Summer Italian Feast

We had our latest meeting on a beautiful evening in Brooklyn Heights. With fresh tomatoes in abundance in September, what better way to use them up than with an Italian meal?

	The host made some crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside risotto cakes. Kendra made an attempt (successfully) with focaccia, drizzled with honey and blue cheese. She also made up for skipping our last meeting and therefore depriving us of chocolate by whipping up a chocolate ricotta pie with pine nuts and crumb crust.
	Larisa brought some manicotti crepes, topped with marinara. The crepes were a perfect casing for the creamy ricotto and herbs within. Our newbie, Brittany, supplied the group with an Italian staple - pasta with clean and fresh tasting marinara. I baked some eggplant parmesan, thinking a little eggplant would offset the cheese and chocolate… and wine. I’ll justify our indulgence by saying that yes, yes it did.
	After our fabulous meal and many important discussions, we adjourned for a quick glimpse of Andrea’s view of lower Manhattan from the promenade. Being September 11, we had an unusual scene of 2 bright lights in place of the fallen twin towers.