Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Food----OOOOH THE FOOD!
What to say about the food here? How to describe how incredible it is? How to articulate how yummy the pasta, sausage, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, wine, and EVERYTHING is here?
I can't.
How's that for a post?
In all seriousness, I have to begin with the table. The table here in the kitchen has at least 4 LEAFS in it. FOUR. Quatro. WOW. It is HUGE. Clearly it is the center of the room and the center of the home in many respects. And as people show up, it just grows. Kinda neat, huh?
And then there is the time these meals are served. Lunch is usually served about 1:45ish. And isn't over until about 3. Yes. Over an hour. Dinner is usually ready about 7:45ish. And isn't over until about 9. I have to tell you that last night Byron went downstairs at about 11pm to grab my camera and he said that Quinto was fixing himself a snack. At 11 pm? After the HUGE dinner we had just eaten. It made me laugh.
And now to tantalize you with some of the yummies Melissa has prepared for us during our time thus far. And keep in mind that most of it is fresh from their farm. And all of the sauces are homemade. We've had rigatoni in a red (meat) sauce that was so savory it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. We have had stuffed olives. Yes, olives. Which I don't even eat at home. But here, oh here, they stuff them with sausage and then batter and fry them. What's not to love! They are soooooo good. The sausage here is so spicy (but not in a hot spicy way, in a yummy savory way). That has probably been my favorite so far, after the olives. No. Cancel that. My favorite has been the tortellina in a white sauce. OMG. It was so creamy and delicious with these bits of pancetta and fresh parmesan cheese on the top. Incredible! Tonight we had chicken for dinner. Perhaps it was the chicken whose crowing woke us up this morning! HA! And thankfully Max speaks English b/c when he saw the feet and the neck on the platter, he couldn't contain his surprise. It was quite funny. Melisa also served quail. None of us had the quail, just the chicken. Mario (Melisa's father) tried to convince me to try it, but I politely declined. ;) Melisa asked me if we had ever had gnocci. I shared with her that it was one of my favorites. She was surprised when I told her that at one of my favorite restaurants at home, it is served in a white sauce. She said that it is traditionally served in a red meat sauce here. I think she said we'll be having it for lunch one day this week. I can't WAIT!
And now let me tell you about the quantity of food. I don't understand how people here aren't as big as a house. For lunch, we have pasta first. A FULL bowl of pasta. Then there is the main course, which is usually a meat (so far we've had chicken cutlets, meatballs, and sausage). Then there are the sides. So far those have been tomatoes with fresh olive oil (Byron's new favorite), a corn salad, stuffed olives, or potatoes. Then after that, everyone has fruit. Usually oranges from the trees outside or apples. Then there is coffee--Italian coffee. Not American. We have now gotten used to Italian coffee (espresso). Oh, and then there's the wine. Obviously it is made by Quinto with grapes they grow here. It is so good. Not too strong. But soooo delicious! Lunch has been a bit bigger of a meal than dinner. Dinner is usually a meat, no pasta, and a few side dishes. Oh and after dinner there is the lemoncello. For those that don't know what lemoncello is, it is basically lemon zest in everclear alcohol then a little sugar mixed in. You only drink a TINY bit (small shot glass) at a time b/c it is so strong. For me and Byron who don't drink often, it has been interesting....but it is just so good, you have to try it!
Now for a few photos. Here are a few photos from today's dinner:
I can't.
How's that for a post?
In all seriousness, I have to begin with the table. The table here in the kitchen has at least 4 LEAFS in it. FOUR. Quatro. WOW. It is HUGE. Clearly it is the center of the room and the center of the home in many respects. And as people show up, it just grows. Kinda neat, huh?
And then there is the time these meals are served. Lunch is usually served about 1:45ish. And isn't over until about 3. Yes. Over an hour. Dinner is usually ready about 7:45ish. And isn't over until about 9. I have to tell you that last night Byron went downstairs at about 11pm to grab my camera and he said that Quinto was fixing himself a snack. At 11 pm? After the HUGE dinner we had just eaten. It made me laugh.
