Experimental Meal Night

Perhaps it's not the best idea to have an experimental meal night when company is coming, but I like a challenge! I jokingly told Brad to have our fave pizza delivery on speed dial just in case my experimental meal was a flop.  Earlier this week I started looking for something unique, different, and fun to make for a small dinner party.  We invited Brad's brother and sister-in-law over for Saturday night.  I decided on creating an entirely Italian themed meal.

The main dish was a cross between a spaghetti and a lasagna.  For an appetizer or what ended up being a late night snack for all of us was a hot spinach and artichoke dip.  Not my usual spinach dip, this one is served warm with lots of oozy cheese.  Yum!  Oh and for dessert....drum roll please....tiramisu.  My first ever tiramisu!  I know it's likely the most famous Italian dessert but I've actually never tried it. Never had a bite. Due to the fact it has coffee in it, it's never appealed to me since I'm not a coffee drinker.  While thumbing through recipes though I read the ingredients and decided it sounded quite good. The coffee flavor wasn't strong or at least it wasn't overpowering in the recipe I used. The meal turned out great from beginning to end!  The only thing I made that was familiar to me was my cheesy garlic bread.  I started doing my own version of cheesy garlic bread when Brad and I started dating in an effort to save calories.  The garlic bread or the cheese bread that the stores offer have a ridiculous amount of calories and fat.  So I do my own thing and Brad really enjoys my cheesy garlic bread. 

There's a few things I would do differently.  That is to be expected when working with new recipes.  One tip regarding the tiramisu, don't dust with cocoa until ready to serve.  The cocoa soaked in to the creamy part, losing some of it's appeal. It darkened in color, melding into the creamy part. So I guess when you see a lovely pic of tiramisu on an Italian restaurant's menu with a pretty dusting of cocoa on top, assume it was dusted with cocoa right before that pic was captured.