G
Guitar
Guest
Sounds like y’all got it covered … the one thing I would add to the general discussion, from the vegetarian viewpoint is that it’s a good idea to either 1) ask the vegetarian to bring something they’ll eat in addition to the bread and salads you have there anyway OR 2) if you plan to prepare a special main dish for your vegetarian guest, ask first whether they eat tofu/seafood/whatever you have in mind so there’s no mutual embarassment.
Sooooo many people just assume H & I eat tofu (we can’t even get it down) or anything that lives in water. He can cope with some fish but definitely not crabs, mussels, calamari-type stuff, but me, that’s another story. A smooth pale-pink salmon mousse straight out of the jelly mould, quivering gently on the plate, sends me running for the bathroom.
People also think we eat meat substitutes, and we don’t - we don’t cook with a meat-eaters mindset using alternatives substances for the “meat”. (Unless fry-able matter compressed into burger patty shape constitutes a meat substitute.) We get a little weary of well-intentioned meat-eaters insisting, “but you can’t just have a plate of vegetables for dinner” (gosh, like, how do we manage at home all the time without this person’s supervision?) and then turning cartwheels to prepare something we don’t want to satisfy their fixation about what constitutes A Proper Meal.
When a host very proudly announces they’ve prepared you a Special Vegetarian Main Course and puts it in front of you on a plate in front of the whole assemblage with great fanfare … you’re kinda stuck.
(My second-worst dinner guest horror story: a host once made a huge big deal about preparing separate meals for H&I - ignoring our reassurance we were quite happy with just the non-meat part of what everyone else was having - and served us pecan pie with baked vegetables and gravy poured over the lot. The worst was the salmon mousse.)
Sooooo many people just assume H & I eat tofu (we can’t even get it down) or anything that lives in water. He can cope with some fish but definitely not crabs, mussels, calamari-type stuff, but me, that’s another story. A smooth pale-pink salmon mousse straight out of the jelly mould, quivering gently on the plate, sends me running for the bathroom.
People also think we eat meat substitutes, and we don’t - we don’t cook with a meat-eaters mindset using alternatives substances for the “meat”. (Unless fry-able matter compressed into burger patty shape constitutes a meat substitute.) We get a little weary of well-intentioned meat-eaters insisting, “but you can’t just have a plate of vegetables for dinner” (gosh, like, how do we manage at home all the time without this person’s supervision?) and then turning cartwheels to prepare something we don’t want to satisfy their fixation about what constitutes A Proper Meal.
When a host very proudly announces they’ve prepared you a Special Vegetarian Main Course and puts it in front of you on a plate in front of the whole assemblage with great fanfare … you’re kinda stuck.
(My second-worst dinner guest horror story: a host once made a huge big deal about preparing separate meals for H&I - ignoring our reassurance we were quite happy with just the non-meat part of what everyone else was having - and served us pecan pie with baked vegetables and gravy poured over the lot. The worst was the salmon mousse.)
I’m sure at some point, at least one other guest (and I can guess right now who) will turn the conversation to her food choices. 
What a great way to describe that feeling!
I’m going to try making a pasta salad that we’ve had from the deli @ Whole Foods. I’m using whole wheat pasta spirals, with chunks of smoked mozzerella, chopped roasted red pepper, baby spinach, and shredded parmesean with the obvious mayo dressing (in fact, I’ll probably use your mayo dressing recipe!).
