Italian Dinner Party!

I LOVE having a dinner party.

There's something about cooking a meal for someone that is just so much fun.

I love planning a menu and making the evening special for people I care about.

And that's just what I did on Sunday.

But wait....how did a GF Vegan gal on the Specific Carb Diet host a dinner party for people without dietary restrictions?

The answer? WITH EASE!

I'm not even joking! It was incredibly easy! And FUN!!

So what was on the menu? ITALIAN, that's what! Everyone loves Italian food, and it's super simple to modify for various diets.

I made............

Antipasti Platter

Pesto w/ Whole Wheat Linguini (and zucchini noodles for me)

Apple Pie Bites

and of course, White Wine!

For the Antipasti Platter, I had:

Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Eggplant
Roasted Zucchini
Roasted Tomatoes
Mixed Olives
Dried Figs
Monterrey Jack Cheese cubes (or soy cheese)

To roast the veggies, I cut up my veggies into 1 inch bites, and placed them on a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil sprayed baking sheet. I tossed them with a touch of olive oil, and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and 1 tsp oregano. I baked for about 30 minutes at 375, flipping once half-way through. (I added the tomatoes at the 15 minute mark). I then drizzled the plate with a good organic balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled everything with a touch of sea salt.

For dinner, I made whole wheat spaghetti, and zucchini noodles with my Pesto! It's GF, Vegan, SCD, BED, and Paleo! It uses lemon juice and extra pine nuts instead of parmesan cheese! You can find the recipe HERE. (Just a note on the recipe...I used more like 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil this time, not 1 tsp like in the recipe).

This was a great main dish because it could be tailored to everyone's needs. I just split up the pesto between the "zoodles" and the spaghetti, and tossed them accordingly!

Finally, for dessert, I made my APPLE PIE BITES! They're GF, V, SCD, and Paleo! And they're TERRIFIC! We gobbled them up:) You can find that recipe HERE.

This meal was fabulous (if I do say so myself:)) Everyone, regardless of diet, enjoyed their meal. Pesto is one of those things that is SO easy to make, and tastes 100x better than store-bought. Nothing beats fresh basil!

And the antipasti platter was just stunning. I had it ready when they walked in the door, and kept it on the table as our "side dish" to go with the pasta!

A repeat meal for sure!

Missing this little girl tonight:)

So I've had some questions about my e-cookbook! When you download the free Bakespace iPad app, you can get The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy without having to create a profile on Bakespace. Again, it's less than a cuppa coffee...only $3.99!

Want to know how to make zucchini noodles? I used a SPIRALIZER!! It's a life-changing gadget for a GF/Vegan/SCD gal! Here's the one I use and love: