Christmas Eve recipes for a tough crowd

[Anonymous]

I'm hosting Christmas Eve for my family and my sisters family. There will be 8 of us total - 4 parents, 4 year old twins, and 2 college students. 3 of us eat gluten free, one college student is vegan and gluten free, 2 eat Paleo, and may or may not eat meat. My DH eats meat but isn't into vegetables. I'm easy as long as its gluten free.

I'm having a really hard time coming up with a collection of dishes that will make most of the group happy without having to spend all day cooking too many dishes. This doesn't have to be a formal or traditional meal, I'm just trying to make everyone happy.

So far I've got roasted Brussels sprouts and I'll make a Gluten free vegetable crock pot curry made with coconut milk which I normally make with chicken but will be leaving the chicken out to make it vegan.

Does anyone have any dish suggestions that could cover all these different requirements? I'm almost tempted to just make the vegetable dishes and rice and order pizza that suits everyone else's tastes. Or make 2 versions of the curry ahead of time - one with chicken and one without. I just need to find out if the rest of the group likes curry. And of course there are my twins who won't eat any of this - except the pizza.....

[Anonymous]

Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Lentil soup.

Mushroom and nut "meatloaf."

Hummus and veggies (plus pita for the pita eaters, or gluten-free crackers as dippers).

Roasted root vegetables (yams, carrots, turnips, parsnips).

[Anonymous]

In a similar situation, we did a potluck and everyone brought a labelled dish that he/she could eat. It worked fine.

In your situation, I would do:

one meat/poultry main (roast beef/chicken, nothing that would make it problematic for the gluten free)
curries sound good
rice (for the gluten free, but not the paleo)
brussel sprouts
another non starchy veg/with no gluten additions
you could do some kind of simple mushroom dish that will be hearty but not meaty or gluten-y
big salad
something your kids will like if they wouldn't like the above

for dessert I have no idea-squares of baking chocolate perhaps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In a similar situation, we did a potluck and everyone brought a labelled dish that he/she could eat. It worked fine.

In your situation, I would do:

one meat/poultry main (roast beef/chicken, nothing that would make it problematic for the gluten free)
curries sound good
rice (for the gluten free, but not the paleo)
brussel sprouts
another non starchy veg/with no gluten additions
you could do some kind of simple mushroom dish that will be hearty but not meaty or gluten-y
big salad
something your kids will like if they wouldn't like the above

for dessert I have no idea-squares of baking chocolate perhaps?

and my goal would be to have a few things that each person could eat, not to try to make all dishes that could be eaten by everyone. I think people will be happier with mix and match.

[Anonymous]

Vegan, gluten free chili or other soups are pretty easy to do and can be pretty hearty. Obviously beans wouldn't work for the paleo crowd, but I'm sure you could find some soup that would work for them and your husband (assuming the paleo people eat meat).

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. These are great ideas! The whole vegan thing has me really thrown. Vegetarian I can do but vegan is so much harder for me. I really like the chili idea. Even my twins like chili.

I think for dessert I'm going to make a pumpkin or other type of pie with the GF crust i have in the freezer. I was thinking Rice Krispie squares for the twins, but that's not vegan either, so maybe some fruit for the vegan option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone. These are great ideas! The whole vegan thing has me really thrown. Vegetarian I can do but vegan is so much harder for me. I really like the chili idea. Even my twins like chili.

I think for dessert I'm going to make a pumpkin or other type of pie with the GF crust i have in the freezer. I was thinking Rice Krispie squares for the twins, but that's not vegan either, so maybe some fruit for the vegan option.

Sometimes you can get Kosher marshmallows that are vegan, although fruit sounds fine. You could do baked apples or pears if you wanted to get fancier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus.

ROTFL

[Anonymous]

Sounds like my family. I take them to a restaurant. One day I don't have to hear their shit. I generously tip the wait staff, who do have to listen to their shit.

[Anonymous]

I noticed at thanksgiving that whole foods had an individual vegan meal. maybe they have the same thing at xmas.

[Anonymous]

Vegan meal for two and more at Whole Foods! Order this for vegans:

http://shop.wholefoodsmarket.com/store/Holiday-Dinners/Vegan-Dinner-for-2-plus-a-few-P10193C1981.aspx

Then do some gluten free meat dish, and other gluten free dishes, and some steamed veggies.

Done.

[Anonymous]

Taco bar.

Vegan chilli, meat chilli. Cheese, sour cream, vegan guacamole. Salsa, shredded lettuce.

[Anonymous]

This is a modern day logic puzzle!

[Anonymous]

First off -- take your twins out of the picture, and serve them something they will like and eat. Ordinarily I would include kids in all family celebration meals but this is really hard! Give them chicken nuggets, pizza, whatever.

Next --am trying to understand: You have 6 adults, 4 are gluten free? Or are some of the gluten free people your twins? 1 is also vegan and 2 are also pale? Am confused by your comment that the Paleo people may or may not eat meat. Do they? Does it depend on how the meat is cooked?

I would make all dishes gluten free, and either vegan, or non-vegan. Seems to me that a nice roast beef or beef tenderloin with potatoes and roasted root vegetables would serve for most of the crowd, except for the vegan. Give your husband some meat!

The vegan can eat the potatoes and roasted root vegetables, and you can make something else for him or her as well, or ask him or her to bring a dish to share that he or she will like. Or I love the idea of ordering a vegan main dish from Whole Foods or Wegmans.