely! I might have to make a cake!

I'm glad to hear that you liked the recipe AND improved on it. I will have to try your changes.

There is a great recipe in today's New York Times for a baked risotto with kale and English peas added. I made it for today's lunch and DH and I both LOVED it. The risotto with another roasted vegetable, perhaps, and a winter fruit salad?

Sorry, I missed many responses and see the luncheon was successfully hosted, congratulations! For anyone else interested in a vegetarian main dish option, this risotto is killer.

Clementine cake is one of our family's new favorites, too. I always make it when my gluten free relatives visit. In the pantry I have a jar of preserved Meyer lemons and am thinking about using them in the cake instead of clementines. Oly, have you ever tried subbing preserved lemons?

@Kswl no, I'm pretty sure I've only made the Clementine version (maybe I tried lemon once, but can't really remember). I do love lemon dishes so I should give it a go when Clementines aren't in season. I've never used preserved lemons, but I have to say that part of the delight of this recipe is the scent of the oranges simmering away on the stove, being cooked for the cake!

Thanks for mentioning the risotto. I love risotto and am much too impatient to ever make it. I always order it if it's on the menu at a fine dining restaurant. I tried Martha's baked risotto many years ago, hoping for a lazy cook's version, but was underwhelmed. I'll try the NY Times recipe.

I love Francois Mallman’s fire roasted pumpkin/squadh with arugula and goat cheese. It is very dramatic to roast the squash or pumpkin directly in fire, break open the charred squash and add the salad and cheese on top. But I have also made it in the oven. It is delicious, filling and not terribly difficult. Most of the work is done before hand.