Last Monday evening we were invited to the home of some Italian friends for dinner. We arrived a 8pm and ate pretty quickly after that.We are still unused to the late dining hour but slowly, slowly we will adjust.
The Meal
We had three courses: main dish, vegetables, and dessert.
The main dish, served first with bread was a delicious hot spinach and cheese dish (get the name of it). Wine accompanied the main dish -- two varieties of red that came from their family vineyards-- and also water. It was very delicious but what the hostess described as simple food.
The second course consisted of several vegetable and cheese dishes. Pepperadella, a variety of very sweet peppers cut in chunks and sautéed in olive oil and garlic -- very good! Sliced butternut squash (they call it pumpkin), which was grilled and then put in oil and served cold. This was also very good. Also eggplant, prepared similarly, grilled first then put in oil and served cold. Not sure if the grilling was done on the stove top, an actual charcoal grill, or on a grill type pan in the oven (my oven has a grill setting). I will ask. We also had a very tasty ricotta cheese served with slices of tomato and crackers on a plate. One very gigantic piece of fresh mozzarella on a plate (a mound about the size of a salad plate), which was the thing they all liked the most, and everyone simply cut off a chunk and put on their own plate.
Dessert was tiramisu but nothing like what we have in the Seattle area. This was a rich, dark cake with a very thin fruit filling (not sure what kind). We had a very small glass of a nut liquer also which was one they made themselves from hazelnuts.
The Courtesy
The family is so loving and kind to us. They are really sent by God to welcome us to Italy. The mother speaks fluent English, and the oldest daughter also (in her early twenties). The second daughter also speaks pretty good English (she is in late teens I believe). The father and youngest daughter speak a few words of English is all. The table seating was planned so the people who spoke English were distributed around the table and there was someone to translate back and forth for us. At one point in the conversation, the oldest daughter went around the table and sat next to her father to translate for him because we had been speaking rapidly and telling stories that he was missing. It was so nice to see a daughter care so much for her Papa that way.
The family loves each other a lot, you can just tell. The children are very affectionate to their parents, and they do kind things for each other. The children all sat through the meal and focused their entire attention on the guests (us). We wondered to ourselves as we left, how many American homes would be this way? We certainly know several families where the children would have left the table as soon as they could politely get away, or would have sat there and texted their friends while the adults were talking. I believe they really value people relationships here and that it doesn't matter what age groups those relationships cross.
There was no prayer before the meal. This family was raised Catholic but I don't believe they are regularly attending mass.
In total we were there about 2 1/2 hrs. We ate slowly and talked a lot. After dinner they got out some maps of the US and we talked about places we lived and visited, about Johnnie driving from Washington to Kansas in two days -- they thought that was totally crazy -- and then they showed us places they have traveled in the Carribean and South America. The two oldest daughters have also visited New York. I believe they have traveled more than most Italians, and certainly a lot more than most Americans.
This was a lovely evening we hated to end. We hope there will be many more like this as we make Italian friends and can begin to host them in our home as well.
When I get the recipes in future, I will add them to my blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment