This document provides recipes for a 5-course Italian vegetarian meal including: pumpkin ravioli with sauce, Caesar salad, bruschetta, tiramisu, and amaretti cookies. The recipes include ingredients and instructions for making each dish.

1. Italian Vegetarian Recipes Recipes for a Five Course Vegetarian Italian Meal

2. Pumpkin Ravioli Ravioli 1 cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato Pinch nutmeg Dash salt ¼ teaspoon white pepper, or to taste 72 wonton wrappers Sauce One 4-ounce package neufchatel cheese or light cream cheese, at room temperature ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt ½ cup skim milk 1 tablespoon unbleached white flour 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme) ¼ teaspoon salt White pepper to taste 1/4to ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

3. Pumpkin Ravioli Ravioli In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except wonton wrappers. Place a wonton wrapper on your lightly floured work surface. Mound 1 teaspoon filling in the center, and wet the edges of the wrapper with a little water. Place a second wrapper over the first, pressing down around the filling to expel any air. Seal the edges and trim the excess dough around the filling with a sharp knife or a decorated cookie cutter. Transfer the ravioli to a dry towel. Repeat the process with the remaining wontons. Turn over the ravioli occasionally to let them dry slightly. Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Cook the ravioli in batches of 8 to 12 until they rise to the surface and are tender, about 2 minutes. Do not let the water boil vigorously. Transfer the cooked ravioli to a dishcloth. Cover and keep warm.

4. Pumpkin Ravioli Sauce Mash together the softened cheese, yogurt and milk in a small saucepan; whisk in the flour. Stir over low heat until very smooth. Do not let the sauce oil. Stir in the herbs, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. To serve, divide the ravioli among 6 individual plates and top with the sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Per serving: 394 Cal; 18g Prot.; 6g Fat; 65g Carb.; 18mg Chol.; 299mg Sod.; 13g Fiber

5. Caesar Salad 1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed and ripped into medium sized pieces 6 oz of freshly grated parmesan cheese ½ loaf of French bread cubed for homemade croutons Drizzle Olive Oil & Garlic Salt over the bread and cook at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes, be sure to stir. Dressing: Combine all ingredients in a jar and mix vigorously 3 Tbsp crushed capers ½ cup Olive Oil ½ lemon – squeeze the juice of it into the jar 1 Tbsp spicy mustard (Dijon preferably) 2-3 garlic cloves minced 1 Tbsp cracked black pepper 15 minutes before serving toss the lettuce & croutons to absorb flavor. Stir in cheese right before serving, top with cracked pepper and parmesan cheese.

6. Brushetta 4 fresh tomatoes 3 cloves of garlic Roasted red peppers Basil Parsley Olive oil 1 loaf of baguette bread

7. Brushetta Rough chop tomatoes & peppers Combine tomatoes, peppers, garlic, chopped basil & chopped parsley Pour olive oil over ingredients and let sit. Slice bread & paint each side with olive oil. Lay out slices to toast in the broiler setting Flip once to lightly brown each side. Cut in slices and pour brushetta on top

8. Tiramisu 1 10 x 15 inch glass container 500 grams Mascarpone cheese 6 large egg yolks 1 cup sugar 1 pint of heavy whipping cream 2 ½ cups of espresso 7 tbs. of brandy (optional) ½ cup of Hershey’s cocoa 48 lady fingers (about 2 seven-ounce packages) NancyJean Eagan’s Tiramisu Recipe

9. Tiramisu Chill the whip(s) and stainless steel mixing bowl in freezer for at least 10 minutes before starting. Make espresso (add brandy if desired) and put in the refrigerator to chill. Remove the whip and bowl from freezer. Inside the bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Remove cream and place it in a chilled mixing bowl. Place it in the refrigerator. Rinse off bowl and set aside to use for mixing the eggs (next step). Separate egg yolks and put only the yolks into the mixing bowl. Add sugar and mix until the mixture turns a very light yellow. Add Mascarpone (be sure to dispose of any liquid in container before using) and mix well. Remove whipping cream from refrigerator and fold mixture in several stages. Dip lady fingers in the espresso and layer them in 10x15 containers. Top the layer with the cheese mixture. Repeat process until all lady fingers are used, then dust the top of the dessert with a layer of cocoa. Garnish with mint leaves and fresh berries. *Important: Refrigerate the tiramisu for at least one hour before serving to give it time to “set.” When ready to serve, cut up into squares with a serrated knife.

10. Ameretti Cookies 2 1/2 cups of almond flour -or- 3 cups of blanched slivered almonds, finely ground up 1 1/4 cup of baker's sugar (superfine sugar) 3 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 teaspoon of almond extract Extra sugar for dusting

11. Ameretti Cookies Preheat oven to 300 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a food processor mill together the almond flour and sugar. Add the vanilla and almond extract and pulse for a few seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to process until the dough is smooth. Place teaspoons of the dough on the parchment paper and dust with sugar. Bake for 24-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving. They will be slightly chewy at first, but they will be nicely crispy as a day or two goes by. Store in a cool, dry place. (Note: Under bake for chewy, if that's your preference, bake them for about 20-24 minutes.) Makes about 30 cookies