Impress Your Guests FEAST!

This is a really ambitious three-course meal but it is surprisingly quick and really easy to make!  That means you have more time to get ready and spend time with your friends!  I cheat a little when I make it but I've included ways at the very end of this post to go the long route by putting a little more time and love into the food (for when you HAVE the time or if it's a group effort to make the meal).

I just looked and added up the calories of the entire meal and less than 650 calories (with 18 grams of mostly healthy fats) for a full three-course meal is pretty damn good.  So indulge without worry!  You are probably going to eat A LOT LESS calories with this meal than if you ate out at a restaurant.

Now, not all of these ingredients are in season this time of year in the north east, but if you're a member of a good CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), they can make sure these ingredients (like the tomatoes and mixed greens) sustainably come from within the U.S (or within your country of residence).  If you live in MA, Heaven's Harvest is a fantastic CSA.  Otherwise, you can look into your local CSA, farms or if you're inspired to do some sleuthing, find out where your local grocery store gets its produce from.  The fruit I saved in the freezer is from the summer.

The great thing is you can serve at least four people with this meal so you're saving everyone a load of money; it's delicious (in my and my guests' opinions); and you get to chill together at home afterwards so there is no worries about drinking and driving (Boardgames? Rock band? Staring contests? You name it.).

**Cut back on the ingredients and this can be an "Impress your DATE meal" for           Valentine's Day !

Disclaimer:  If you or your guests do not like garlic, then just skip everything and go to the dessert. :-)

THE APPETIZER

      

Gobs of Garlic Bruschetta
Makes 8 large servings

Don't throw that stale loaf out!!!  This recipe is BEST when you toast slightly stale bread.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of slightly stale bread 
• 3-4 ripe medium-sized tomatoes (diced)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (shredded)
• 5-8+ cloves of garlic (minced)
• 3+ Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Slice the loaf into .75-1 inch thick pieces and stick them in the toaster until slightly golden brown.

While the bread is toasting, in a medium-sized bowl mix the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.  Set aside for a few minutes to let the juices seep out and marinate.  

In a separate small bowl, drench the garlic with olive oil (the measurements in this recipe aren't precise because it is really to your liking.  I usually use A LOT of garlic and a good amount of olive, too.  I pretty much cover the garlic with olive oil in a 3-inch diameter dish).

When toast is done, place it on a large platter and brush the garlic-olive mixture over the tops of each slice. Then divide your tomato mixture among the slices.  Serve right away.  My recipe made 8 LARGE slices, but it depends on the size and quantity of slices you have.

THE MAIN COURSE

Butternut Squash Ravioli with a Garlic-Basil White Wine Sauce

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• Butternut Squash Ravioli (This is where I cheat. I use pre-made butternut squash ravioli, but I included a recipe at the end of this post when you want it to be homemade)
• 1/2 cup white port wine
• 10 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1.5 Tbsp salted butter
• 2 Heaped Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil (or you can use about 3/4 tsp dried basil)
• Pepper to taste

Cook butternut squash according to labels instructions.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter and saute garlic for about 2 minutes.  Add the wine and let simmer for another 3-5 minutes.  Add the basil and pepper.

Then add the butternut squash and coat each piece.  Serve immediately.

Feta, Cranberry and Soy Nut Salad
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients
per plate

• 1 cup Mixed Greens
• 2 Tbsp Dried Cranberries
• 1 Tbsp Unsalted Soy nuts
• 1/2 Tbsp Feta cheese

Wash your mixed greens.  Arrange them on a plate or toss in a large bowl and sprinkle with feta cheese, dried cranberries and soy nuts to your liking.

THE DESSERT

Super-Berry Sorbet

Ingredients

• 1.75 cups juice (I use whatever "Dark Fruits" brand juice I have in the fridge; usually either "Raspberry, Pomegranate, Goji" or "Blueberry, Blackberry, Acai")
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• Dark chocolate chips (optional)

Throw all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Then pour the mixture into a bread pan and place in the freezer.  It usually takes a little more than 3 hours to freeze into sorbet.  At the 3-hour mark take out the tray and mix the sorbet.  At this time make your judgement of whether it is ready to serve or needs to chill in the freezer for longer.  Make sure you start this dish right in the beginning so it's ready when you want to eat it!  Scoop the sorbet out into dishes and sprinkle with dark chocolate chips.  Enjoy!

**You can really use any berries you like.  These were just the ones I had saved from the summer in the freezer.
**If you want to make frozen yogurt instead, just add 2 cups French vanilla yogurt when you add all your ingredients to the blender!  Everything else remains the same.

As always, I looked up the nutritional facts using this neat-o site:

Bruschetta

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1, 1cup (100g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 25 Calories 210
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 2.5g		4%
	Saturated Fat 1g	5%
	Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 30mg		10%
Sodium 260mg		11%
Total Carbohydrate 38g		13%
	Dietary Fiber 2g	8%
	Sugars 3g
Protein 8g
Vitamin A 40% Vitamin C 6%
Calcium 4% Iron 20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Garlic White Wine Sauce

Salad

Sorbet

As promised, here's a recipe to make your butternut squash ravioli from scratch courtesy of Bobby Flay from the Food Network Website.

Also, if you have certain dietary needs these recipes are easily made casein-free and vegan by substituting the butter and leaving out the feta cheese.  The dessert is naturally gluten-free!

~Shreena

Photographs courtesy of EJB.