This past week I hosted some family for dinner when I was going to be away from home until early evening, returning just an hour before dinner was served. I opted for a build-your-own pasta dish buffet. I was able to prepare many of the pasta toppings in advance. When I returned home, I started cooking pasta and Italian sausages, and I set up the remaining food on the buffet while the pasta and Italian sausages were cooking.
Speaking of Italian sausages, this week I am sharing my recipe for Italian Seasoned Portobello Mushrooms. I originally created this recipe when I was serving Italian sausage to a group. I prepared a bit of Italian Seasoned Portobello Mushrooms for the guests who didn’t eat sausage. The mushrooms were so popular that now I make Italian Seasoned Portobello Mushrooms with all of my guests in mind. The Italian Seasoned Portobello Mushrooms are great as a separate dish, as a topping for pasta and as a filling for lasagna.
I also attached another recipe that is popular on my pasta buffets, Alfredo Sauce. This sauce is a hit with my friends and family who eat dairy, and I also have been happy with the results making this recipe using non-dairy alternative ingredients.
In all, this week’s pasta buffet allowed me to quickly serve dinner to a group. A pasta buffet also fits my idea of a crowd-pleaser because most people like it, and it works well for a group with diverse eating styles and preferences.
Here are some photos of the group’s creations:







The day after the pasta buffet, I tried something new with the mushrooms. I was able to create an easy and healthy entree by cooking a serving of whitefish in a pan with a bit of oil and topping it with leftover Italian Seasoned Portobello Mushrooms. The recipe is attached to this post.





Also check out these other crowd-pleasers:


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