The day I created this menu, one of my best friends and her boyfriend were coming over to our house for dinner. This friend of mine is a very picky eater. She was my roommate in college and ate chicken strips (and still does) for the majority of her diet. So I thought what does everyone love....Spaghetti and Meatballs.
On the menu:
Crostini with Herbed Goat Cheese and Olive Tapenade
Fresh Greens with a Homemade Vinaigrette
Spicey Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti
Individual Tiramisu
This menu is best created on a day where you have lots of free time or over the course of a few days. The herbed goat cheese and olive tapenade can be made 2-3 days ahead of time and the tiramisu can be made the day before. The meatballs are best made the day of, but I did freeze some extra meatballs (already cooked) and they were still great after thawing them....this makes a lot of meatballs!
First to make the crostini with two dips:
The recipes for the Olive Tapenade, Herbed Goat Cheese (herbs are modified from original recipe) and Crostini come from the Williams-Sonoma cookbook Thanksgiving Entertaining recipes by Lou Seibert Pappas.
For the Olive Tapenade:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Put 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Until you can smell the walnuts. Set aside to cool.
2. Blend 1 1/2 cups of pitted Kalamata olives, 1/2 cup drained/rough chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped basil leaves, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons lemon zest (I like to use a microplane to zest the lemon - you will need one lemon for this), 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste in a food processor until finely minced. Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
For the Herbed Goat Cheese:
1. Leave 1 pound (1 log) goat cheese out on the counter for at least one hour to bring to room temperature.
2. Mix 1 clove minced garlic, 2 tablespoons minced rosemary, 2 tablespoons minced thyme and goat cheese with a fork.
For the Crostini:
If crostini are desired, proceed with the following recipe, otherwise if soft bread is preferred do not bake the bread.
1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Cut baguette into thin slices and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes.
For the Vinaigrette:
1. Whisk together 1 part Balsamic Vinegar, 3 parts of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and salt/pepper to taste.
2. Toss with mixed greens just before serving.
For the Spicy Turkey Meatballs:
This recipe is from Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) cookbook How Easy Is That?.
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Blend 3 cups of 1-inch diced bread cubes from a round rustic Italian bread in a food processor. Combine bread crumbs with 2/3 cup whole milk in small bowl and set aside.
3. Grate enough Asiago cheese in the food processor to create 1 cup grated.
3. Combine 2 pounds ground turkey, 1/2 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, 4 ounces thinly sliced chopped prosciutto, 1 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese, 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon Kosher salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and bread mixture in a large bowl with your hands. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 eggs with a fork.
4. Roll the mixture into small round meatballs and place them on sheet pans lined with Parchment paper (I needed 3 pans).
5. Brush the meatballs with olive oil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
6. In a dutch oven, pour 72 ounces of jarred marinara sauce. Add meatballs when they are ready.
7. Cook 2 pounds of dried spaghetti.
This creates A LOT of spaghetti and meatballs. When I made the recipe for four, I made 1 pound of spaghetti and used about half of the marinara sauce. I froze the rest of the meatballs and thawed them in the microwave to use a different time with spaghetti or in meatball subs.
Finally, for the Individual Tiramisu:
This recipe is adapted from the cookbook Chocolate by Trish Deseine.
Note: The tiramisu needs to chill at least 5 hours, preferably longer!
1. Beat 6 egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar in a stand mixer until pale.
2. Add 1 pound mascarpone cheese.
3. Either transfer mixture into a different bowl (if you do not have an extra bowl for your stand mixer) or using a hand mixer, whisk 3 egg whites into stiff peaks.
4. Gently fold egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
5. Melt 7 ounces of dark chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Being careful not to over heat the chocolate.
6. Add 1 glass of Amaretto to 1 cup of warm, strong coffee. One at a time, dunk each of 30 ladyfingers into the mixture, do not oversoak or the tiramisu will be inedible.
7. Arrange the tiramisu in layers into individual dishes (creates about 8 individual cups) or into one dish, placing soaked ladyfingers, creamy mixture, then drizzle melted chocolate and repeat once more to create a second layer.
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours.
Grocery List:
-Fresh Basil (1/2 cup)
-Fresh Rosemary (2-3 sprigs)
-Fresh Thyme (2-4 sprigs)
-Fresh Parsley (1/2 cup)
-1 Lemon
-Baguette
-Loaf of round Italian bread
-1 pound of Mascarpone cheese
-Goat Cheese (1 log/1 pound)
-Whole Milk (2/3 cup)
-Eggs (8)
-2 pounds ground turkey meat
-1/2 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, casings removed
-Prosciutto (4 oz. thinly sliced)
-Kalamata Olives (6 oz.)
-Oil-Packed Sun Dried Tomatoes (2.5 oz.)
-Jarred Marinara Sauce (72 oz.)
-Dark Chocolate (7 oz.)
-Ladyfingers (30 cookies)
Pantry Items:
-Walnuts (1/2 cup)
-Garlic (3 cloves)
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Olive Oil
-Dijon Mustard
-Parmesan Cheese
-Amaretto Liquer
-Brewed Coffee (1 cup)
-Spaghetti (2 pounds)
-Sugar
-Salt/Pepper
The Tablescape:
I wanted to keep the table rustic and homey while still keeping the elegance of a dinner party. I used my favorite pasta bowls from Williams-Sonoma and salad plates from Crate & Barrel to create this look.
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