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Entertaining for a Veggie Planet: 250 Down-to-Earth Recipes
The queen of vegetarian hip is back! Convinced that entertaining doesn’t have to be high-stress or high-maintenance, Didi Emmons presents an alternative view: the best parties aren’t meticulously planned. Crammed with innovative ideas for delightfully informal gatherings and hundreds of globally inspired, big-flavored vegetarian recipes, Entertaining for a Veggie Planet proves that having friends over — whether for the season finale of a favorite TV show or for a book group discussion — is not only easy, it’s fun.
From dips and cold bites (Malaysian Spring Rolls) to main dishes (Shiitake Mac ’n’ Cheese), from brunch (Cardamon Blueberry Cake) to “sweet eats” (Oreo Key Lime Pie), Emmons’s dishes offer endless possibilities for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone else in search of a satisfying meal. Her creative menus (“Vegetarian Solutions to Turkey Day”) and her spirit of fun (“if you’re serving only one food, make it homemade ice cream”) will put all cooks in the mood to share.
From dips and cold bites (Malaysian Spring Rolls) to main dishes (Shiitake Mac ’n’ Cheese), from brunch (Cardamon Blueberry Cake) to “sweet eats” (Oreo Key Lime Pie), Emmons’s dishes offer endless possibilities for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone else in search of a satisfying meal. Her creative menus (“Vegetarian Solutions to Turkey Day”) and her spirit of fun (“if you’re serving only one food, make it homemade ice cream”) will put all cooks in the mood to share.
480 pages, Paperback
First published June 27, 2003
36 people want to read
About the author
Didi Emmons
8 books1 followerDidi Emmons is author of Vegetarian Planet. She is the chef at Veggie Planet in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 9, 2015
Huh. Apparently I rated this and forgot that I did, which is weird because I don't even remember realizing that I could rate cookbooks on Goodreads, but never mind.
This is one of my go-to cookbooks. This is one of the I-can't-live-without-it cookbooks. Yes, I tend to mess around with recipes and not follow them exactly. I'm me, and that is what I do, but this book is filled with so many great ideas and delicious recipes for vegetarians, and best of all, you can feed these to your meat-eating pals and still satisfy them.
It's worth noting that of my many vegetarian cookbooks, this is only one I go to for both savory and sweet. My old Moosewood, for example, has lots of great recipes, but of the sweet recipes I've tried from it, they've all been a colossal disappointment. Not so with this cookbook. My most famous baked goods are all versions of recipes from this cookbook. I do the aforementioned messing around with recipes, but I find the sweets in this book need only tweaking as opposed to full-blown reworking. The Chocolate Buttermilk Cake and the Blueberry-Cardamom Coffeecake are the two I return to again and again. Especially the Blueberry-Cardamom Coffeecake. That is one I like to think of as Boy-Bait Cake, a name I read in another cookbook attached to a less exciting-looking recipe, but the Blueberry-Cardamom Coffeecake will make a blueberry-loving boy (or girl) fall head over heels for you. (I like to replace some of the nutmeg in the topping with cinnamon because I like nutmeg, but not that much.)
This is a truly wonderful book, one that would make a great gift for you or any veggie-loving person in your life.
This is one of my go-to cookbooks. This is one of the I-can't-live-without-it cookbooks. Yes, I tend to mess around with recipes and not follow them exactly. I'm me, and that is what I do, but this book is filled with so many great ideas and delicious recipes for vegetarians, and best of all, you can feed these to your meat-eating pals and still satisfy them.
It's worth noting that of my many vegetarian cookbooks, this is only one I go to for both savory and sweet. My old Moosewood, for example, has lots of great recipes, but of the sweet recipes I've tried from it, they've all been a colossal disappointment. Not so with this cookbook. My most famous baked goods are all versions of recipes from this cookbook. I do the aforementioned messing around with recipes, but I find the sweets in this book need only tweaking as opposed to full-blown reworking. The Chocolate Buttermilk Cake and the Blueberry-Cardamom Coffeecake are the two I return to again and again. Especially the Blueberry-Cardamom Coffeecake. That is one I like to think of as Boy-Bait Cake, a name I read in another cookbook attached to a less exciting-looking recipe, but the Blueberry-Cardamom Coffeecake will make a blueberry-loving boy (or girl) fall head over heels for you. (I like to replace some of the nutmeg in the topping with cinnamon because I like nutmeg, but not that much.)
This is a truly wonderful book, one that would make a great gift for you or any veggie-loving person in your life.
