Spring Box: Italian Lunch Ideas

Are you feeling "la dolce vita" now that you have your chic Italian embroidered napkins? The Italian way of life is about leisure, pleasure, community...and incredibly delicious food! What to have for lunch then to experience a little sliver of that?

Before you eat, if you can get somewhere that's quiet (or outdoors...please Spring, hurry!) so you can relax and enjoy for a few minutes, try and do that it. If you'd like a soundtrack while eating, check out the playlist "Italian Vintage Summer" on Spotify.

Ok, so let's do a few skewers! (Please note that I am against food on skewers at an event because they are awkward and unwieldy. It's too much work, especially with a cocktail in hand.)

I'm using bamboo picks because they are much shorter than the wooden skewers sticks that you would find for a BBQ. I'm just going for bites here.

~Stack Salami + Tortellini + Provolone + Castelvetrano Olive
~Stack Grape Tomato + Mozzarella Ball (soaked in pesto); Drizzle with balsamic vinegar

A riff on the skewer would be a breadstick with salami and provolone wrapped around it. Wouldn't you know that I could not find a thin, crispy breadstick anywhere! (The grocery store cupboards with bare!) I improvised by rolling packaged crescent roll dough into thin strips, baking them at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes. It worked in a pinch!

You can buy pre-packaged combos of Italian meat and cheese in the deli section of your grocery store so just take one of each and wrap around the breadstick. If you have access to a microwave or oven during your lunch, heat these up for some warm ooey-gooey-ness! Yum!

For sides, Trader Joe's has small packages of marinated artichokes and an Italian cracker assortment called Taralli and Friends.

For a sweet treat, add a Perugina Baci or two or a handful of Italian wafer cookies. (I bought these at World Market.)

I'm a big proponent of water all day, every day and I always squeeze some lemon in it for a bit of flavor. However, if you need something fizzy, try a San Pellegrino soda. (I love the Grapefruit flavor.)

Goditi il tuo pranzo a base di gusto per l'Italia!

(Let's hear some of your ideas! Comment below!)