Playlist- Il Viaggio

To go with Menu #1 or any other Italian food party!

I have died and gone to an Italian Heaven, and that is where I write this post.

For months I've been working on various playlists to share with you to use as a backdrop for your social gatherings, and this one has been the most fun to create. This is partly because I'm very new to any sort of contemporary Italian music, and partly because the music I discovered is either so fun or so unbelievably beautiful. Some of these artists perform with a certain raw, poetic quality that allows them to reach the emotions of their listeners in a way that I think is rare in most of today's American music. I

Dinner Party Timeline- Menu #1

Menu #1 - Blue Cheese Spread & Sliced Pears, Red Grape Caesar Salad, Individual Pizzas with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto, Ribolitta, and Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode

Three Weeks Before

• Find a co-host, if desired/needed
• Arrange for a sitter if desired/needed
• Send out invitations.

One Week-2 Days Before

• Deep clean the house.
• Follow up with any guests who have not given an RSVP.

Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode

The worst date I ever went on I owe to a guy named David. While taking me on a tour of his college campus, he spoke extensively of a large construction site we passed, and brought me to a piano practice room where he awkwardly looked me in the eyes without blinking while playing. When it came time to eat lunch, he let me order and then told the server he'd just like something to drink. (I quickly changed my order to a drink so I wouldn't be the only one eating.) He talked for most of the time about how he was an ugly duckling in high school, which was worsened (poor guy) by the fact that he was coughing through the whole story because he was choking on his beverage. These things were all kind of uncomfortable, but I don't need my man to be smooth in order to be happy, right? Well, my sister and a friend of ours were on campus and they had a car, so when it came time for the date to end we hitched a ride with them. When the driver asked David where we could drop him off, he directed us to an
apartment near campus and then told us... *drum roll*.... it was his current girlfriend's house. And
THEN he said, "We should definitely do this again sometime." 

The point I'm trying to make is, however things go in the beginning or middle, we definitely want it to culminate in something good. I'm sure you see where this is going. Ending on a high note at your dinner party means serving a dessert that will be memorable for the right reasons. It doesn't need to be difficult, elaborate, or even homemade! It just has to look good and taste great. Here's a great dessert for you that takes hardly any effort on your part and is still impressive.
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Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode

Ingredients
1 pounds cake, or other dense loaf cake
Amaretto, for drizzling (Shawn and I don't use alcohol unless it cooks out, so I use a good almond-flavored syrup.)
Vanilla ice cream (Kirkland (Costco) brand, Ben & Jerry's, Haagen Dazs, or Blue Bell are GREAT)
Coconut, shredded and toasted, for topping (Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 3 minutes tops. Start watching it at 2 minutes.)

Directions
Cur pound cake into slices, about 1" thick, and arrange into individual serving dishes. Drizzle each with enough amaretto to barely soak into the cake, about 3 tablespoons. Top with a big scoop of vanilla. Top the ice cream with a few pinches of coconut. Serve immediately.
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Serve following the rest of Menu #1:
Blue Cheese Baguette Spread and Sliced Pears
Ribollita
Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, & Prosciutto Pizzas
Red Grape Caesar Salad

A little bit of coconut is in keeping with the nutty flavor of the cake and adds some variety in texture.

The pound cake can be a basic yellow, or vanilla like the one I chose from my local bakery. Dig in!

Blue Cheese Spread and Sliced Pears

I'm so excited to give you this recipe! I've used it many, many times because it is such a hit and you really can't mess it up; it's so easy. The cheese spread and baguette really could stand on its own, but it's very rich and savory, so I like to serve it alongside something that will temper its strength and freshen the palate. Hence, the sliced pears.
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Blue Cheese Spread

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese (not whipped), room temp
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons fresh green onions or chives, snipped
Kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons walnuts, toasted (optional)
2 Baguettes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

DirectionsIn a small mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, blue cheese, 2 of the tablespoons of green onions, salt, and pepper until evenly combined. Top with remaining tablespoon of green onions and toasted walnuts, if using. Serve alongside sliced bread, or top each slice with spread, and serve.
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I alternate between using green onions and chives. The chives are a better size for blending, but the green onions looked great at the store, so they won out this time.

If you spread it for your guests, let the cheese mound a bit. It looks more indulgent and enticing.

It's always that much more appealing to me to dig into a piece of fruit that looks like its original, beautiful self. Slice it up much higher than I did in this photo, though, so your guests don't have to cut it themselves.   

