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Mixed Olives
Mac n Cheese
Roasted Romas
Pesto Pea Salad
Tiramisu

No, no my friends are not Italian, but they are vegetarian and I chose to cook an Italian inspired meal. Mostly, I needed an excuse to try my hand at Tiramisu and enough mouths to help me eat it! (Both the Tiramisu and the Pesto Pea Spinach Salad are inspired by Ina Garten in Barefoot Contessa Family Style and her most recent book, Barefoot Contessa at Home, respectively).

Sometimes when I cook for vegetarian friends, I make a simple pasta dish and add sausages on the side for the carnivores at the table. In this case, the macaroni and cheese—a gourmet version made from scratch—is substantial enough on its own. Instead of needing a meat like accompaniment, all it needs is a pile of oven roasted tomatoes to refresh the palate and cut through all that rich flavor.

I love this macaroni and cheese dish—it can be frozen, heats up nicely for lunch and keeps for days in the fridge.

As for the olives: I sometimes buy them fresh from my local deli or favorite shop. In a pinch I use a jar of pitted kalamata olives (I keep a stash in my pantry), drain them and mix in 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of Italian herbs (fresh or dried) and a big pinch of kosher/course salt.

The pesto salad is a pile of spinach, lightly toasted pine nuts, a fistful of Parmesan cheese, another fistful of peas and 2-4 T of my pesto mixed with 1-2 T of olive oil (depending on how much dressing you like and how many people you are serving).

And if you are like me, please feel free to add in some chianti or other lovely red wine, and perhaps some port, grappa or sambuca/ouzo to go with dessert. I love that idea: a toast to start the meal and a toast to end it: Salute!

(Click on the red highlighted menu items to find a given recipe).

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Mozzarella Prosciutto Skewers
Olive Tapenade & Bread
Walnut Grape Salad
Grilled Roma Tomatoes
Sausage Cream Pasta

It is true, the tomatoes turned out like CANDY. It was all I could do not to throw them on ice cream and gobble them down (okay, that might be gross, but you get the idea). The BBQ is an amazing thing: turning my garden tomatoes into sweeter than sweet gems to plop on top of Sausage Cream Pasta. The pasta is so rich and filling, you don’t need a big portion. Perhaps a little ground pepper, some fresh parmesan but hands down those candylike Grilled Roma Tomatoes only add presence to this rich, creamy event of a meal. Did I mention the pasta is EASY to make?

Beyond the tomatoes and pasta—before the candy and cream—I served Olive Tapenade with artisan bread (recipe below) and Mozzarella Prosciutto Skewers.

My favorite appetizers are easy, easy, easy. As in, around 3 ingredients and no prep time (my brother Kerry would like that: he and my sister-in-law Donna have a joke about a cookbook they own whose title includes “Quick and Easy.” In reality, they figure the author has 3 full-time sous chefs chopping, stirring, assembling and reducing sauces and ingredients for a good hour before the ‘chef’ steps in to make the ‘quick and easy’ meal. Makes for some good humor when you are trying to feed small children on the fly).

The Olive Tapenade appetizer is simply a store-bought jar of tapenade (Trader Joes in my case); I filled a coffee scoop with tapenade, placed it in the middle of a plate, surrounded it with olive oil and cut a few leaves of basil on top (chiffonade a la scissors). If you cannot find tapenade in a jar or don’t have it on hand, you can pulse blend 1/2 c. kalamata olives, 1 T olive oil and a pinch of salt in a small blender for tapenade; add a few drops of your favorite vinegar and a pinch of basil, parsley or oregano if you feel the urge. Any extra will keep for 1-2 weeks covered in the fridge. It is great on sandwiches or paninis.

To lighten the richness of the meal, a salad is a perfect fix. I added in my Walnut Grape Salad; just when you thought things couldn’t get better, this salad walks through the door.

I confess, not many desserts round my table mid-week. A truffle or nibble of chocolate is all I need with my already half-full glass of red wine or on a good day, a decaf cappuccino. More fanciful desserts make a happy appearance on weekends and at dinner parties. Oh and by the way, good luck with tonight’s dinner—go knock their socks off.