Italian Station Ideas

[tigerwoman]

Calling all creative minds, Shroom and many others out there ...
any ideas for Italian Stations that go beyond the traditional pasta yet still offer a taste of tradition. WOuld like to incorporate some things like polenta, risotto, wild mushrooms, a hot antipasto station. Looking for creative suggestions.

One idea is a crostini station
or a wild mushroom station
need to expand on these too.

[Suzanne]

By "crostini" do you mean croutons with choices for hot and cold toppings? That could be great, and relatively inexpensive, too. Think of the varieties Mario Batali serves -- white beans, chickpeas, all manner of beans; caponata; chicken livers; diced tomato (think bruschetta).

I would not try a risotto station, because I can't see having a good product if you start with a big batch of pre-cooked risotto and then add in other ingredients. And it just takes too long to make from scratch.

But polenta, that would work. A cauldron of soft polenta and a variety of sauces/cheeses to ladle on top, or trays of grilled polenta to top on order.

Given the cost of wild mushrooms, maybe you could just incorporate them into these other stations?

(I realize I haven't given you any new ideas, but hope I've offered something useful.)

[shroomgirl]

fishes...tuna in olive oil, anchovies, clams, octopus on a grill station with either the hot grilled bread served with pre cooked fish or the octopus/squid grilled

Antipasto with an interactive touch. Grilled asp with proscuitto, peppers with mozz, bread sticks with proscuitto, um I'll think of more.
Wild mushroom stations are relatively inexspensive if you use fresh and dried....I make duxelle with buttons and dried wild, works.
Polenta with ragout....polenta with cheese....(actually that was my brunch this AM....cheddar grits with chipotle.) instead of mashed potato bar do polenta.
Zabione with liquors other than marsala...
Seasonal menus....what season?

[chiffonade]

How about a frico station? Someone throwing parmesan or romano cheese into a hot pan, yielding thin wafery cheesy crisps? Low maintenance, unique and tasty.

[shroomgirl]

Frico cups with some thing not too runny in them......I just had some interesting tuna nicoise tartar, all the shtuff that goes into the salad...eggs, olives, capers, green beans, tomato, vinegar, oil are chopped up into raw tuna....is there an Italian salad or verison that would work in a tiny Frico cup?
I just bought a cone maker (looks much like a waffle maker) I've not played with it...but am thinking savory mini cone crackers with interesting scoops...
What do you think good combos would be?

[Peachcreek]

I do a roasted/ grilled vegetable bar with whole garlic, peppers, zuchinni mushrooms, etc, off of a bbq. An artichoke bar would be good- with artichokes done up a bunch of different ways. A friend of mine was in Italy and ate at a place that just served artichokes 40+ different ways.