Dinner Party in a Box

Planning a dinner party can be a pain—that’s why we’ve done all the work for you in assembling this bountiful box. Here, you’ll find everything you need to make a three-course Italian meal guaranteed to delight your guests. Start with a traditional antipasti spread, then move on to Giada’s luscious parmesan pomodoro pasta, and finish it off with a decadent mascarpone cannoli cheesecake. All you need to add are fresh ingredients like meats and cheeses! This kit contains all of the pantry ingredients you’ll need, from olive oil to pasta, seasonings, snacks, and cookies for the cheesecake crust. And don’t worry, the kit also includes a custom card with instructions to guide you as you cook!

An antipasti platter is a great, light way to start any meal, and it can be customized to meet any dietary preference or palate. Combine something crunchy and cracker-like, a few cheeses and salumi, and some flavorful condiments, and let your guests nibble and chat as a comfortable way to break the ice. Giada’s parmesan pomodoro is a classic comfort dish that sings with the deep umami essence you only get from Italian tomatoes. And the mascarpone cannoli cheesecake is a rich and creamy way to end any meal, with all the flavors of the beloved cookie in a less fussy preparation.

This kit contains:

Sun-Dried Tomatoes In Oil: Sun-dried tomatoes pack even more umami oomph than fresh tomatoes, as all their savory-sweet flavor compounds become concentrated when the water is removed. With these rumpled, chewy gems, a little goes a long way to add big tomato flavor to any dish.

Taralli: Crunchy, savory, and eminently snackable, these taralli are a southern Italian favorite. Taralli can be found in many flavors across the region, ranging from savory to sweet. This light, airy version from Puglia is beautiful in its simplicity, flavored only with high-quality local olive oil and a hint of white wine. They make a satisfying addition to any aperitivo hour.

Mini Rubata Breadsticks: Oh, the beauty of Italian tradition, where a food as seemingly simple as these mini rubata breadsticks from Mario Fongo has centuries of history behind it. Sure, these perfectly crunchy, deliciously simple little rods are a wonderful aperitivo snack. And of course they’re made with high-quality Italian ingredients by a small family-owned bakery. But they also have a fairy tale-like backstory that inspires devotion, dedication, and love.

Truffle Honey Mustard: Give your condiment shelf a luxurious upgrade with this Honey Mustard and White Alba Truffle from the experts at Tartuflanghe. With real pieces of highly prized white truffles, which grow only in the northwestern Piedmont region, this is honey mustard like you've never had before. It has a beautifully rounded flavor, with piquant mustard seeds balanced by sweet floral honey and the unmistakably earthy aroma of truffle.

Quince Jam: With one taste of Agrimontana’s quince jam, you’ll know why the quince is one of history’s most prized fruits. While it’s not common in the U.S., the fruit, which looks like a lumpy yellow pear, has a unique flavor that’s part vanilla, part guava, part pear—and all delicious. In antiquity, quince was grown in Iran, Turkey, and Greece, where it was a symbol of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Its intensely honeyed flavor is sure to inspire love in your home.

Black Olive Paste: From the olive experts at Viragi comes this black olive spread that delivers a big flavor in a small package. Made from the native olives that grow around their Sicilian home base, such as Tonda Iblea and Nocellara dell’Etna, The olives are blended with local extra virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, and mint for a well-rounded flavor that’s never one-note. You’ll love discovering new ways to add olives’ signature salty umami kick to everyday foods with just a spoonful of this powerhouse spread.

Fusilli Lunghi Pasta: You've never seen fusilli like Setaro’s fusilli lunghi! Originally from Campania in the south of Italy, these long, hollow corkscrews were once made by hand by deftly wrapping each strand around a knitting needle or spindle (fusilli comes from the word fuso, or spindle). Now, they’re produced on traditional bronze dies in the Setaro family factory in a process that’s a little less painstaking but no less delicious. It’s a whimsical shape that’s hard to find in the U.S. and is only made by a few Italian pasta producers. This super-sized version measures nearly 2 feet long, and is designed to be broken by hand to your desired length.

3 cans of Corbara Pomodorini: While these tomatoes are definitely are a step up in price from grocery store varieties, the difference in flavor is unmistakable. They are the ultimate embodiment of the Italian philosophy of cooking: selecting only the best-quality ingredients—no matter how humble—and preparing them simply. With just these tomatoes, a packet of good pasta, and some olive oil and parmigiana, you can have a dinner party-worthy dinner ready at a moment’s notice.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil DOP: Every kitchen needs a versatile extra virgin olive oil, and this one from Fratepietro is a stunner. It’s made from a blend of bella di Cerignola and coratina olives grown in sunny Puglia on the Fratepietro family estate and is well-balanced enough to use in your everyday cooking, but has a crisp flavor that shines as a finishing oil.

Soft Lemon Amaretti Cookies Tin: Amaretti cookies are the pride of Saronno, a city just north of Milan in Lombardy, and there’s no amaretti more beloved than these from Chiostro di Saronno. This humble cookie made from just a few simple ingredients is a mainstay of Italian culture, as are the iconic tins in which they have been sold for over a century. This keepsake tin of lemon-flavored soft amaretti is a burst of pure sunshine, the perfect gift for the sweets-lover in your life.

Amarena Cherries Small: If you think all jarred cherries are the same, you're in for a delicious surprise from these amarena Fabbri cherries. It starts with the amarena cherry itself—a small, sour variety that grows in Bologna and Modena. They’re candied in a rich syrup that’s fortified with the cherries’ juice, infusing each ruby-colored gem with a veritable explosion of concentrated sweet-tart flavor. The cooking process also gives the cherries a dense, chewy texture that's unmistakably elegant. Fabbri cherries are insisted upon by top bartenders for their cocktails—you’ll never want a Manhattan garnished with anything else again—and Italian ex-pats the world over (Giada included!) must have a jar in the house at all times.