Italian Dinner Party

Many people like to host dinner parties when holidays approach (a great way to find decorations and traditional festive foods at your local grocery store), but just remember that you don’t always have to follow tradition. You can have dinner parties with an array of themes for any day!

Get creative! Love Italian food? How about having an Italian Dinner Party? You can decorate accordingly…

• Have plenty of wine (Tip: You can even opt to host a Wine Tasting Party with appetizers instead).
• Have plenty of bread! Bread sticks, bruschetta…etc.
• Follow Italy’s flag: Red, green and white are colors you can use! I recommend buying the traditional red and white checkered table cloths often used at old Italian restaurants.
• Fan of Italian music? Easy listening tunes are perfect backdrop for a party.
• Candles and lighting, really help set the mood for a party!

Easy Italian Dinner Party Menu

Appetizer: Create your own appetizer tray (veggies, bread slices,

cheese slices, grapes and nuts – all which go perfectly with wine!) 

Main Entree:  Traditional Lasagna

Lasagna (recipe for 6 Servings):

Directions:

1. In a large pan, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned.
2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water.
3. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley.
4. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water and set aside.
7. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
9. To assemble you lasagna. Spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
10. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
11.  Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
12. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Dessert: Tiramisu

Tiramisu (recipe for 6 servings):

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat yolks with sugar and vanilla until smooth and light yellow. Fold mascarpone into yolk mixture and set aside.
2.  Dip ladyfingers briefly in coffee and arrange 12 of them in the bottom of an 8×8 inch dish. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. Repeat with remaining cookies and mascarpone.
3.  Cover and chill 1 hour. Sprinkle with cocoa just before serving.

Not a fan or lasagna? Create your own menu. You can make pizza and have your guests help out, turning your Italian Dinner Party into a Cooking Party!

Tags: cooking ideas, cooking recipes, dessert recipe, dinner party, dinner party ideas, dinner party menu, Italian food, Italian food recipes

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Dinner recipes, Italian dishes, Italian food, Italian food recipe, Party themes, Uncategorized, cooking recipe, deseert recipes, desserts, dinner ideas, dinner parties, dinner party menu, hosting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.