Diary of a Nutritionist

When entertaining, I like to keep it simple, but rich, and elegant. I like to choose one fat, either, a goat cheese, avocado, or olive oil (depending on my audience), and center the meal around that.

In this case, I chose goat cheese, and incorporated both a feta goat, and a raw goat cheddar, into two of my dishes. Most people are surprised to find that they actually like goat cheese.  It is tangy, salty, and creamy.  There are goat cheeses that are certainly more “goat-y.” I am not a fan of these.  A grocery store with an educated cheese connoisseur, like a Whole Foods, or a wine and cheese shop, will be able to lead you in the right direction.

Hors d’oeuvre

If the appetizer, and entrée lean on the “rich” side, choose a simple selection of your favorite raw vegetables.  You do not want your guests feeling weighed down before the food is served.  This sort of thing always happens at my family events.  You want your guests to enjoy it all.

Radish crudities, a la Erica Berger

My guest (Erica), chose radishes, and sliced them into manageable pieces.  Steps:  Slice, arrange, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Carrots, red peppers, and fennel, can be decorative and delicious also.  I like that radishes are cleansing, spicy, and crunchy.  There is something about a radish that is both oddly unique, and satisfies that need for a crunch without the need to “over do it” (it is pretty hard to over do it with radishes ).  We used a little Herbamare Original to season the radishes.

Wine

Red and a White

I am not a fan of Italian Wines.  A Granache and a full-bodied Chardonnay are my wines of choice.  It is always nice to have a red and a white available for guests.

Appetizer

Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Feta

Preheat oven to 350

Serves 2-3

• Wash and wrap 1 large red beet, and 3 small golden beets in tin foil
• Bake for an hour, or until the beets are tender (poke with knife)- remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
• Carefully peel the beets with a carrot peeler, beets will be hot, and messy (wear an apron…seriously).
• Slice red beets into large medallions, place in center of platter
• Slice golden beets into quarters, place around large red beet
• Top each serving with a 2 tbsp of fresh goat feta

Entrée

Zucchini Pesto, Pasta

Pesto Sauce

• 1/8 cup fresh basil
• 3 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 inches peeled, raw zucchini
• 2 quarter sized pieces of raw goat cheddar
• 1-2 tbsp of warm water

Blend in your magic bullet, until smooth

Raw Zucchini Pasta Base

• Grate 3 large zucchini on a cheese grater
• Soak 6 sun-dried tomatoes, and roughly chop, combine with your zucchini mixture
• Evenly pile the shavings, and sun-dried tomatoes onto 3 platters
• Halve 1 cup cherry tomatoes and arrange on top of the zucchini mountains
• Grate about 1/8 cup raw goat cheddar
• Pour the pesto over the zucchini base, and tomatoes
• Top each dish with quarter size goat feta, and your raw got cheddar

Dessert

Chocolate Tasting Platter

Keep dessert simple.  Lay out a platter of mixed dark chocolates.  Most everyone I know loves chocolate in some form, or another.  I find that a good chocolate, and splendid glass of wine, are the perfect compliments to any entrée.

What do you like to fix when you have guests?  Share your vegetarian (and vegan) ideas!