The first weekly theme for our visit with Giada is “Benvenuto! Party Foods!” and that one is a winner for me. I have a long, on-going love affair with Italian food, and I love throwing Italian themed dinners. When I think of party food, or an Italian celebration of any kind, the very first thing I think of is, “What can I put on the antipasto tray?”
Well, that...and, of course, a cocktail of some kind.
I’m very familiar with some of Giada’s appetizers, and they are all so simple to throw together, I couldn’t resist making a whole tray. (Aren’t my co-workers lucky?)
One of my absolute favorites is Crostini with Gorgonzola and Honey. Then I moved on to Salami Crisps with Sour Cream and Basil. After that, it was a no brainer to land on Citrus Spiced Mixed Olives.
This combination goes together fantastically since two of the items go in the oven at similar temperatures, with a step or two that can be done in advance (toasting the baguette slices and the walnuts), and the olives you just throw together on the stove top while the others are in the oven.
Top that off with a bubbly cocktail (my usual is Prosecco, but since I have a bottle of Limoncello in the liquor cabinet, I couldn’t resist breaking that out instead. Giada’s recipe calls for making your own lime-based Limoncello, but for the sake of simplicity, I just used store bought.) and you have a gorgeous Italian Welcome party waiting to happen. Invite a few people over to share and this is a no-miss party menu.
This is my submission for our first Giada theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs!
Benvenuto al nostro randello, Giada! I can’t wait to celebrate all the fall and winter holidays with Giada’s recipes.
Crostini with Gorgonzola, Honey and Walnuts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 24 1/3-inch-thick diagonal slices baguette
• 6 ounces creamy gorgonzola cheese , coarsely crumbled
• 2/3 cup walnuts , toasted, coarsely chopped
• 1 ripe fig , thinly sliced crosswise (optional)
• 3 tablespoons honey
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly brush the baguette slices with oil. Toast in the oven until the baguette slices are golden, about 8 minutes. (You can toast the baguette slices 1 day ahead. Cool, then store them at room temperature in an airtight container.)
Toss the gorgonzola with walnuts in a small bowl. Spoon the cheese mixture onto the baguette slices and press slightly to adhere. Return the baking sheet to the over and bake until the cheese melts, about 8 minutes.
Arrange the crostini on a platter. Top each with a slice of fig, if desired. Drizzle with honey and serve warm.
SALAMI CRISPS WITH SOUR CREAM AND BASIL
• 24 (1/8-inch to 1/4-inch) slices Italian dry Genoa salami (about 4 ounces)
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with aluminum foil. Arrange the salami in a single layer over the baking sheets. Bake until the salami slices are amber brown, watching closely to ensure they brown evenly, about 15 minutes. Transfer the salami crisps to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to absorb the excess oil. Set aside to cool.
Spoon a dollop of sour cream on top of each salami crisp. Sprinkle the basil over and serve
CITRUS-SPICED MIXED OLIVES
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed • 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary, 2 bay leaves, or both • Zest of 1 orange, peeled in long strips with a vegetable peeler
• Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in long strips with a vegetable peeler • 12 ounces mixed olives, such as kalamata, nicoise, or cerignola, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Put the olive oil, garlic, red pepper, herbs, and citrus zests in a medium skillet. Heat over medium-high heat, swirling the pan until the mixture is fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the olives, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden and the zest begins to curl, about 5 minutes more. Discard and remove bay leaves, if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Glossy, plump, and gorgeous, our Citrus-Spiced Mixed Olives are primo party starters. Toss 'em together, then leave them out while you mingle with your guests.
LIME-ONCELLO SPRITZERS WITH MINT
Limoncello:
• 2 pounds limes (about 10 large)
• 1 (750-ml) bottle 100-proof vodka
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water
Spritzers:
• Ice cubes
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 cup club soda
To make limoncello: Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the limes in long strips (reserve the limes for another use). Place the lime peels in a 1-quart jar. Pour the vodka over the peels and screw on the lid. Steep the lime peels in the vodka for 1 week at room temperature.
Stir the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely, then stir in the vodka mixture. Strain the liquids into bottles, pressing on the peels to extract as much liquid as possible. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.
To make spritzers: Fill 4 tall glasses halfway with ice. Add the mint leaves. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, coarsely crush the mint leaves into the ice. Pour some limoncello over, and stir to blend. Add a splash of club soda and serve.
Second, I have had this Caramelized Chili Shrimp saved for eons (but I can't remember where I got it from!), and decided this was the night I would finally try it. Both the girls really liked it, and I agree that the flavors were spot-on, but there were two things I should have done differently. One, I wasn’t about to use precooked shrimp, and the only raw shrimp I could get my hands on were pretty small, so they didn’t get to cook long enough to get that nice crust going that I wanted. Two, I committed one of the all time worst culinary sins....I crowded the pan. Yep, I was too lazy to get a bigger pan out when I realized I was out of room on the pan I was using, so I crammed them all on there and they poached, rather than caramelizing. Again, a recipe worth trying another time, with more patience.
Finally, I had been drooling over these Thai Meatballs with Peanut Dipping sauce from 
One last thing. Normally I drink wine when we meet, but I also found a lovely looking cocktail over at 
So, all in all, I liked each recipe, but I need to try them again, with a little more effort. Lesson learned? Always have at least one “old standby” on the list when serving friends instead of using all new recipes.
Its important not to cover the whole surface with the pepperoni, as the cheese is the “glue” that holds the rolls together. Then, starting at the long end, carefully roll it up into a log. It helps to do this on a piece of foil, or in my case, a Silpat, so that you can use the foil or sheet to roll the log evenly. Once the log is rolled, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut it into ½ inch discs. Lay the discs a couple of inches apart on a baking sheet (lining the sheet makes cleanup much easier!) and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the dough is done, and the cheese is caramelized on top of the rolls. YUMMY!! Makes about one dozen, depending on how large you rolled out your dough. 
The other appetizer doesn’t have a snappy name. I thought about Bacon Snacks, but thought that sounded too much like a dog treat. Another super simple recipe, this one only has five ingredients! Cocktail weenies, bacon, butter, brown sugar and honey. Cut strips of bacon into thirds. Wrap one piece of bacon around each sausage, securing with a toothpick.
When you have all the sausages wrapped, lightly fry them in a skillet until the bacon is just done on all sides.
Transfer them to a 9x13 baking dish. Mix together 1 stick of melted butter, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons of honey and pour over the sausages. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the sausages are caramelized and glazed with the sugar/butter mixture. Serve hot! Makes about 48.
Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces that are the right size to fit in a half a pepper. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large, lidded container and toss with chicken to cook. Refrigerate at least a couple of hours.
Fit a piece of marinated chicken into a pepper half and wrap with a slice of bacon, securing in with a toothpick. 
The trouble with having such an imprecise recipe is that it almost never works out that you have a proportional amount of all your ingredients, so you generally end up with some miscellaneous leftovers. But hey! Its okay! You know why? Because that little piece of bacon is going to be a tasty snack while I'm cooking the poppers, the leftover chicken will taste great on my salad for lunch tomorrow, and the jalapeños will get diced up and put some kick into my Spicy Sloppy Joes tomorrow night! Its all good, just find something to do with the leftovers. I do!
before stuffing it into the peppers, then cook the poppers on a stovetop griddle. 
The sides of the bacon doesn't get as done as the rest this way, but the hubs doesn't mind. 