Help with Italian Menu.....Any Ideas

hulk826 · #1 07-15-2007, 10:29 PM

I'm goin to see a friend that I have not seen in while am going to cook an italian meal for her. Well I was think bout grabing some bread, chesse and sliced apples and pears and some wine to start the meal. Not Good with wine any ideas(her last name is espazito think bout trying to find a wine of her heritage). Now i have to Cook for two to six maybe seven people. I need a Main coarse and desert that Can feed that maybe people. All ideas welcome thanks. And hello to everyone this is my first post.

nowIamone · #2 07-16-2007, 11:33 AM

If this is to be an Italian meal, then the fruit and cheese would be a course to be served after dinner.

Most Italians would be content to serve only the fruit and cheese; a sweet, rich dessert would be served much later, as your company has sat and visited around the cleared table for awhile, if at all, and still after fruit and cheese. Add some melon, or strawberries (seasonal, fresh fruit) and a very nice biscotti, or offer a nice Italian cookie tin assortment and you would have dessert. At this time offer coffee, port, anisette.

(Don't under estimate, the Italian cookie..... we did my daughter's wedding this June. Our cookie table was 24 feet long stacked with traditional cookies, on brass trays, crystal tiers, etc. Two of the old aunts flew in early and baked for a week. A great source of pride for the older generation)

What are your cooking skills? This dinner will be much easier than you are thinking. What will be important is that you plate it or serve it well. Present it on the platters by laying out very, nice and little garnish, don't dump in a bowl helter-skelter and take to the table. Plan your work.

Think about a nice tomato bruschetta for the first course. It's seasonal and can be done a few minutes ahead. You can whip a half cup of softened butter with a can of very good white albacore tuna, a tablespoon of capers and cracked black pepper; serve with a nice crusty bread. Or some salami, provolone, and a good crusty bread.

Something seasonal would be nice, grilled fresh fish and a vegetable; grilled chicken, with lemon and herbs. If you are thinking pasta, you can grill or oven roast vegetables and Italian sausage and toss with a pasta and cheese. Pasta with a sauce would not be the main dish. It's a side or first course. We wouldn't serve spaghetti and meat balls to company in July and August.

Think, fresh and seasonal for the fish/meat and vegetable; use olive oil, lemons, garlic and herbs to season and cook both......and now you are cooking summer Italian!

A nice lighter red will see you through the meal. A Merlot or Cabernet would be to heavy.

More questions?

MattFin · #3 07-16-2007, 12:45 PM

Hey Hulk welcome aboard!

When you gotta cook for lots of people, the key to a good Italian meal - especially if you are not a professional chef - is lasagna. You get the wow factor of a nice large centerpiece type dish (like a thanksgiving turkey) and you also get the added factor that you will most likely not have anyone who doesn't like lasagna.

And don't just think meat and cheese here - think about mushrooms, spinach, and fresh sliced tomatoes (since they are in season...). You can make all kinds of additions and modifications. It is almost impossible to mess up so long as you don't overcook it.

There are no-cook lasagna sheets out there which are not bad (not great either) if you really need a shortcut here, but if you can get fresh sheets and boil them a little before laying out your layers, you'll have a much better product.

As for dessert - the crowd pleaser always seems to be tiramisu. (Cannolis are great, but time-consuming...) Lady fingers, soaked in espresso layered with sweetened mascarpone cheese (throw in some Sambucca of course) and a layer of fresh summer berries in the middle there - you'll be sure to have a hit!

Hope this helps as far as some ideas. Good luck!

CRLevesque · #4 07-16-2007, 08:03 PM

Another great dish is manicotti. easy to make and I have found it to be a huge crowd pleaser. best thing about lasagna and manicotti is that it can be made 2-3 days in advance easy and just bake it when the time is ready.

DC Sunshine · #5 07-16-2007, 09:36 PM

Lasagne is a great one for crowds, as per above posts. Whatever wine you use in the meat sauce, could be served to drink with the main. (Make it a good one

)

Have you thought about a course of anti-pasto to start the meal? There's endless things you can put on a platter for this, Kalamata olives, pepperoni, roasted bell peppers, salami, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, chargrilled egg plants, anchovies, etc etc, most can be bought prepared already, you could just make up a couple of big platters and serve with stacks of Italian style breads, and bowls of EVOO with a little balsamic vinegar poured into the middle of it for dipping the bread into. Pair it with a sparkling white wine.

Maybe a minestrone as a soup course - easy to make lots of it. Although it could be a bit heavy with the lasagne.

As for a sweet course, tiramisu sounds great. Or maybe a fig pizza for a twist...

fresh fig dessert pizza recipe | italian dessert recipes | pizza recipes

If you want a wine for the dessert, try a Muscat to pair with it.

Good Luck! Let us know what you end up with

DC

hulk826 · #6 07-16-2007, 10:14 PM

Ok so I have narrowed it down I am goin to use alot of all of your ideas so thank you so much. The chose's are Lasagna or manicotti, Chicken/Fish, or pizza. I will do some sort of pasta if I chose the chicken(Grilled chicken Alfredo) or Fish(haven't cooked alot of fish so any help???). So for the first I will do a Salad with a garlic bread then second maybe a light soup but not really sure what would go well with the main course. Then one of the four courses above. Now for dessert I have never try'd to make tiramisu that matt suggested or the Fig Pizza that DC said. And after the dessert I think we are goin to watch a movie so I think I might use Matt/iamone ideas on laying out some fruit,veggies,chesse, and bread to snack on through the movie. Thanks for the idea and all the help.

DC Sunshine · #7 07-18-2007, 01:46 AM

If you are doing 4 courses, and doing the lasagne as the main, I really don't think you'd need anything to go with it, it will be enough on its own.

Maybe if you want to try the fish, go for a parmigiana style dish, with a nice meaty fish (not sure what fish you can get in your area), it should hold in a low oven fairly well if you have a juicy tomato sauce on it.

I've never tried the fig pizza before either, but I thought it sounded tasty, and thought figs may be in season there. Or you could go a gelati

But good luck and enjoy - glad to be of help.

DC

italy · #8 08-10-2007, 03:47 AM

My suggestion for the dessert is Tiramisu, why? coz i love Tiramisu haha..
well.. It is delicious anyway..
it could be perfect for the summer..