Sunday Dinner at Goss Cottage

Our dear old friends, the DeLucias

     Traditional  Sunday dinners were something I grew up with.   We didn't have them every week, but since we had our grandparents in town, it was more like a monthly thing, trading off between houses.  I'm a sucker for tradition, and a big believer in the benefits of eating together as a family, so having a sit down meal together on Sunday is a natural occurrence at our house.  Having 4 children and a close extended family, makes for many opportunities to cook for a houseful of people.  Luckily, I love cooking for crowds and I love seeing people enjoy the food I've prepared....suffice it to say...I'm perpetually happy.  I also enjoy entertaining...setting the stage for special evenings spent with family and friends. (Refer back to my November post Party Throwing Stress Relievers for help in party planning)

     Sometimes we invite friends and sometimes family, depending on who is available, sometimes both, but either way it feels like a great way to end the week and get ready to start a new one.  This week we are having our old friends the DeLucias over for dinner to take the burden of cooking off them as they wind down from of busy weekend of packing up their house as they prepare to move after 12 years in their home.  As they are faced with change in their lives, I thought it would be nice to offer up some continuity....dinner with old friends isn't going to change.



The Menu
Gluten free Spaghetti and meatballs
Simple Green salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette dressing
Garlic bread 2 ways
Gainey Pinot Noir
Strawberry Parfait with a Chocolate Covered Strawberry on Top
The soundtrack from The Godfather
(This is where you get your kids to help you.  My daughter, Natalie, thought it would be fitting to have beautiful Italian music serenading us as we break bread with our Italian friends, the DeLucias.  Suffice it to say, the mood was just perfect.)





Gluten Free Meatballs 
serves 8-10
4 links mild Italian sweet sausage
2 links hot Italian sausage
1/2 lb. organic ground turkey (dark meat, preferably)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup good quality finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. dried minced onions


Preheat oven to 325 degrees
It may be challenging to find organic meat in your town, but if you can, it is well worth the extra effort and cost.  The more we demand organic food, the more available it will become and it tastes so much better.  I use Lazy Acres, for this recipe because of all their organic meat choices.  The sausage is sold in the butchers case, where I get it, by the link, but if you don't have that option you can buy a 4 pack of sweet Italian sausage in the meat dept. of your local grocery store.  You can buy the hot sausage in the same place, but you'll have to freeze the extra 2 links for the next time you make this recipe.  In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, milk cheese and spices.  Squeeze the sausage out of the casings into the bowl and mix well with your hands.  You can make the meatballs any size, but I prefer for them to be golf ball size. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and start rolling your meatballs.  Put them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  To remove excess fat, drain meatballs on paper towels.  In a medium to large sauce pan, combine meat balls with 2 jars of your favorite sauce, making sure it is gluten free.  simmer on low while you make the pasta.
Cook 1-2 packages of brown rice pasta, according to directions.  The cooked pasta will look more yellowish than usual and very starchy.  Not to worry.  Just rinse the cooked pasta and dive in.  It tastes great! (Nothing like that yucky wheat pasta!)

Remove sausage from casings

Roll meatballs about golf ball size

Cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees

Check label to make sure it's gluten free

Simple Green Salad

with Gammy's Italian Torpedo Dressing (great on Torpedo sandwiches, too)
1 head red leaf romaine
1 red onion thinly sliced (optional)
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste


Wash the lettuce and spin in a salad spinner or dry on paper towels.  Place lettuce in a large bowl, tearing into bite sized pieces.  Add onion, cheese, S&P and dressing and toss well.


Torpedo dressing:

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried crushed oregano 

3 cloves peeled and smashed garlic (leave cloves whole but crush them to release the flavor) 

Mix all ingredients in a mason jar and shake before using.

Katheryn Gilligans Garlic Bread
1 stick butter melted
2 cloves garlic chopped finely
1 loaf french bread
Slice the bread, longways, with a bread knife and place on a cookie sheet.  Add the minced garlic into the butter and spread generously over the bread.  Broil on high for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
This one is always a crowd pleaser!
For my gluten free friends....do the same thing on a few slices of gluten free bread.  Not quite as amazing but it's serves the purpose.
I just found a bakery in my town, (Our Daily Bread), who will make gluten free bread in a baguette...All I had to do was ask.

Gainey Pinot Noir Specail Reserve

Strawberry Parfait with a Chocolate Covered Strawberry on Top

4 cups rinsed, hulled and sliced organic strawberries

12 strawberries, washed and completely dried

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar (with a mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.  Don’t over mix.  On low, add the vanilla and sugar, just to blend.)

16 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

 Get out 12 nice stemmed glasses.  Presentation is important with this one.  Layer the strawberries and whipped cream, starting with the strawberries and ending with the whipped cream.  Cover each glass with plastic wrap, place on a tray and put them in the fridge.

With a bain marie or double boiler, simmer water in a pan while stirring chocolate slowly, in a glass dish, sitting over the water.  When chocolate is almost completely melted, remove from heat continuing to stir until smooth.

Dip the paper towel dried strawberries into melted chocolate to cover most of the strawberry and set on wax paper lined tray to harden.

When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap from glasses and add a chocolate dipped strawberry on top.   ~ gluten free decadence

I added a store bought gluten free cookie

    Sharing an evening of food, wine, music and conversation, with our dear friends was delightful.   We have broken bread together many times in the past and are sure to do so many times in the future, but the warm feelings extended between our families will never get old.

Dave and Morgan shooting the breeze

Flavored olive oil for dipping

It does my heart good to see such concentrated eating ~

My bosom friend, Nancy and I! 
(Nancy is a fellow blogger and has a very popular  
cooking blog @ nancynewcomer.com, and on Facebook 
@Back To The Kitchen: my farmers market meals. 
For great tips and meal ideas check her out.)

Tradition, my friends, tradition... it's the spice of life