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Menu for the 4th of July

Parties, as you know, are wonderful occasions to get together and enjoy the company of others.
But, if the cook is always tied up behind the stove, how is it possible for the host to share time with the guests? Well, here's a cold plate menu that's even easy to carry away in case one decides on a picnic, without having to forego the taste of traditional Italian food.

RICE COLD PLATE WITH HAM

Ingredients for 4 people:
3 cups of rice
1 cup of can of peas
1 cup of can of corn
a thick slice of smoked ham
3 eggs
1 lemon
1 tablespoons of Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoons of mustard
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt

Boil the rice in a pot with ample salted water and cook until still firm (al dente). Drain it and put the rice under cold running water to stop further cooking. Transfer the rice onto a large serving dish, dress it with 2 tablespoons of oil and mix. Hardboil the eggs; put them in a saucepan of cold water and cover the eggs. When the bpoing starts again, let them boil for another 7 minutes. When done, put the saucepan under cold water for 10 minutes to stop further cooking, then peel them. Wash and dry the lemon, grate the peel , squeeze out the lemon juice and pour it all into a bowl with the Worchestershire sauce, the mustard and one teaspoon of oil. Amalgamate well and pour it over the rice. Drain the can of corn. Cut the ham into strips and add it to the rice together with the drained peas. Slice the eggs and arrange them onto the rice and serve.

TUNA COLD PLATE

Ingredients for 4 people
4 cups of tuna preserved in oil
4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
2 eggs
a tube of mayonnaise
salt and pepper

Chop the tuna and put it in a bowl together with the beaten eggs, breadcrumbs and cheese. Mix well, then roll the mix as if it were a salami and wrap it in cloth and tie both extremes closing them with thread. Put it in boiling salted water for a half hour, then remove it and let it cool completely. Once dooled, take it out of the cloth covering, cut into slices and serve with mayonnaise. You can accompany this dish with a tossed salad.

CAPRI ISLAND SALAD

Ingredients for 4 people:
16 cherry tomatoes
16 leaves of basil
16 cherry mozzarella cheeses
6 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. Stuff each of them with a cherry mozzarella cheese and a basil leaf and then fix it together with a toothpick. Put the tomatoes on a serving plate, pour over a drizzle of oil, flavor with salt and pepper, and serve.

RED CABBAGE AND SPECK SALAD

Ingredients for 4 people
1 red cabbage
one thick slice of peppered ham (speck)
1 teaspoon of apple vinegar
4 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil
1 onion
salt and pepper

Clean the red cabbage well, cut it into quarters, throw away the outside leaves, the stalk and the hard ribs of the leaves, then wash and cut the leaves into thin strips. Peel the onion, slice it finely and combine it with the cabbage, and then add the speck cut into cubes. Prepare a dressing with oil, apple vinegar, salt and black pepper and pour it over the salad, stirring well.

PIZZA WITH ITALIAN HAM AND MUSHROOMS

Ingredients for 4 people
for the dough:
4 cups of flour
a cube of brewer's yeast
water
4 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil
salt
for the filling:
1 cup of peeled tomatoes
1 grossa mozzarella
4 tablespoons of extravirgin olive oil
4 tablespoons of mushrooms in oil
12-15 thin slices of ham
salt and pepper

Arrange the flour like a fountain in a tureen, put pieces of the brewer's yeast in the center, add in a little lukewarm water and start to knead, adding more water if necessary, until the dough is stiff and uniform. Salt the dough only after having kneaded it. Work the dough for at least 20 minutes on a chopping board, adding the oil only at the end. Divide the dough into balls. Let them rise covered by a damp cloth for at least 2 ½ to 3 hours. Then spread the dough flat on the floured chopping board gently and proceed with the filling. Cover the dough with the peeled tomatoes. Cut the mozzarella in cubes. Arrange the mushrooms on the pizza, then cover it all with the ham. Place the cubed mozzarella on top, add salt and pepper, sprinkle to taste with some oregano leaves and bake. Pre-heat the oven to 250°C and bake for 10 minutes. Before the end of the baking phase, add a swirl of oil.
It can also be eaten cold.

COUNTRY QUICHE OF EGGS, BACON AND MOZZARELLA

Ingredients for 4 people
8 hard-boiled eggs
a piece of butter
a packaged pre-prepared salted dough
a mozzarella cheese
4-5 thick slices of bacon
2 onions
salt and pepper

Lightly grease an oven pan and cover its surface with the dough. Chop the onions finely, and cut the bacon into cubes. Combine the mixture and put it the cake pan, cover it with slices of the hard boiled eggs and with slices of the mozzarella. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and bake for 45 minutes.

CARROT DESSERT

Ingredients for 4 people
20 carrots
3 cups of milk
a pinch of saffron
a piece of butter
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of sultana raisins
2 tablespoons of honey
a pinch of cinnamon.

Peel, wash and grate the carrots, put them in a tureen and cover them completely with half of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan, put in the carrot mixture and let it boil for an hour and a half. Then add the saffron, half of the butter, the sugar, the raisins, the honey and the cinnamon.
Let it heat over a low flame for another 15 minutes, until the mixture has become a cream. Add the rest of the butter, and keep it on a low flame for another 15 minutes. Put the mixture in a tureen and let it cool.