Saturday night dinner with friends

Good friends Jane and Jim were here for a casual dinner filled as usual when we're together with nonstop conversation and hearty appetites. We started with flatbread pizzas - I used naan - topped with herbed oil and a sprinkle of grey salt, then thin slices of baby eggplant, zucchini and new potato. Atop this,a generous sprinkling of torn basil leaves, more salt and a few turns of the pepper mill, and voila, a tasty and quickly baked appetizer to accompany chilled white wine. At the table, a salad of mixed greens, quarters of marvelously voluptuous fresh calimyrna figs and goat cheese, dressed with my favorite fig dresssing. The garden determined my main course, stuffed chard leaves, the stuffing made up of sauteed chard stems, onions and garlic mixed with drained ricotta, then baked with the lightest of tomato sauces, topped with grated parmesan. Accompanying this, cappelini with tarragon pesto and freshly picked wax beans dressed simply with thyme and olive oil and served at room temp. Dessert was an Italian olive oil and rosemary cake served with a few berries topped with limoncello flavored mascarpone cream. The weather was hot and humid, but in the cool of the house a good time was had by all.