Bunco!

I'm a part of a Bunco group, where twelve of us get together once a month taking turns hosting at each others home. We get together to play a game but really it's an excuse to connect with friends for some good food, fun and lots of laughs. The month of June was my turn.


See all these women here, they can get pretty wild and crazy!

In case you're wondering what Bunco is, it's a game of dice played in rounds. Players take turns rolling the dice and trying to accumulate as many points as possible to win each round. The game is played at tables of four in competing teams of two. The first one that yells out "Bunco!" wins the round. This is a game that requires no skills at all, anyone can learn how to play in 5 minutes!

Yes, we're high rollers and we play with money, everybody chips in five bucks!

The one hosting supplies all the food and drink but almost always someone will walk in with delicious homemade cookies or a cake. We usually visit and eat first then play the game, afterwards we'll have coffee and dessert. Finger foods and appetizers are typically served.

Along with various dips and a caprese pizza, here's a few other things I made when I hosted at my house.

Salami and Bocconcini Bites

On a piece of thin sliced salami place one basil leaf, one half of a cherry tomato, a small bocconcini ball or a cube of fresh mozzarella and one sun-dried tomato in oil. Secure with a pick and drizzle with balsamic and olive oil.

Fruit Kabobs with strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe and blueberries.

If you have extra fruit freeze it into ice cubes it tastes great in a punch, tea or lemonade and it keeps it nice and cold.

Tostada Cups with Artichoke Salsa

The tostada cups are made by spraying both sides of a tortilla with cooking spray and then cutting into 8 wedges. Press the wedges into 8 muffin cups with all 3 points sticking out. Bake in a 450F oven for about 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.

The salsa is simply made by opening a jar or two of your favorite marinated artichokes, draining them and pulsing them in your food processor. When finished pulsing, pour into your bowl.
Then chop some red onion, kalamata olives, 1 clove of smashed garlic and diced and seeded tomatoes. Finish off with salt, pepper, shredded basil, a hint of lemon peel and a little olive oil to taste.

La Bomba, is a mix of eggplant, fennel, roasted peppers, onions, artichokes, mushrooms and olives diced up small and served with Mini Pita Rounds flavored with olive oil and rosemary. This is a perfect party appetizer, it makes a huge amount and can be made ahead of time.

Here's the recipe.

The pita chips I made before but this time I just used mini round fresh pita's, split them horizontally and baked them like this.

These bite size spaghetti appetizers were a big hit, I got the inspiration from Joan at Foodalogue, she added bacon and peas to hers but I had a lot of different things going on so I wanted to keep them lighter.

Cooked spaghetti, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, eggs and fresh basil mixed together and baked in mini muffin tins topped off with a light marinara sauce.

When the cheese melts and the flavors blend together with the spaghetti the result is addicting! Here's Joan's original recipe.

And of course sipping on some chilled Limoncello while your playing the game makes everything just perfect!

Buon Appetito!

Rosemary & Olive Oil Pita Chips with Tuscan White Bean Dip

This is a fantastic appetizer that you might want to bring to one of your upcoming holiday parties. It feeds a crowd, it won't break the bank, it's easy to do, and it tastes amazing! Another nice bonus is that the chips can be made way in advance.

I'm warning you these chips are addictive, you won't want to move very far away from them. This is my friend Jean's recipe, the first time she made this she could hardly pry us all away to move on to the next course, in fact, we would have been very happy to continue munching on these.

The pita chips are nice and crunchy and flavored with extra virgin olive oil, a hint of rosemary and kosher salt.

The best way to store them is in a cookie tin between sheets of wax paper. They will stay crunchy and delicious for up to 3 weeks! I would recommend to make a bunch, you'll be glad you did, as they would be great with lots of other dips or condiments you might be making. In fact I have an upcoming post for another use for these, so stay tuned!

Here's the recipe: (Thanks Jean!)

First thing you do is soak some dried rosemary ( not fresh) in a bowl of extra virgin olive oil, you'll be using this mixture for brushing on the pita's. Let it soak for a good hour or so.

**1 15oz can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.

**1/4 cup of fresh Italian parsley

**2T fresh lemon juice along with and the grated lemon peel of one lemon

**1 garlic clove

**salt and pepper

**1/3 cup of olive oil

Put everything in a food processor and stream in the olive oil until nice and creamy. So easy!

For the pita chips, buy a bag of fresh pita's, take each pita and cut them into long strips, you should get six to 8 strips per pita. Now snip off the tips to square them off, and separate. After separation you should have around 16 individual chips then per pita. ( see why I say it makes a ton!) Brush each strip with the rosemary olive oil mixture on the rough side of the pita, the inner side, place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt and bake in a 400F oven for about 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them cool on a rack, then place them in your cookie tin for storage.

NOTE: I would suggest not to put any rosemary in the dip at all, just the parsley, otherwise it would be too overpowering, the freshness of the zest, lemon juice, parsley and garlic is a great compliment. Feel free to double, triple, or whatever the recipe. I made 8 bags of pita with 6 cans of beans for my son and DIL's baby shower!!!

Buon Appetito!!