For our 200th blog party we decided on a simple, fun, no-cook menu.  We headed to our fantastic local Italian market, Mazzaro’s, and bought a wonderful assortment of meats, cheeses, and other goodies.

Our first stop was to the cheese counter where we met Charlie.  We sampled many great Italian cheeses and settled on three – Robiola Bosina (a soft cheese made with both cow and sheep’s milk);  Moliterno al Tartufo (an amazing truffle sheep’s cheese from Sardinia); and Alpeggio (a mild hard cheese).

Next stop was the meat counter.  After another round of tastings we picked hard salami,  Sopressa, Proscuitto di Parma, and Speck.

To round out our platter we added:

• Red seedless grapes
• Fuji Apples
• Dried apricots
• Black Mission Figs
• Jar grilled artichokes by Decarlo
• Jarred Pomodorini – sweet cherry tomatoes by Decarlo
• Kalamata Tapenade
• Mixed Olives
• Rosemary Cracker
• Breadsticks

A wonderful time was had by all and there were no pots or pans to scrub!

Below is an easy recipe for a sauce that will elevate your quick dinner into a tasty meal.  Pour over grilled pork chops, chicken or flank steak.  Add to rice pilaf for additional flavor and color or add to scrambled eggs for a spicy addition.

The best thing about this sauce is that you may already have the ingredients on hand:

Print

Simple Sauce

Course Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine American

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup red onion
• 1/3 cup mushrooms optional
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 12 grape tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan.
• Sauté onions for 3 minutes, until soft.
• Add mushrooms, if using, and sauté for another 3 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients and cook for a final 3 minutes.

Notes

This can be made a little in advance and warmed before serving.

Watch for a wonderful shrimp recipe on Friday’s blog.