Here's the menu:
Baguette With Goat Cheese, Roasted Peppers & Basil Almost Caesar Salad Portabella Mushroom Veggie Stacks Angel Hair Pasta With Pesto Warm Dark Chocolate Cakes Coffee Or Tea With Mocha Truffles or Strawberry Truffles
The Recipes: Baguette With Goat Cheese, Roasted Peppers & Basil The combination of marinated goat cheese, roasted peppers and fresh basil is perfect in its simplicity. I usually keep the ingredients around the house for a quick snack or for "instant entertaining" when guests drop by. These ingredients also make a great Italian "Panini" sandwich.
Serves 6-8 as appetizer
1 recipe marinated goat cheese (or you can by a jar of goat cheese or chèvre in oil) 1 red bell pepper, roasted 1 yellow bell pepper, roasted 3-4 T fresh (not dried)basil, chiffonade 1 large baguette
Slice baguette into 1 inch slices. Spread a layer of goat cheese onto each slice. Top with a strip or two of roasted pepper and a few strips of fresh basil.
Almost Caesar Salad 6 cups shredded romaine lettuce 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese Garlic Croutons 4 slices french bread cut into 1 inch cubes 3 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed 1 1/2 T olive oil 1/2 tsp. dried basil
Dressing 1 tsp. Worchesteshire Sauce 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/4 cup white wine vinegar 1/2 cup olive oil 2 garlic cloves finely minced or pressed Serves 6
Prepare croutons by sautéeing garlic in olive oil on medium heat for about three minutes (Don't cook on too high a heat or allow garlic to brown as it will turn bitter). Remove garlic from oil and add bread cubes and basil to pan. Toss to coat. Spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and place in oven set on the lowest temperature setting. Leave bread crumbs in oven until dry (about 10-15 minutes).
Prepare dressing by whisking all dressing ingredients together. Toss lettuce, cheese, croutons and dressing together and serve. Note From Cheri: I call this an "almost" Caesar Salad since it eliminates anchovies and raw egg. The croutons, infused with garlic, more than makes up for the missing ingredients in flavor. Portabella Mushroom Veggie Stacks
Angel Hair Pasta With Pesto 1 T garlic, chopped or pressed 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 1/3 cup olive oil 1 T basil The Stacks 2 large Portabella Mushrooms 4 slices eggplant, 1/3 inch each 1 yellow squash, cut into 1/3 inch slices 2 slices red onion, 1/3 inch each