Serve as appetizers to the rest of Menu #1
Ribollita
Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, & Prosciutto Pizzas
Red Grape Caesar Salad
Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode

Red Grape Caesar Salad

This salad is very, very simple and packs a LOT of flavor, which is why I like it so much. I'm sure the concept of red grapes in a caesar salad is not new to most of you. It really isn't anything revolutionary, but it IS delicious, and I can't fully enjoy a caesar without them. Normally I toss in some homemade croutons, but since this is going with pizza AND a soup that has bread in it, I kept the croutons out so you won't get bread overload in your meal. Also, sometimes I add chicken and stuff it all between fresh ciabatta for a delicious, albeit messy sandwich. (Really, it's probably best to do it in a wrap. Way more manageable.) Anyway, like I said, for the purpose of this menu, we're keeping it very basic. Because there are so few ingredients, it's imperative that you get the very best quality ingredients you can find (and can afford, of course.)  :)

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Red Grape Caesar Salad

Serves 8

The Amore-Maker: Individual Pizzas w/ Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Prosciutto

Ready to be irresistible? Your cupid is the lovely Miss Giada De Laurentiis, and her arrow is this appetizer recipe which I have adapted to work as a main course or side dish. Make these and the Ribolitta from yesterday's post for your desired target. That's what I did, and now I'm married to a sexy man. I didn't even have candles or music. (What?!) (I know!) Let's not waste any more time.

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Individual Pizzas w/ Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Prosciutto adapted from a recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min

Serves 8

Ingredients

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

7 large onions, sliced (about 5 cups)

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3 teaspoons herbs de Provence (if you've never used this before, you are in for a treat!)

3 teaspoons sugar

2 balls purchased dough (about 24 to 32 ounces)

8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

4 to 6 ounces prosciutto, cut into 2x2-inch pieces (Nix this ingredient for a great Vegetarian pizza)

Special equipment: pizza cutter, or knife

Directions
In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, herbs de Provence, and sugar. Stir to combine. Continue cooking over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized and dark brown, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Grease two cookie sheets.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Roll out one pizza dough ball into a long oval or rectangle, 1/4 inch thick. Using your pizza cutter or knife, cut out 4 ovals to serve as the base for individual pizzas, maybe about 6-8 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. (Unless you're amazing at this, you'll probably need to cut out a couple, collect the remaining dough scraps, roll them out, and cut a couple more.) Roll out the second dough ball and repeat to make 4 more pizza bases. Place 4 on each cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and spoon the caramelized onions evenly across each dough base. Top with goat cheese. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
While still hot, top each pizza with prosciutto. Serve immediately.
Notes for Presentation: These can be served whole to each individual at the table OR you can slice each into thirds and arrange them on a platter, with some fresh rosemary as a garnish, to be served family style. Either way, try slicing the pizzas at a diagonal for a more manageable bite and a more pleasing look- two parallel cuts on each to make three slices.
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Serve alongside the rest of Menu #1:
Blue Cheese Baguette Spread and Sliced Pears
Ribollita
Red Grape Caesar Salad
Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode

Slice into thirds using two diagonal, parallel cuts to make it easier for your guests to eat without making a mess. :)

Menu- Ribollita and Pizzas with Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese & Prosciutto

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm introducing my very first full menu! AAAAAH! I don't know why, but I'm kind of nervous. What if some of you actually make this meal for a dinner party? Really, you should 'cause it's delicious. I tried it out on friends this week and they confirmed. (Thank you, Klysta and Dave, for being my test subjects!) But still... I have first-date jitters! Here's to a good first impression so you'll go out with me again.

We're doing Italian!
Appetizers: Blue Cheese Baguette Spread and Sliced Pears
Main Dish: Ribollita
Side Dish #1: Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, & Prosciutto Pizzas
Side Dish #2: Red Grape Caesar Salad
Dessert: Amaretto Pound Cake a la Mode

Here's what I love about this menu:

• Making ribolitta and this pizza was the first cooking I ever did for Shawn when we were dating.
• Winter doesn't yield a lot of fresh produce, but you'd never know it by tasting all the rich flavor combinations in this menu. 
• It's warm and filling- exactly what you want on a cold Winter night. 
• Considering it's a full-course meal, it's affordable. You won't break the bank, even if you're hosting a table full of friends.
• It's very easy to adjust to make it vegetarian! 

K, let's get to it. Today I'll give you the recipe for the main course and the rest will come over the next several days.

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Ribolitta
Serves 8
Total Time: 35-45 min

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 dried bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 15-ounce cans white beans, such as cannellini, Great Northern, or navy beans, drained and rinsed (I use a combo of G.N. and navy)
8 cups chicken stock or broth
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups day-old sourdough bread cubes, without crusts
freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-medium low heat. Add the pancetta and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7-10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, and bayleaf, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste, stir, cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove lid and stir in bread. Let it simmer for about 10-20 minutes, allowing the bread to break down and soup to thicken. (It's meant to be a thick soup, but you can adjust the thickness to your liking, adding more bread or broth as desired.) Season to taste. (I mean it! Don't wait 'til you're all eating to realize you should have added more salt and pepper!) Dish into bowls and top with Parmesan.
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Sweet Kate "helping" mom with the props. :)