Cooking for a veg-head

This weekend we’re hosting long time friends, one of whom is a vegetarian.  She’s been vegan in the past, but fortunately has gone back to eating dairy products which makes it easier on me.

I was thinking of making her some separate items to eat but then thought, “What the hell, why don’t we all eat vegetarian?”.

So I’m making:

• Watermelon with 3 garnishes – tarragon, basil and mint with balsamic reduction
• Heirloom tomato salad with goat cheese, pine nuts, olive oil and mint infused sherry gastrique
• Eggplant ravioli with a tomato/butter emulsion and Nicoise olive crumbs (this will be my take on a dish we had last weekend at Cityzen in DC)
• Papas arrugas with fried plantain and mojo verde
• Peach clafoutis with peach and basil ice cream

This is the first time I’ve ever done an exclusively vegetable menu, and I’m sure close friends will wonder what the hell happened to the old me, but I still plan on using lots of butter.