Friday, February 8, 2013

Italtian 101

We had a "cooking" dinner party



One of our dear friends wanted
to practice preparing a few Italian dishes
so we all got in the kitchen,
put on some Italian music,
and cooked some delicious food

It was an all day affair but
we loved every minute of it


For starters, Janie prepared
this beautiful roasted veggie tray
it was a wonderful beginning to our Italian meal


carrots, tomatos, greenbeans, zuchinni, and cauliflower

Next we prepared our salad

Baby Spinach Salad
with Olives, red onion, shaved  Ricotta Salata,
and candied pecans


We took our time between each course
which made the meal and the entire
evening very enjoyable

Entree- Country Ragu Sauce
We seared a chicken thigh and a lamb rib
and added it to our sauce for extra flavor
We cooked this sauce earlier in the day,
It's a little labor intensive but oh so worth the time!!

Ragu served over linguine w/ crusty bread


and of course a little vino
OK, maybe lots of vino


Also earlier in the day Janie
and I had prepared our dessert



Limoncello Mousse

You sooooooo need this recipe!

4 egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg, beaten
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. Fresh Lemon Juice
pinch of salt
1/2 C. Unsalted Butter, room temp
1/4 C. Limoncello
1 C. whipping cream

In a med-sized saucepan over med heat, whisk together beaten egg yolks &
whole egg, sugar, lemon juice & salt.  Switch to a spoon & stir for 10-15 min, or till mixture thickens.  You'll know when this happens (it thickens up even more when cooled)  Remove pot from heat & stir in butter, a few pats at a time, till it's all used up.  Stir in limoncello till incorporated.  Let curd cool & thicken, stirring every so often, then cover & place in the fridge for 1 hr.  When curd is cold, whip whipping cream till stiff peaks form. In a large bowl, fold whipping cream into the lemon curd,  reserving a few dollops of plain whipped cream for garnish.  Spoon mousse into lovely dessert glasses,
top with a touch of whipped cream & serve with biscott on the side.

to finish off this great meal
we retreated to the screened porch
and enjoyed our delicious dessert and
each other's company


What a fun cooking experience
and a wonderful meal
with special friends

Every Little Birdie says-

We got up the next morning and walked off
some of those calories!!!!

....and then came home and ate
a yummy brunch......

Oh well, I'll diet tomorrow!

8 comments:

  1. Buon Cibo, Buon Vino, Buoni Amici !!!!!

    It was a day of good food, good wine and good friends. Thank you for a day in Italy right there in Victoria, TX . Grazie mille, Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the great compliment!! Next time we will all do Italy at the Villa!!!!

      Delete
  2. Looks delicious and fun! And your kitchen looks awesome, too, Marsha!

    Gail Groves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Gail! I'm so glad you are popping by Every Little Birdie to read my posts!!

      Delete
  3. Nothing better than a day in the kitchen with family and friends! The food looked fabulous, and I will definitely try the mousse recipe with my Meyer lemons!
    Thanks for sharing!

    Phyllis Walther

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Phyllis, it would be double delicious with meyer lemons!!!! Let me know how it turns out and thanks for dropping by.

      Delete
  4. What wonderful day you had! Looks like it was a lot of fun. I am your newest GFC follower, and found you via 'I Love My Online Friends GFC hop'. Have a great day!
    Angie G.
    http://mycraftycollections.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angie, thanks so much for becoming a Follower!!!! I'll pop over to your blog and check it out.

      Delete