Italian Dinner Party

If you’re looking for a delicious, impressive, yet do-able dinner party idea, this is an Italian Dinner Party Menu that you will absolutely love!

A few weeks ago, I put on a dinner party for some girl friends and it was one of the best nights EVER. I had entered a “Ladies Night Dinner Party” item into my sons school auction and a group of my best gals purchased it- lucky me! Since I was getting back from Italy two weeks before the dinner, we thought it would be fun to make it Italian themed with fresh ideas and pasta brought back straight from Italy.

Over the years, I have learned that one of the hardest parts of entertaining and throwing dinner parties can be coming up with the menu itself and prepping what you can ahead of time to make the night of easier and fun, so hopefully this will be helpful guide for you next time you decide to throw a dinner party!

ITALIAN THEMED DINNER PARTY: THE MENU

To Drink: We set up a spritz station and it was perfect!! We had Aperol Spritz’ and Hugo Spritz’.

Aperol Spritz: You will need Prosecco (La Marca is best with the spritz’ we’ve determined because it doesn’t have an overpowering taste), Aperol, orange slices, and splash of club soda.

Hugo Spritz‘: You will need La Marca Prosecco, St. Germaine Elderflower Liquor, mint leaves, lime wedges, club soda.

And of course we served a few bottles of nice red wine with dinner!

Standing Light Bites. When hosting at a home, there is always that period of time where everyone is arriving, chatting, sipping on a cocktail and catching up. Instead of pushing everyone to sit down at the table right away, I loved the idea of serving standing light bites so they could mix & mingle and enjoy some bite sized apps.

• Melon & Proscuitto Skewers– bite sized pieces of cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto drizzled with lemon and a balsamic glaze.
• Marinated olives, breadsticks, parmesan cheese, black truffle honey, tomatoes, grapes, & figs
• Cured Meats– salami, proscuitto, mortadella

Seated Appetizers. While everyone was sipping bevs and enjoying light bites, I was prepping the seated appetizers. I decided on tomatoes with burrata and crispy artichokes on top of whipped ricotta. As soon as the artichokes came out of the oven, I had everyone sit down and as they started on the tomatoes, I assembled the artichokes. Both were a total hit and not too heavy.

• Tomatoes with burrata– I picked a variety of tomatoes- a few yellow and a few red. I love the look with different colored tomatoes however any and all will work here. I then sliced them very thinly and topped with lots of fresh burrata, basil oil (recipe below), salt, pepper, freshly torn basil leaves, lemon zest, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. This is a light and fresh appetizer that is served everywhere in Italy. It belongs on every Italian Menu in my opinion!
  • Basil Oil– basil oil is one of those things that looks beautiful and adds so much flavor, but is so easy to make! To make, simply bring a pot of water to a boil and add one large bunch of fresh basil. Blanch for a minute or two until the basil is bright green. Remove from the water and transfer to an ice bath to cool. Next, combine the blanched basil leaves with about 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and blend until creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour through a mesh sieve into your serving jar. Store covered in the fridge for 7-10 days. Enjoy!!!

• Crispy Artichokes with Whipped Ricotta and Herb Gremolata– these are an absolute MUST. For a dinner party, it’s helpful to prep anything ahead of time that you can, so for these I prepped the whipped ricotta and garlic breadcrumbs ahead of time, and it was so helpful in the prep and assembly at the party.
  • Whipped Ricotta– Add 1- 16 oz tub of ricotta to your food processor or blender along with salt, pepper, juice of 1/2 lemon, and about a Tablespoon of olive oil. Pulse until light and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
  • Garlic Breadcrumbs– I love garlic breadcrumbs on so many things! Salads, these artichokes, salmon, chicken, etc. To make, heat 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 2 Tablespoons butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add 3 teaspoons minced garlic and sauté until very fragrant. Stir in 1 cup panko breadcrumbs and stir to coat evenly in the garlic butter mixture. Continue stirring until golden brown and toasted, being careful not to burn! Season with s + p and add an extra nob of butter if needed.
  • Herb Gremolata– an herb gremolata is simply minced garlic, minced parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil. I winged the measurements here, just make a small amount to drizzle on top of the artichokes.
  • To make the artichokes, drain 3 cans quartered artichokes and pat dry. Arrange onto a parchment lined sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt + pepper, and then sprinkle on the garlic breadcrumbs. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden and crispy.
  • To arrange the appetizer, spread the whipped ricotta onto a platter, top with the crispy artichokes, Herb gremolata and freshly grated parmesan and a squeeze of fresh lemon. These were SO GOOD!!!!!

