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Vegan UFC / Gameday Party Food (entire meal can serve 15-20 people) Mr. VeggL and I have made a tradition of hosting a UFC Fight Night for the past couple years. ...especially when particular fighters are fighting. I had been asking about the next one on the ticket but he didn't seem to think we would have people over since we had just bought & moved in to a new house, celebrated my 40th birthday and had a house full of people--all within 2 weeks! 2 days before the fight, I get the, "heyyy, so I think we're going to have people over. Is that ok?" Ummm, yes. Now while I'm excited for it, I immediately go in to a semi-frantic planning mode for food. The only vegans in the house will be Mr. VeggL and myself, so we need to make it GOOD! THE PLAN Generally, we just have different chips, salsa & a Buffalo Chickpea Dip I make. They all have loved this Chickpea Dip so that is definitely going on the menu but for this round, I am now a Vegan Chef and want to up my game. Up my game but make it realistic with a day of planning and preparing. We decided on: SLIDERS Spicy BBQ Bac'n Sliders with Onion Rings Sweet Hawaiian Pineapple Sliders with Guacamole FRENCH ONION DIP (homemade) BUFFALO CHICKPEA DIP (homemade) GUACAMOLE (homemade) VEGGIES (I'm slicing carrots and cucumber) CHIPS (kettle style--different flavors & tortilla / store bought) PEANUTS PREP You can absolutely make everything the day of as I am doing; however, the French Onion Dip and Buffalo Chickpea Dip can be made the night before --> which is what I would suggest you doing! Store both in the refrigerator. The Buffalo Chickpea Dip will be baked an hour before serving. The guacamole I would make closer to time of serving. Make sure your avocados are ripe but NOT overripe! You do not want to start cutting your avo's and realize you do not have enough because they are brown. GLUTEN FREE TIP: You can make this meal entirely gluten free if you choose to wrap your sliders. I suggest using butter lettuce. Check to verify all of your other ingredients are Gluten Free as well! RECIPES Spicy BBQ Bac'n Sliders with Onion Rings vegan slider buns -or- vegan dinner rolls, 8-10 vegan burgers, 8-10 vegan bacon, cut slices in to 1/2's, 1/2 slice/slider frozen onion rings, 1 small onion ring/slider (I bought 2 bags since each bag has different size onion rings) bbq sauce, 1/3cup'ish vegan pepper jack cheese, 4-5 slices jalapeno slices, 1 slice/slider mason jar canning ring Prep: Pick out the 10 smallest onion rings plus any extras that fit on your baking sheet, bake according to package directions. Cut vegan bacon in halves, cook according to package directions. Set aside for assembly. If buns or dinner rolls are not cut in half, gently slice. Place buns cut side down on oven grates or on a baking sheet. Toast for 2-3 minutes. Stack the cheese slices. Cut in half then the other half to make 1/4's. Create an assembly line with everything including the BBQ sauce & jalapeno slices for when the burgers are ready. Assemble: Cook your burgers according to package directions or grill. Place each burger on a plate. Press in to the middle with the mason jar ring to create the proper burger size for a slider. Place vegan burger on the bottom bun. Top with 2 1/4's of cheese, bacon, onion ring and jalapeno slice. Slather BBQ sauce on top bun & place on burger. One slider done! Keep it going... Sweet Hawaiian Pineapple Sliders with Guacamole vegan slider buns -or- vegan Hawaiian rolls, 8-10 vegan burgers, 8-10 vegan provolone cheese, 4-5 slices pineapple rings, 4-5 rings guacamole, little over a 1/2cup (recipe below) sweet Hawaiian type sauce or teriyaki, 1/3cup'ish mason jar canning ring Prep: Allow enough time before making the sliders to prepare the guacamole. Once complete, if buns or dinner rolls are not cut in half, gently slice and lay cut side down on a baking sheet or oven grates. Let toast for 2-3 minutes. Cut 5 pineapple rings in half. Over medium heat, let pineapple rings caramelize on each side. Lay provolone cheese slices on top of each other. Cut in half then the other way to create 1/4's. Create an assembly line with everything including your Hawaiian sauce of choice. Assemble: Cook your burgers according to package directions or grill. Place each burger on a plate. Press in to the middle with the mason jar ring to create the proper burger size for a slider. Place vegan burger on the bottom bun. Top with 2 1/4's of cheese, caramelized pineapple half and a tablespoon of guacamole. Slather Hawaiian sauce on top bun & place on burger. Guacamole ripe avocados, 5 chipotle chili powder, 1/4tsp garlic powder, 1/8tsp salt, 1/4tsp (to taste) black pepper, to taste lime juice, 2 1/2tbsp red onion, 1/4c chopped small Directions: Chop red onion. Set aside. Scoop avocado in to a medium bowl. Add all ingredients except for red onion. Mash & stir with a fork. Mash & stir. Once it is the consistency you like, add the red onion & stir well. Taste. Add additional seasoning if necessary. Frank's Buffalo Chickpea Dip raw unsalted cashews, 1cup white beans, 1can(15oz) Frank's Red Hot Sauce, 3/4cup unsweetneened, non-dairy milk, 1/2cup nutritional yeast, 2tbsp white miso, 