No one in my family is the least bit Italian, but it seems this has become a traditional birthday feast choice around here. I didn’t realize how much so until I started writing this out.

Italy, like India and many other countries with drastic climate differences and a very long history, has a wide variety of regional cuisines. I do not claim any useful knowledge of these specifics, especially not for menu planning.

I try to pick recipes I think balance well and over time we’ve seen what dishes aren’t worth the bother, at least for a really big meal. In the future perhaps I’ll begin researching regional differences and develop my menus towards authenticity.

I’ve posted all the Italian menus (or Italianish ones) I can remember here. You can see from browsing down some recipes repeat over and over, others were not as successful.

I think the most recent menu was just about perfect. I might have added the lentils with salt pork back in for filler, but everything was great without being too much work.We had 2 days to plan, shop, and prep so we aimed for simplicity. Five  of the 7 things that needed to be made from scratch used 5 or so ingredients and 3 or fewer steps, sometimes with some make-ahead options.

Mom, 2012:

• Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna – awesome, takes some extra work, but worth it every time!
• Roasted Rosemary Chicken – so simple, so good
• Parmesan Garbanzo Polenta Cakes – also simple, really easy with a make-ahead step
• Kale Salad with Feta & Pomegranate seeds in a Raspberry vinagrette – so good!!
• Peaches – we freeze these when they’re in season 
• Italian Sodas – syrups + club soda
• Lemon Granita – like Italian Ice, easy to make with 10x the fresh lemon flavor
• Plum Kuchen – not at all Italian, but still great!

Brother #2, 2012:

• Insalata Caprese – simple ingredients, as pretty as you like
• Roasted Chicken with Juniper Berries – too fussy
• Garbanzo Polenta – good, tried again & improved
• Roasted Peppers – not worth the bother with tiny peppers
• Lentils with Salt Pork – so good, need to do again soon
• Broccoli – good to add some basic greens
• Lemon Granita – YUM! My favorite thing from this meal
• Espresso Granita – Making a large batch took a HUGE quantity of espresso. Good thing Boyo works at SB!
• Mocha Cheesecake – not Italian, just suited to the boy

Brother #1, 2011:

• Roasted Rosemary Chicken – a frequent favorite, better hot
• Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna – again, family favorite
• Spanakopita (Greek) – not Italian
• Salad – not Italian, just good
• Pies (American!) – not Italian

Houseguest Birthday, March 2011:

• Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna – how many times will this one appear?
• Spinach Gnocchi – so good, but a bit fussy
• Garlic Toast – keeping it simple
• Fruit – keeping it simple
• Strawberry Lemon Cake – not Italian, her choice

Brother #2, 2011:

• Roasted Rosemary Chicken – sensing a theme?
• Stuffed Baked Fish – don’t actually remember this 
• Ravioli (purchased frozen)
• Mushroom Risotto – delicious, pretty fussy though
• Tomato Focaccia (purchased)
• Salad
• Italian Sodas

PostChristmas/PreNew Years 2010

(a way to celebrate with friends who couldn’t see us at either official holiday):

• Roasted Chicken with Fennel & Bacon – another great roast Chicken recipe, if fennel is to be had
• Pumpkin Ravioli – not worth the bother for this recipe
• Mushroom Risotto – another fussy dish, though delicious
• Roasted Rosemary Potatoes – delicious & simple!
• Insalata Caprese – a simple dish easy to make look very pretty
• Amaretto Semifreddo – good stuff, a bit on the fussy side
• Panettone (purchased)

Brother #2, 2009:

• Stuffed Pork Loin – we don’t usually go for big hunks of meat, but this was good
• Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna – hey, again!
• Blue Corn Polenta Cakes with Mushrooms – not worth the bother
• Roasted Rosemary Potatoes – always worth the time, very simple
• Bruschetta and bread – yum!
• Salad
• Pistachio Cake with White Chocolate frosting – a little on the dry side, but actually Italian, I think

Mom, 2008

• Roasted Chicken with Fennel & Bacon – so good!
• Red Pepper Lasagna – always delicious
• Salad
• Roasted Rosemary Potatoes – YUM
• Apple Kuchen – not as good as the plum kuchen

One menu I did that I did not photograph also had stuffed spinach shells and a pumpkin frozen dessert I thought was fairly fabulous. I know I did the roasted rosemary potatoes too.  And somewhere back there we did Italian for Christmas Eve. I don’t remember the menu and there are no photos, but I do remember the homemade cheese herb ravioli in sage butter was sublime!