Salad: A Simple Butter lettuce & Radicchio Salad with Radishes and a Dijon Vinaigrette

I love a simple salad especially with a heavy main course like the Ragu sauce I served here. This salad was perfect! Light, fresh, and crisp. I did a combination of butter lettuce and radicchio and topped it with freshly chopped chives and radishes, and then tossed it all in a dijon vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is simple– 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard, 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk until creamy. You can make as much or as little as you need depending on how big of a salad you are making. It doubles easily!

Homemade Focaccia Bread! This was such a hit and quite possibly the easiest thing ever! I followed this recipe — instructions are also below.

To make the focaccia bread, (you can do this 3 days in advance also and I recommend doing so because it’s better made ahead!) Combine 4 cups all purpose flour, 2 cups filtered water, 1 packet of instant yeast, and 2 tsp salt in a bowl. Stir it all up until well combined, then give it a nice big drizzle of olive oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge for up to 3 days. Remove the dough 3-4 hours before you plan on baking it, deflate it with your fingers by pressing into the dough. Then, transfer to a greased 9 x 14 pan and let it sit there for 3-4 hours. It will expand in this time. Just before baking, use your fingers to press into the dough and spread it evenly across the pan. Top with chopped rosemary and sea salt and then Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. Slice and serve!!

Main Course- Traditional Ragu Sauce with Paccheri Pasta

This traditional Ragu Sauce is something that everyone should keep in their back pocket. It’s hearty and delicious and perfect for any time of year. We had this over in Italy this past summer and I couldn’t wait to re-create and make at home. See full recipe below.

Dessert- Homemade Lemon Sorbetto Cups!

These were maybe the biggest hit of all. They were light and refreshing after a rich meal and the perfect way to cap off the evening. The best part is they can be made days ahead of time and you can store fully assembled in your freezer. Simply add to serving bowls and garnish with fresh mint leaves just before serving. SERIOUSLY SO GOOD.

Things I prepped BEFORE the party:

If you are able to prepare any of the below items in advance, it will make the night of so much more enjoyable! I knew that I would be socializing while making all the food so I wanted to be as organized and prepped as I could be.

• Basil Oil– this can be made 5-7 days in advance and simply stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Garlic breadcrumbs– I made these the morning of, however, you could easily do this a day or two before also.
• Whipped ricotta– I made this the morning of also, but the night before works as well.
• Focaccia Dough– I made this on Wednesday and the dinner was on Friday and it was PERFECT. Its better if you can let it rise in the fridge for 2-3 days anyway.
• Lemon Sorbetto Cups– I made these early In the week and stored in the freezer.
• Ragu– I started this the morning of the dinner party and let it simmer all morning. Ragu is best if simmered over low heat for a few hours, so it is such a great thing to serve at dinner parties. It has TONS of flavor, but is also made ahead of time.
• Radishes– I washed and sliced these the morning of and then stored them in an airtight container with filtered water until serving.
• Butter lettuce and radicchio– I washed and chopped this the morning of also! I stored in my salad spinner with a damp paper towel on top in the fridge until serving, and it was perfect!
• Gremolata– I made this at home that morning also and just stored in a jar in the fridge. Simply add some olive oil to a jar (maybe 1/3 cup) and add chopped parsley, squeeze of lemon, zest, salt and pepper to taste.

The Tablescape!

We all contributed a few things to the tablescape to make it what it was and I just absolutely loved it. My friend Claire did the gorgeous flowers and they made it absolute PERFECTION. And my friend Chelsea took everything we had and put it all together. It was girly, elegant, and everything I could have imagined. I will link the items below that I am able to. I couldn’t find a few of the exact items so I found similar items that I thought were cute!

• Tablecloth
• Placemats
• Chargers
• Dessert sorbet cups
• Sorbet Spoons
• Napkins
• Candlesticks and candles
• Wicker table lamp

I hope this was helpful!!! And I sure hope you get a dinner party on the books as soon as possible! It’s definitely a lot of work to get it scheduled, grocery runs, all the prep, etc. but I PROMISE YOU, it is so worth it!!! It was such a memorable night that I will never forget!

And– BIG thanks to Liliana from Tuscany for teaching me the true Italian way to make this ragu! Hers was SO delicious!!! If you are ever in her region of Tuscany, I highly recommend bringing her in for a private chef experience.

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