May 20, 2011
Love. Love. Love. I use this cookbook more than any other I own (and I own a great deal of cookbooks). My copy is getting a little disgusting, quite honestly, between torn pages, food and liquid spills, and generally being used and abused. It's an invaluable resource for fancier vegetarian fare and everyday dinners.
Emmons has a knack for telling food stories- a lot of the recipes are accompanied by yarns from her childhood or how she was inspired to create this particular recipe. I'm one of these weirdos that actually like to read cookbooks. Just read them, cover to cover. So books like Emmons' are doubly awesome when they are fun to read and also have incredible recipes. I have not yet tried a recipe from this book that I haven't enjoyed. But here are my favorites:
Spaghetti Casserole (seriously, buy the book just for this recipe)
Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza
Hot Spinach Cheese Dip
Peach Upside Down Cake
The recipe for Muhummara is tres excellent
Linguine with Swiss Chard and Garlicky Bread Crumbs
Emmons has a knack for telling food stories- a lot of the recipes are accompanied by yarns from her childhood or how she was inspired to create this particular recipe. I'm one of these weirdos that actually like to read cookbooks. Just read them, cover to cover. So books like Emmons' are doubly awesome when they are fun to read and also have incredible recipes. I have not yet tried a recipe from this book that I haven't enjoyed. But here are my favorites:
Spaghetti Casserole (seriously, buy the book just for this recipe)
Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza
Hot Spinach Cheese Dip
Peach Upside Down Cake
The recipe for Muhummara is tres excellent
Linguine with Swiss Chard and Garlicky Bread Crumbs
June 27, 2012
The first day I came home with this from the bookstore I sat down and read it like a novel.
The varied recipes have made it one of my favorite cookbooks - included is everything from the world's best peanut butter fudge sauce to a new twist on the blood mary to delectable salads.
I can honestly say I've read this thing from cover to cover; Didi Emmons' witty anecdotes that accompany every recipe (not to mention the "comments" from Henry the cat) entirely make up for the lack of photographs - something I'm usually adamant about in cookbooks.
Buy this one. It's definitely not just for the vegetarians.
The varied recipes have made it one of my favorite cookbooks - included is everything from the world's best peanut butter fudge sauce to a new twist on the blood mary to delectable salads.
I can honestly say I've read this thing from cover to cover; Didi Emmons' witty anecdotes that accompany every recipe (not to mention the "comments" from Henry the cat) entirely make up for the lack of photographs - something I'm usually adamant about in cookbooks.
Buy this one. It's definitely not just for the vegetarians.
October 26, 2008
This cookbook was my favorite for a couple of years after I got it, and although it is beginning to seem a little dated, I still look at it often. It has a recipe for Mango Slaw that is outstanding...my mom is famous for bringing it to potlucks. I really enjoy Didi Emmons' writing voice: her recipes are solid, but also personal, and contain both descriptions of the food and stories about her life, friends, and cat. She's informal and speaks to those of us who love and are familiar with food. Her signature blend of modern American and pan-Asian cooking also works for me.
February 16, 2009
LOVE her entertaining and educational snippets that are sprinkled around this diverse book. I'm not a vegetarian but have found plenty of delish dishes with unique flavors! (but not too unique, if you know what I mean!) If you wanted to substitute meat for tofu/tempeh/etc. it would be an ease of a transition. They're that good! The recipes, that is. I checked it out from the library but think I will track down a used copy!
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April 15, 2008Nice cookbook with fun commentary--good recipes for veggie burgers which I copied (library book) and I use now as a guide to extrapolate my own versions. Lots of pretty simple but tasty recipes--no vegan desserts though.
July 1, 2008
Don't love this as much as her previous cookbook, though her Israeli couscous casserole, Nutella fondue, and Haley House pizza dough make it worth the purchase. Nice selection of vegan items, esp. baked goods.
Oh, and these recipes tend to be time and prep intensive.
Oh, and these recipes tend to be time and prep intensive.
March 17, 2018
great book. I really love a book where the author is firmly vegetarian, not sneaking in fish or seafood, poultry etc. Kudos for giving great advice in pull quotes and boxes in the test. And the recepies, good to great.
January 5, 2008
Some of these are good recipes, but 'down to earth' they are not. They're way too fancy for my taste.
November 24, 2008
Clear, simple instructions for a ton of recipes
December 15, 2008
Lots of fun vegetarian ideas for entertaining. This author has a knack for creating recipes with bold flavors. She draws on many types of cuisine to create fun, exotic, and yummy recipes.
July 26, 2013
It loses a star for no pictures. Please, cookbook people, I need pictures!!!! But most everything sounds yummy. I want to eat this book!!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews