Still feeling the love from Valentine’s Day? Book another dinner date with your sweetie and serve this sensual menu. Just add vino.
Ingredients
4 slices sopressata
4 slices prosciutto di Parma
4 slices bresaola
1/2 cup green olives
1/2 cup oil-cured black olives
1/2 cup roasted and salted almonds
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, cut into chunks
4 ounces Brie
1/2 baguette, sliced diagonally and toasted
6 piquillo peppers
1 small goat cheese round, about 3 ounces
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed, halved, cored, and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
1.On a large decorative platter, arrange the various meats. Place the olives toward the center of the platter, the almonds next to them, then the Parmigiano chunks. Place the Brie on the other side of the platter with a butter knife beside it. Place the bread in a small basket fitted with a napkin to keep warm.
2. Fill each piquillo pepper with 1/2 teaspoon of goat cheese, then place the peppers next to the Parmigiano on the platter.
3. Combine the fennel and cherry tomatoes in a small bowl and drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss until coated. Place the fennel-tomato mixture next to the piquillo peppers.
4. Bring a tiny bowl or plate to the table for the olive pits, and serve.
Serves 2
Excerpted from Cooking for Two: Perfect Meals for Pairs by Jessica Strand. Photography by Caren Alpert. Text copyright © 2009 by Jessica Strand. Photo copyright © 2009 by Caren Alpert. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book!
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