January 09 "Italian Stallion" dinner and a movie

Appetizers

Tapenade
1/2 jar pitted ripe black olives, drained
1/2 jar manzanilla olives, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 package of seasonings from Gourmet Village pack

In food processor pulse until finely chopped. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Served on french bread baguettes

Insalata Caprese
Sliced tomato
Sliced mozzarella cheese
Basil
Balsamic vinegar

Layer and drizzled with balsamic vinegar

Boursin, garlic and herb cheese with crackers

Entree

Lasagna

8 oz lasagna noodles
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground sausage
1 med onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can sliced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 tsp basil leaves
1 tsp marjoram leaves
1/2 pack of sliced mushrooms
2 eggs
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper

Cook noodles
Cook meat, onion and garlic in skillet. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, basil and
marjoram. Cover and let cook at least 1 hour.
Layer and cook for 45 min or until bubbly. Let stand 10 min before cutting.
(We used no cook noodles for this and I would not do that again. There was not enough liquid so I felt the lasagna was not saucy enough.)

Ceasar Salad Kit and Garlic Bread

Dessert

Creamy Cappuccino Brownies
1 pkg brownie mix
1 tbsp instant coffee
2 tbsp warm water
1 cup Wisconsin Marscapone cheese
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg

Grease 13x9 in baking pan. Prepare brownie mix according to pkg. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Dissolve instant coffee in water; add cheese, sugar and egg. Blend until smooth. Drop spoonfuls over brownie batter; top with remaining brownie batter. With knife, swirl cheese mixture through brownies creating marbled effect. Bake at 375 degrees 30-35 mins or until toothpick comes clean. Serve with Vanilla ice cream.

Our movie was Rocky.
Some of our memorable moments:
The day was spent building our outdoor kitchen. It was very very cold out. This should pay off for our next time hosting. I should have updated this sooner but the only funny line I can remember from the evening was Brian saying "snot rocket" in the middle of dinner. Krissy was so proud!!

I like to blog

Hey, lookit me! I'm blogging! Never blogged before. I played Frogger a few times as a kid so then I was frogging.

So now what do I do here?

-Mark (a.k.a. Ham Gadget)