among friends

"The most indespensable ingredient in all good home cooking:

love, for those you are cooking for."

-Sofia Loren

Recipe for a dinner party:
Prep time: Optional
Cook time: As long as you want

Ingredients:

• Friends
• Wine
• Good food

Instructions: Mix well, let sit, and enjoy! Here are a few suggestions to get things started:

• Pepperoni Ripieni (stuffed peppers)
  This is a very casual and tasty dish. It's easy and just a little bit showy.
  
• Penne Al'Arrabiata (spicy pasta)
  An Italian Staple. Pasta purists will insist that this recipe should have no more than 5 ingredients (pasta, olive oil, garlic, crushed tomatoes, red pepper). This is just as easy as making spaghetti, for the bachelors and bachelorettes, but a little more impressive!
  
• Fagioli Verdi col'Aglio (green beans with garlic)
  What's not to like?

These are some tried and true recipies I learned while I was living in Italy, altered by my own memory and imagination. This was a great, very comfortable, dinner combination -- the food was satisfying without being too heavy. There seem to be a lot of instructions for making all this food - but once you do it once, you won't need a recipe anymore! I promise! You should feel comfortable to just file these away in your mental recipe box...

Pepperoni Ripieni, also known as Stuffed Peppers (for 4-5 peppers):
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 45 min to 1 hour

• 4 or 5 large, intact, bell peppers
• 1.5 lbs ground turkey
• 1 vidalia onion, grated
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated cheese (I like pecorino)
• Marinara sauce or crushed tomatoes (if desired)
• Season with: oregano, salt, and pepper
• Olive oil
• Aluminum foil

1. Wash the peppers, then cut off the tops (so the pepper becomes kind of a cup). You may need to rinse out the inside to remove any extra seeds.
2. Cut as many squares of aluminum foil as you have peppers.
3. Rub the outsides of the peppers with olive oil (so they don't dry up), then put them in the tinfoil, using the foil like you would use a cupcake wrapper, i.e. leave the tops open. (This helps the peppers to roast, and not just bake.)
4. Now, use your hands to mix the turkey, the onion, cheese, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and oregano together. (Be sure the onion is grated and not chopped, it makes a big difference! Last night, I added some crushed tomatoes to the mix, to see what happened. It was good!)
5. Fill each pepper with the ground turkey mixture, then top with marinara sauce, and finally, some more grated cheese.
6. Place each stuffed pepper (in the tinfoil) upright in a baking dish. Bake in a 350 to 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Penne Al'Arrabiata (Spicy Pasta), serves 6
Prep time: As long as it takes for your water to boil
Cook time: 15 minutes

• 1 Box Penne (I like Barilla whole wheat pasta)
• 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Clove Garlic, chopped.
• 1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• Olive Oil, Salt

1. Boil water. When the water is boiling, add 2 tablespoons of salt (it's kind of a lot). THEN add pasta. Should take about 8-9 minutes for penne to be al dente.
2. While the water is boiling, or the pasta is cooking, make the arrabiata sauce (this process is kind of tricky, requires constant attention, but only for about 4 minutes, then you can let it just simmer):
3. Put about 1/4 cup olive oil in a saucepan, turn on low heat.
4. After the oil has been on the heat for one minute, put the chopped garlic in--cook the garlic until it gets golden, but not brown.
5. Add the red pepper flakes (this is important - add the pepper, then the crushed tomatoes, the heat of the pepper will be more effectively transferred throughout the sauce).
6. Remove the oil and garlic and pepper from the stove for 1 minute to let it cool.
7. After letting the oil cool off a bit, add the entire can of crushed tomatoes. Stir with a fork to mix the oil in.
8. Let simmer until water has boiled and pasta is done, or about 15 minutes.
9. Drain Pasta when it is al dente (al dente = when you bite it, it should be chewy, not hard, or soft).
10. Mix pasta and sauce together, serve family style.
11. Top with cheese if you like!

**Crushed tomatoes are the easiest and tastiest way to make your own sauce because virtually nothing has been added to the base. Don't forget to add your own seasoning or the sauce will be pretty blah. My favorite things to add to this sauce: red wine, salt.

Fagioli col'Aglio (or, green beans with garlic):
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

• 1-2 lbs fresh green beans (there never seem to be enough!)
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• Olive oil

1. Snap off the ends of green beans.
2. Dice garlic.
3. Wash beans.
4. Put diced garlic and still-damp green beans in skillet.
5. Drizzle olive oil over beans and garlic, place lid on skillet.
6. Turn on medium heat, keep covered, stir occasionally.
7. Add salt after about 10 minutes.
8. Serve hot, enjoy!

Wine suggestions (These are only suggestions!):
Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
Italian, Red
Description: bright, light, very fruity and a little sweet.

Syrah/Shiraz
Californian/Australian [same grape, different region] Red
Description: dry, earthy, dusty, very yummy

Pinot Noir
Wilamette Valley, Oregon would be best
Description: Pinots can be too light/bright, but the Oregon wines are lovely -- still light but satisfying, a little sweet.