Cooking for vegetarians can be a bit of a challenge if you are used to cooking meat, poultry and fish but it is possible to make delicious vegetarian starter recipes.
You might like to make a vegetarian pate, using mushrooms, cheese or other ingredients instead of meat.
Another option is to make baked eggs or mini quiches.
If you want to serve something cold, you can make a fruit and vegetable salad with a homemade dressing or what about a vegetarian soup? Chilled soups are really popular at the moment and you can make a fruit soup if you like.
Here are some more ideas to tantalise your taste buds: Cheesy Vegetarian Pate To make an easy pear and stilton pate, beat 8 oz (225g) cream cheese and 6 oz (170g) grated stilton cheese with a tablespoon of dry white wine and some salt and black pepper.
Shape this mixture into a roll and wrap it in plastic wrap.
Chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Slice three ripe pears and dip them in the juice of one lemon to stop them turning brown.
Arrange the pear slices and pate on a platter and garnish with walnut halves and watercress.
You can serve any kind of crackers you like with this.
Baked Eggs with Tarragon What about making tarragon baked eggs? Tarragon is often used in chicken recipes but its aniseed-like flavour is also good with egg dishes.
You can serve this with crusty bread or garlic bread.
Grease four ramekins with melted butter and stir together a tablespoon of finely chopped tarragon, four tablespoons of cream and a little salt and black pepper.
Break an egg into each ramekin and spoon the tarragon mixture over the top.
Bake for seven minutes (or until the eggs are set) at 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C.
Quick Leek Nicoise This is a great starter recipe idea for a dinner party.
Cut eight leeks into five centimetre lengths and put them in a pan.
Add 4 oz (120ml) olive oil, 10 oz (300ml) water, a teaspoon of white sugar and a tablespoon of tomato concentrate.
Season with salt and black pepper and cook covered for 15 minutes or until the leeks are soft.
Add some lemon juice and serve the leeks hot with some chopped fresh parsley and a handful of small black olives.
There are plenty more ideas for starter recipes that you can choose from if you really want to impress your guests and leave them talking about your dinner party for all the right reasons.
Now all you will need to do is work out what to serve for the main course!