The menu was casual: antipasto and three kinds of pasta, red sauce with sausage and meatballs, tortellini with prosciutto cream sauce, and linguini with fresh clam sauce. We set up four six foot tables in an L-shape in the great room, draped them with colorful cloths and put a large crock of very brightly colored flowers in the corner. The price of admission for our guests was a bottle of the chewiest wine they could find. It was one of the best parties we’ve ever given. The noise level at ten o’clock might have summoned the cops. An added bonus was realized the next morning when we gathered enough used wine corks to make a collage.

The fun tone of the night started with the antipasto, served from the corner of the L-shaped table. I had two huge platters of vegetables and salamis and four crocks of prepared savories. Two of the women donned chef’s aprons and helped pass while Pavarotti serenaded on the CD player.

The most novice cook could put together a spectacular antipasto tray: Line a large platter with red-leaf lettuce on one side and radicchio on the other. (Cut the spine out of the radicchio so it will lie flat) Fill the eight o’clock to eleven o’clock spoke with hard-boiled eggs cut lengthwise. Top half of the eggs with caper stuffed anchovies and the other half with roasted red pepper strips. Dust with paprika. Fill the eleven to two o’clock spoke with hard salami sliced and stuffed with a wedge of provolone and secured with a toothpick with a frill. Fill two to three with scallions cleaned and cut to six-inch lengths. Fill the center of the platter with red bell peppers, roasted and peeled and cut into two-inch wide strips. Fill the remaining tray with two rows of Toscano salami and Coppa ham. If roasting and peeling all those peppers doesn’t appeal, substitute two jars of artichoke hearts, drained.

Sue Kleber