Lay out an antipasti spread for laid-back summer dinner
Spread of Italian nibbles and bites is great food for warm-weather entertaining
2 Italian salamis, one hot, one mild. I usually go with 4-6 slices per person 2-3 Italian cheeses, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, piave and Gorgonzola. Remove cheeses from fridge an hour before serving to develop flavours Smoked salmon Hummus Olives, either cured, green or kalamata, or a mixture Caper berries Cherry tomatoes Roasted eggplant (see recipe) Seasonal green vegetable (such as the asparagus salad recipe here) Spicy mixed pickled vegetables (see recipe) Roasted red pepper and chickpea salad 2-4 loaves of fresh Italian bread, ¼ loaf per person
The seasons affect what I wear, what I eat and how I entertain.
In those dreary winter months when company comes over, I’m all about candlelight dinners and hearty fare.
Stews, roasted beef or chicken and root vegetables adorn my table.
Come spring, I want easy entertaining with lighter fare. Better yet, I want to just sit around the table nibbling my way through supper.
I always gravitate toward Italian cuisine in the warmer months.
Antipasto, in the traditional sense of the word, is an appetizer course featuring cold meats, cheeses, olives and whatever else the host decides would be fabulous.
Always seasonal, antipasti reflect what’s growing and available on the day of the dinner.
I love serving an antipasto course with wines, particularly sparkling whites, but every time I served it I found my guests were almost too full to eat the main course I had painstakingly prepared.
So the Antipasto Dinner was created. Now I serve the entire dinner in the same format as the antipasto course, either outside in my garden or at my country kitchen table.
Here’s what you will need: