my latest masterpiece

Yea, I know I told you to make a steak dinner for Valentine’s Day, but even I didn’t. We did that for Christmas, so I figured Italian would be perfect for V-Day. I mean Italian is a romance language!

To start, we had bruschetta and Prosecco, how much more Italian can we get?! Bruschetta (pronounced brus ‘ketta) comes from the Roman word that means “to roast over coals”, referring to the way it is prepared. Grill slices of Italian bread, ciabatta and pugliese work well. Then top it with a combination of fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Bruschetta can be made with a bunch of different toppings, but that’s my favorite.

Next we had a salad with avocado, goat cheese, pine nuts and champagne vinaigrette. This dressing is so easy to make and soooo good on any salad... arugula, spring mix, spinach, ANYTHING! For dinner, I made homemade gnocchi with roasted red pepper pesto and Italian sausage (it just keeps getting more Italian). The pesto was fabulous on the gnocchi, but would be just as good on any other pasta or even as a spread for a sandwich. We drank an amazing bottle of very special wine that Rob got for his 21^st birthday- Clos du Val, 1987 Reserve from Napa Valley. It was well worth the 23 year wait.

Recipes:
Champagne Vinaigrette:

• ¼ c. champagne vinegar
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon)
• juice of half of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp. fresh cracked pepper
• 2 Tbsp minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Combine the first 5 ingredients and blend, either with an immersion blender, food processor or blender. Once it’s well combined, turn it on and slowly add oil until emulsified. Keep it refrigerated for up to a week.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto:

• 2 cups packed fresh basil, (whole leaves)
• 2 red bell peppers
• ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp pine nuts
• 3 cloves garlic
• ¼ c. shredded parmesan
• Pinch of lemon zest
• S & P to taste

Cut peppers and remove membranes. Cut into 2-in. wide pieces so they lay flat, skin-side up on a baking sheet and broil on high for 10-15 minutes, or until blackened on the top. That helps to remove the skin later. Watch them, because some broilers are much hotter than others. Once they are blackened, remove from the oven and toss into a Ziploc bag and close it. Let them cool for 10 minutes. Remove skins and place into food processor with all ingredients EXCEPT olive oil. After everything is well incorporated and to the texture you like, slowly pour in olive oil while food processor is on, this will emulsify the oil and make a smooth tasty pesto.

To make the sauce, brown to links (casings removed) of hot Italian sausage, use turkey sausage for a leaner dish. After the sausage is cooked add a few big spoonfuls of the pesto and toss the cooked gnocchi in the pan. Toss it all until coated and serve with fresh Parmesan and basil.

What better way to finish an awesome meal than with a chocolate molten cake with fresh berries - it went perfectly with those last few sips of vino.