Help me! A vegetarian is coming to my house and I don't know what to do!

Okay, before heading for hills and collecting a basket of grass for us, let me say a little something. For some reason, when I'm invited to a dinner party and I mention I'm a vegetarian, a look of polite horror crosses their face. I didn't say I was allergic to air/water and your cat. I only don't want to eat a big chunky piece of meat.

A lot of people put undo stress on themselves, wondering "What on earth can I serve this person". Here is a list of things you probably, no... DEFINITELY shouldn't do.

1. Make extra salad. "That should be good enough right?" WRONG!
2. Pick the meat out of the dish. "They won't notice right?" WRONG!
3. They can eat the side dishes. "I made mashed potatoes and peas". Nice sentiment, but hardly palate pleasing.
4. "Some hippy sold me a tofu slab. I can just put that right on the plate". Not really wrong, but no fun either.

I'll use this weekend as an example of what you CAN do.

My inlaws came to vist and they, like my DH love their meat. I made a Beef Roast with a rich gravy. There is a great article about this in my favorite magazine Fine Cooking http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/articles/braising-is-quick-choose-right-cut.aspx?ac=ts&ra=fp.

The side dishes I chose to make is where you can be creative and more importantly, feed your vegetarian guest.

Some of these dishes have already appeared in my blog: Tomato and Zucchini gratin, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Braised Sugar Snap Peas and a Rapini and Cannellini toss. All great side dishes with lots of flavour and colour. Here is why:

1. Gratins. These are elegant simple dishes that can be made ahead of time. They present well, heat well and are excellent way of packing lots and lots of veggies for those who don't like it. Also, they can be a wonderful light main for lunch or in this case, a vegetarian
2. The ravioli was just something I had in the freezer from my last batch. Throw them in hot water, a quick butter cream sauce and we are done
3. The peas were easy to make. I braised them in a skillet with a little water. Braise until all the water has evaporated and toss in some good olive oil and a 1 tsp of Oregano
4. Rapini is loaded with vitamins and will keep that vibrant green for a while (unlike Broccoli which can turn a pale sad green with overcooking). Toss in some beans for protein and you've got yourself a classic Italian dish.

And most importantly, everyone is happy :)