2tsp garlic powder, 1tsp onion powder, 1tsp lemon juice, 1tbsp garbanzo beans, 1can(15oz) chives, 1tbsp plus 1tsp chopped Directions: Soak cashews overnight -OR- do a QUICK SOAK METHOD: In a small pot, bring water and cashews to a boil with a lid. Turn the stove off and let sit for at least 10 minutes. If using a high speed blender, 10 minutes is sufficient--if not, then let sit for closer to 20 minutes. While cashews are soaking, drain and rinse your white beans then add to blender. Add all the other ingredients except for the garbanzo beans. Once the cashews are done soaking, drain & rinse well. Add to blender. Blend as smooth as you can get it. In a medium bowl, add the drained & rinsed chickpeas. Slightly mash. I like the consistency of some texture but not whole chickpeas. Add the buffalo sauce and 1tbsp of the chopped chives to the chickpeas. Mix well. Pour in to a square baking dish. 8x8 or 9x9 Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips. PREP TIME: (includes Quick Soak Method): 30 minutes BAKE TIME: 40 minutes EAT TIME: so fast! ...as long as you don't mind a lil spice ;) French Onion Dip raw unsalted cashews, 1cup yellow onion, 1cup diced (should be close to 1/2 large onion) grapeseed or avocado oil, 1 1/2tbsp (or other high temperature cooking oil) unsweetened non-dairy milk, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 3tbsp lemon juice, 2tbsp garlic powder, 1/2tsp onion powder, 1tsp soy sauce, 1tsp sea salt, 1tsp + 1pinch when sautéing onions black pepper, pinch Directions: Same directions as above for the cashews... Soak cashews overnight -OR- do a QUICK SOAK METHOD: In a small pot, bring water and cashews to a boil with a lid. Turn the stove off and let sit for at least 10 minutes. If using a high speed blender, 10 minutes is sufficient--if not, then let sit for closer to 20 minutes. Over medium heat, add oil, onions and a pinch of salt. Sautee onion until pieces develop a deep caramelization. DO NOT BURN! Adjust your heat down if you notice the pieces browning too fast. In a blender, add all ingredients except the caramelized onions. Blend until a silky smooth consistency is obtained--stopping and scraping down the sides if necessary. Add your caramelized onions and cashew onion sauce in to your serving bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Tastes BEST when flavors get to merry overnight in the frig. PREP TIME (includes Quick Soak Method): 30 minutes BEST SERVED AFTER OVERNIGHT REFRIGERATION but can be served after 2 hour refrigeration Once you have all of your components ready, set your table. Make it creative! I served the burgers on a bamboo cutting board and placed the extra onion rings around them. The dips and chips were served in bowls that are different colors and shapes to make it interesting. These items all represent me and my style as well! Be authentically you in your presentation. NOTES This ensemble of food can easily be made for Game Day's, The Super Bowl, Birthday Parties or any social gathering. For a hungry crowd or to make the process a little easier, make FULL burgers, not sliders. Remember to adjust the amounts of vegan bacon, cheese slices, guacamole, etc to meet the amount you will need. I purchased all of my ingredients from Whole Foods. What I did notice is they did not have any slider buns but did have classic and sweet dinner rolls. Be aware, most commercially recognized Kings Hawaiian Rolls are NOT vegan. They contain milk and eggs. (sigh...) If you cannot find sweet rolls for the Sweet Hawaiian Slider, use regular ones--no need to fret. Other Slider Ideas classic with cheese or no cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle, chopped white onion vegan bacon & cheese with lettuce, tomato, ketchup and vegan mayo vegan smoked gouda with lettuce tomato, red onion and dijon aoli (mix 1/4c vegan mayo with 1tbsp dijon mustard) caramelized onion & vegan provolone with sautéed bell peppers guacamole, salsa & vegan pepperjack with lettuce What Food Brands & Appliances We Used Dinner Rolls: Whole Foods Vegan Burgers: Whole Foods 365 Plant Based Burger Vegan Pepper Jack: Follow Your Heart Vegan Provolone: Violife Onion Rings: Alexia Hawaiin Sauce: Lillians Sweet Hawaiin, LLC --> from our local farmers market in Marietta, Georgia High Speed Blender: Vitamix. Mine is about 7 years old but my next one will be the one the Vitamix 5200 64oz. Cutting Board: While this is not the exact one I have, I love the look of the Villa Acacia Handmade Board. You can also pick the size that will suit you best. Knives: I have knife block set that is over 10 years old. I'm suggesting a set that includes the block is by the same company and is very similar to mine--the Zwilling J.A. Henckels 7 piece knife block set. Cookware: In September 2019, I did A LOT of research on cookware and ultimately chose the Cuisinart GG-12 Green Gourmet Hard-Anodized Nonstick 12-Piece Cookware Set. My suggestion is to read the care instructions carefully & take care of them so they last! For my first ALL-VEGAN UFC party, our guests were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was and I impressed myself for pulling it off! Tag us in your Vegan Party Pics on Instagram & we'll share them!! -Jen