Last week, my husband and I attended Grape Camp in Fredericksburg and took a few extra days to visit several vineyards and wineries. The food was fabulous, the wine was wonderful and the landscape – very similar to Tuscany – was lovely. The trip inspired me to do Thanksgiving a little differently this year. I intend to serve Mediterranean foods with good Texas wine.

The meal will begin with antipasto (that’s Italian meaning “before the meal”) and is served as a starter or an entrée. The dish usually consists of cured meats, cheeses, fruits or vegetables and olives or pickled peppers. The preparation can be as simple as slicing the meats and cheeses, cutting up an apple, laying down a cluster of grapes and pouring drained olives from a jar. It can also be made more complex by adding roasted and marinated vegetables. Luckily most of the preparation can be done a day in advance and the platter will be served cool or at room temperature.

When it comes to cured meats, you can’t go wrong with a good hard salami. Slice the salami into pieces that can be eaten in one or two bites. Proscuitto, a dry-cured ham, is another excellent choice. It should be thinly sliced and can be purchased that way at most delis. I usually roll the slices into small cylinders for a nice presentation. Small bites of mozzarella cheese wrapped in proscuitto are tasty too.

We are very blessed to have an abundant choice of cheeses and you can’t choose poorly if you serve what you like. I like to serve two cheeses and one of them is usually smoked Gouda. Then depending on the crowd, I serve either a cave-aged gruyere, a soft goat cheese rolled in fresh herbs, or a hunk of tangy blue cheese.

Generally the fruits are served raw – usually grapes and apples – making sure that they are in bite-sized pieces. However, I prefer to grill most of the vegetables. I consider what is in season, but usually serve a few grilled asparagus spears lightly dressed with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Roasted artichoke hearts, mushrooms and squash are also wonderful choices.

Chopped tomatoes, onions and garlic marinated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil with capers and basil leaves adds bright freshness to the platter. I have also made an olive tapenade by chopping black, green and kalamata olives and mixed with garlic, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Those are the more complex options, but you can always just open a jar of stuffed olives or peperoncini.

Antipasto will be a great start for Thanksgiving dinner. Although I have chosen non-standard Thanksgiving fare, I know my folks won’t be disappointed. We will be thankful for our great country, our ability to gather in peace, love for each other and the Lord’s bounty.