Casual Italian food for Sunday bocce?

[Jenise]

Will have around 15 people to feed. What I have in mind are burgers, Italian style. That is, pesto-mayo for those who need sauce, pancetta slice, beef burger patty, arugula, crisp frico. Haven't done them before, it's just an idea I've had rolling around in my brain for awhile. With that an Italian potato salad inspired by a Joseph Carey recipe: vinaigrette, sliced baby white potatoes, chopped salami and pepperoncini. I'll probably do grilled artichokes for another finger type food. But, what else? My brain's coming up dead, and this should be easy. Any suggestions?

bagna cauda?
For a room temperature antipasto (so you can concentrate on your bowling) , grilled eggplant or a caponata?

[Jenise]

bagna cauda?
For a room temperature antipasto (so you can concentrate on your bowling), grilled eggplant or a caponata?

OH YEZ. A caponata, and maybe a few other toppings for self-serve crostini. PERFECT. That's just the idea I needed.

Some ideas
Thinly sliced really good dried, cured meats salami, coppa etc served with a homemade mostarda and good bread
Potato octopus salad
Rollups of roasted eggplant or red pepper smeared with the parsley pesto mentioned in another thread or a savory ricotta or goat cheese then rolled
Greens pie - Erbazzone - any green on hand - escarole, chard, beet, kale, rapini cooked with onion and garlic, seasoned. Additions as desired but I like capers or pine nuts and raisins baked in a savory crust and cut in wedges.
Farro salad in the manner of tabbouleh but with a sprinkle of feta or ricotta salata
Bruschetta XX = fennel and prosciutto; cavolo nero and prosciutto; chick pea and chard; tomato and bean; ricotta and chile; mozzarella and olives.......etc, etc, etc

[Jenise]

Christina, your suggestions helped a lot. You reminded me of things like rappini and escarole, which insured that I shopped today at Fred Meyer who have the best produce department in town. It's part of the Kroger empire, vs. locally owned, but god bless 'em cuz it's the only place I can, with certainty, find stuff like rappini and escarole which I have an idea for combining in something that would be a cross between a layered salad and a bagna cauda. Never had it or made it that way before, but I can see it in my head and I like it. Like you in Wisconsin, we're running out of time here for these fabulous summer greens. You also reminded me of beans, both white and of the string variety, of which at our local Co-op I found a haricot verts-tiny version of purple so dark they're literally black. Raw, its the sweetest bean I've ever put in my mouth. Not sure yet how I'll serve those, but they could end up in the above 'salad'.

I also bought capicolla, proscuitto and salami. I'm not going to do the pancetta for the burgers but will instead do broiled-crisp (or dehydrated) slices of capicolla for that salty-pork component. The prosciutto will go with fennel for a bruschetta topping, as will white bean with tomato and smoked salmon and eggplant caponata made from these glorious striped white/purple eggplants I bought at the farmers market on Thursday. The salami will go into Joseph's Italian potato salad with chopped salami and pepperoncini, which I'll localize with some Mama Lil's peppers. The grilled artichokes I'd considered are now going to be marinated instead--I quartered four large artichokes, removed the choke with a grapefruit spoon, then layered them in a large pan and covered them with water, olive oil and lemon juice. Today they'll marinate on the counter all day with red wine vinegar, olive oil, tons of garlic and dried French basil. Those will get served with the burgers. All that's probably the best I can do with the time--I only have about four hours for cooking today and must keep food snackable and accessible outside while people are playing bocce and yet still be able to pull off the burgers after a few hours of sun and wine drinking, and make it look effortless.

Tell me more about "greens pie". I've not encountered 'Erbazzone' before. Done with a custard?

Jenise,
Erbazzone is only cooked greens in a savory crust. No custard and often not even any egg. If I have escarole I sautee with garlic, capers, Black Greek olives, a few anchovies and pine nuts. Lidia Bastianich has a crust recipe that uses only olive oil, flour, salt. Really does not need as much OO as she calls for but it is excellent as a savory crust. HAve added rosemary to the crust depending on greens. Sometimes I add grated Parm or Romano in the filling mix. A small wedge works well on a buffet table or as n appetizer and even as a lunch main with a good salad. I have done 12 " in a cake pan or in a 1.5" deep spring form or more often free form. Ive done them with single or double crust. I guess Erbazzone could be called a torta or even a pizza/calzone.
As you mention custard, however, a Sformato, made with greens would be a custard way to do greens but usually for a much more elegant meal

[Jenise]

Jenise,
Erbazzone is only cooked greens in a savory crust. No custard and often not even any egg. If I have escarole I sautee with garlic, capers, Black Greek olives, a few anchovies and pine nuts. Lidia Bastianich has a crust recipe that uses only olive oil, flour, salt. Really does not need as much OO as she calls for but it is excellent as a savory crust. HAve added rosemary to the crust depending on greens. Sometimes I add grated Parm or Romano in the filling mix. A small wedge works well on a buffet table or as n appetizer and even as a lunch main with a good salad. I have done 12 " in a cake pan or in a 1.5" deep spring form or more often free form. Ive done them with single or double crust. I guess Erbazzone could be called a torta or even a pizza/calzone.

As you mention custard, however, a Sformato, made with greens would be a custard way to do greens but usually for a much more elegant meal

Final report: last Sunday I spent half the night awake and had to sleep in a bit, therefore ended up with just a little over two hours prep time for everything, nothing had been done the day before. What I managed to get done was a great caponata (eggplant, red peppers, garlic and rosemary), the white bean/smoked salmon mix, crisp baguette slices and fresh zucchini slices for spreading the former two things on, both of which were eaten while we played bocce. I had two more items in the plan, including an eggplant rollup, but just didn't have time. Then for the main meal an Italian potato salad with salami, escarole and lots of fresh red peppers since I had loaded up on really cool ones at a local Farmers Market, marinated artichokes (four large ones quartered, dechoked, boiled then marinated in EVOO-red wine vinegar-garlic-basil, cold rappini, and everything needed for 16 Italian burgers. The pesto mayo, and fricos and cappicola crisps in place of conventional cheese and bacon went over BIG.

Have been invited to an Italian dinner tomorrow night and been tasked with an appetizer. Am considering small versions of your erbazzone--have been enchanted by the idea since you mentioned it last week..