Us: “Brother, what do you want for your birthday fam din?”
Him: “Um…I don’t know. Let me get back to you.”
Two weeks later….
Us: “Brother, you’ve got to decide what you want for fam din…it’s in a couple of days.”
Him: “Um……”
Us: “Yes?”
Him: “Um….how about something simple and easy, like Italian?”
Us: “Itallian…simple and easy?? But ok, Italian it is!”
Brothers…..what are going to do with them?
But at least we had a theme so we were off to the races compiling an Italian feast for him.
The day of I decided to bake up a tray of Rosemary Focaccia for us to munch on….and mostly because I’m a carboholic and love bread.
While the focaccia dough was on its second rise, N made us a few cocktails using Italian sodas. These were her Blood Orange Spritzers and they went down way too smooth!
Dangerous!
Of course, because it’s us, there was a Cheese and Charcuterie Board.
Some classics you just can never have enough of.
By then I had pulled the Rosemary Focaccia out of the oven. After it rested for a few minutes, we sliced it up and dipped it into balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Along with the rosemary, you may have noticed the large flakes of salt on the top of the focaccia. We’re BIG fans of Maldon and love putting it on everything– but if you’re not into it, a light sprinkle of fine sea salt would be fine, too.
Nice little bites for appetizers, right?
But hang on…THERE WAS MORE!
V & L brought made two more dishes for us to nosh on as appetizers.
First, was a big ol’ pot of Meatballs with Marinara Sauce. The meatballs were perfectly bite-size and tender!
And second, they made Zuppa Toscana – a warm and comforting soup that had goodness like bacon, sausage, potatoes, kale and chicken stock.
We hadn’t had a soup at Fam Din for quite awhile and we all loved it!
Yes, for those of you that are keeping count–that’s a total of four appetizers.
Gluttons? Maybe.
But we REALLY like leftovers.
Believe it or not, as soon as we finished with the last appetizer, we jumped back into the kitchen to get dinner ready.
Okay…so maybe “gluttons” is more appropriate.
But we’re 100% alright with that.
T took the lead on the pasta dish for the evening. She was interested in making some variation of stuffed shells and when given the choice for protein, Brother went for seafood.
And man oh man…was it decadent!
The filling consisted of lump crab, shrimp and scallops—of which the latter two were blanched in lobster stock! There was also aromatics, seasonings, mayo and the tamales from the shellfish.
HELLA RICH and oh so delish!
In addition to the stuffed shells, I made crispy Pork Milanese….because why not make another entree right?
Though I did realize that we needed some greens to offset the richness of both of the entrees.
With Nini’s help, I pulled together a quick salad of Arugula with Citrus and Parmesan Shavings.
And yes, it did make us feel better.
Oh man…we were stuffed. And there was still the birthday dessert!
So we sent the humanlings off to walk the fur babies for awhile to burn off some of the dinner.
Bella looks like a zombie.
These two Cousies really like this pose a lot.
Back in the casa, seester N put the finishing touches on the dessert she made – Tiramisu!
Her desserts are always so purrrrty.
And Molto Delizioso!
Happy Birthday V!
And when all was said and done, we had a good laugh as we recalled all of the dishes we had made for Brother’s “simple and easy” dinner.
Brothers….what are you gonna do with them, right? ❤
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This Month’s Family Dinner Menu
Cocktails: Blood Orange Spritzers, Various Wines
Appetizers: Rosemary Focaccia, Cheese & Charcuterie, Meatballs with Marinara Sauce, Zuppa Toscana
Entree: Seafood Stuffed Pasta Shells, Pork Milanese
Sides: Arugula with Citrus and Parmesan Shavings
Dessert: Tiramisu
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