May Day Lunch, update #16

[Winterlight]

I'm hosting a small lunch the Sunday before May Day(Beltane), and I'm trying to plan it out now.
My restrictions are that it has to be vegetarian, have something with oatmeal and be dairy. There will be six people including me.

Currently, I'm going with:

Starter- maybe roasted asparagus
Mushroom quiche- I'll make two
Homemade oatmeal bread
Fruit salad
Dessert- ?

Drinks will be sparkling cider and something springlike with sparkly booze. Not mimosas, but maybe bellinis if I can find peach nectar. 

Suggestions? Advice? Recipes? I'm going to try making the oatmeal bread this weekend to see how it goes, and I'm still looking for a quiche recipe that's good and easy.

[Instantkarma]

Sounds good. Maybe a fruit crisp for dessert do u can use oatmaeal in the topping?

[Surianne]

Sounds really good to me!  Perhaps ice cream for dessert, which is what jumped to mind with "dairy"?

Oatmeal bread sounds delicious, I've never heard of that before.

[O'Dell]

What about a green salad? Mixed baby greens is very "spring" and in keeping with Beltane. Dandelion greens would be great if you have access to forage some. Maybe some edible spring flowers sprinkled in. Violets for example are edible---both the flower and the leaf.

If your oatmeal bread doesn't turn out the way you want, what about some oatmeal scones? There are specific recipes out there, but I just use a recipe I like and substitute some of the flour with ground oats (I have a coffee grinder set aside for this and spices) with some oatmeal on top for the visual effect. Some honey to drizzle on them or the bread would be fitting for the holiday.

I like Surianne's suggestion of ice cream. Or maybe strawberries and cream for something lighter, but that is close to your fruit salad.

[Namárië]

For dessert, what about panna cotta? I make mine boozy and put it in those disposable plastic shot glasses. It's the perfect serving size, since it can be pretty rich. It does use gelatin, but I think you can use agar agar instead.

[Vall]

Strawberry shortcake?  With real whipped cream (dairy) and decorated with violets.

[gingerzing]

I was going to suggest scones.  I have a scone recipe that uses yogurt.

Panna cotta or homemade pudding parfaits? 

[QueenofAllThings]

Another alternative for the starter - vichysoisse made with asparagus or watercress (in addition to the potatos). Dairy, and delicious.

Oatmeal raisin cookies, of course, if the bread doesn't work out.

Spring desserts are often citrusy (key lime pie? lemon meringue?) but a fruit tart is nice too!

[Sharnita]

one non bubbly drink option

[CluelessBride]

The oatmeal bread sounds really intriguing!

Unless you know that all of your guests like mushrooms, you might consider making one quiche mushroom-free (just cheese, or cheese and onion or spinach or broccoli).  In my experience, mushroom is a very polarizing veggie.  And with only one main, it might be a good strategy to make it fairly accessible. 

From a color palate point of view, I'd make sure your fruit salad includes some nice reds and blues.  The menu is pretty beige-y right now (with the exception of the asparagus starter).  And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, more color tends to make a meal feel like it has more variety and is often more aesthetically pleasing when plated.  Another thought is to add a tomato, basil and mozzarella dish.  I can't personally vouch for it (I can't eat raw tomatoes ), but it seems to be the thing to do at the moment.  And I think that it could be done either as a starter or as a side. 


I used to have a really easy quiche recipe using condensed milk, cheese and eggs or egg beaters (plus whatever extras I was in the mood for).  I would either buy pre-made crust or pre-make my own.  But it was as easy as mixing the ingredients, pouring them in the pie crust, and then baking.  I haven't made it in forever because DH doesn't like quiche, so I don't remember the proportions.  But the real thing that made it easy was having the crust premade.
 

[Winterlight]

Thank you for all the suggestions!

Currently I'm leaning towards swapping in a green salad for the asparagus- one less thing to cook. I just need to make some kind of salad dressing- or would you go with bottled?

I'll check to see how everyone is on mushrooms, though I think they were a like last time.

If the bread doesn't work, I've googled scones- I may end up making them another day even if I don't use them here.

My fruit salad is likely to be berries and melon balls. Maybe with pineapple.

For dessert, Surianne's suggestion of ice cream reminded me of ice cream parfaits, which I can make in advance. I'll have to make room in the freezer! Chocolate ice cream layered with fruit/jam and chocolate chips, with whipped cream on top. Or perhaps strawberry ice cream layered with white chocolate chips. Decisions, decisions... Ben & Jerry's would be the ice cream of choice for this. I'll have to find parfait glasses.

We're likely to go to a local botanical garden after lunch, then head back to my place. If it's a hot day, I was thinking of making these and maybe a fruit/cheese/crackers platter for later.

[rose red]

If you go with salad instead of asparagus, how about putting the asparagus into the quiche?  I think it would go nicely with mushrooms and will add a nice fresh color to the dish.

[jpcher]

If you go with salad instead of asparagus, how about putting the asparagus into the quiche?  I think it would go nicely with mushrooms and will add a nice fresh color to the dish.

Excellent idea! 

We're likely to go to a local botanical garden after lunch, then head back to my place. If it's a hot day, I was thinking of making these and maybe a fruit/cheese/crackers platter for later.

and those smoothies sound wonderful with a fruit/cheese/crackers platter.


Sounds like a wonderful party. I'm sure your guests will be pleased.

[ktelderkin]

What about this quiche?  I haven't made the recipe myself, but I've never had a problem with recipes from this site.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2012/04/03/mushroom-cheddar-quiche-not-all-pies-are-sweet/ 

[Deetee]

I'm going to put in a plug for crustless quiche (fritatta). I loved baked egg dishes and with delicious fresh bread, having a pie crust seems not required.