And now to tantalize you with some of the yummies Melissa has prepared for us during our time thus far. And keep in mind that most of it is fresh from their farm. And all of the sauces are homemade. We've had rigatoni in a red (meat) sauce that was so savory it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. We have had stuffed olives. Yes, olives. Which I don't even eat at home. But here, oh here, they stuff them with sausage and then batter and fry them. What's not to love! They are soooooo good. The sausage here is so spicy (but not in a hot spicy way, in a yummy savory way). That has probably been my favorite so far, after the olives. No. Cancel that. My favorite has been the tortellina in a white sauce. OMG. It was so creamy and delicious with these bits of pancetta and fresh parmesan cheese on the top. Incredible! Tonight we had chicken for dinner. Perhaps it was the chicken whose crowing woke us up this morning! HA! And thankfully Max speaks English b/c when he saw the feet and the neck on the platter, he couldn't contain his surprise. It was quite funny. Melisa also served quail. None of us had the quail, just the chicken. Mario (Melisa's father) tried to convince me to try it, but I politely declined. ;) Melisa asked me if we had ever had gnocci. I shared with her that it was one of my favorites. She was surprised when I told her that at one of my favorite restaurants at home, it is served in a white sauce. She said that it is traditionally served in a red meat sauce here. I think she said we'll be having it for lunch one day this week. I can't WAIT!
And now let me tell you about the quantity of food. I don't understand how people here aren't as big as a house. For lunch, we have pasta first. A FULL bowl of pasta. Then there is the main course, which is usually a meat (so far we've had chicken cutlets, meatballs, and sausage). Then there are the sides. So far those have been tomatoes with fresh olive oil (Byron's new favorite), a corn salad, stuffed olives, or potatoes. Then after that, everyone has fruit. Usually oranges from the trees outside or apples. Then there is coffee--Italian coffee. Not American. We have now gotten used to Italian coffee (espresso). Oh, and then there's the wine. Obviously it is made by Quinto with grapes they grow here. It is so good. Not too strong. But soooo delicious! Lunch has been a bit bigger of a meal than dinner. Dinner is usually a meat, no pasta, and a few side dishes. Oh and after dinner there is the lemoncello. For those that don't know what lemoncello is, it is basically lemon zest in everclear alcohol then a little sugar mixed in. You only drink a TINY bit (small shot glass) at a time b/c it is so strong. For me and Byron who don't drink often, it has been interesting....but it is just so good, you have to try it!
Now for a few photos. Here are a few photos from today's dinner:
Time for School, Church, The Cheese Man, and More Family
Day 3: Wednesday, December 17Today Max and Nicholaus went to school with their brothers. Oleg and Ivan are in different schools but they are very close together. And the interesting thing about their schools in this area is that they go to school about 7:30 and then are dismissed at 1:30 for the day. They don't serve any type of meal at school. The kids just take a snack and then they eat lunch after school at home.
So Max went with Ivan to school and Nicholaus went with Oleg. They really didn't have too much to say other than that it seemed the teachers yelled a lot and that everyone stared at them and tried to talk to them, which they didn't understand. I explained that it is easy to think that people are yelling but that it was probably just that Italian is spoken with such, ummmm passion, that it often seems like yelling. HA! Max did say that it seemed the his classmates' English skills were better than Ivan's. So they joked that Ivan needed to study harder in English class.
So Max went with Ivan to school and Nicholaus went with Oleg. They really didn't have too much to say other than that it seemed the teachers yelled a lot and that everyone stared at them and tried to talk to them, which they didn't understand. I explained that it is easy to think that people are yelling but that it was probably just that Italian is spoken with such, ummmm passion, that it often seems like yelling. HA! Max did say that it seemed the his classmates' English skills were better than Ivan's. So they joked that Ivan needed to study harder in English class.
After school and lunch (which I've got a post coming on the food!!) the kids went for a bike ride. Then it was time for Ivan's drum lessons. Yes, drums. Melisa and Quinto are much braver than I am to allow drums. So while Ivan was at drum lessons, the rest of us went down to the marina where the fisherman catch and sell their fish. It was beautiful and interesting. And I didn't bring my camera! After that Melisa needed to stop to get some cheese. She told me that the cheese man was from England and spoke ENGLISH! YEAH! It was so nice to hear English. We talked with him for a long time. And he gave us samples of cheese and said what wonderful people Melisa and Quinto are. His "store" was quite interesting. It isn't so much a store as a rolling shop of cheese and meat. But given the number of customers there and the quality of the cheeses we tried, he does a great business.
The Pignotti's church is near the cheese man, so we stopped by to meet their priest. Mass had just ended and we thought we had missed the priest. But we hadn't. And I'm so glad we got to meet him. He immediately gave me and Byron a hug and then hugged all of the kids. He then promptly smacked them all upside the head. Hard. Max and Nicholaus were a little stunned, but they immediately picked up on Oleg and Ivan that this was a term of endearment. The priest was younger than I expected and their church is very modern. It was beautiful. The priest asked if we were Catholic. I explained that we were Protestant and he asked if the boys had been baptized. I explained that yes they had, but that in our church, baptism is by immersion not sprinkling. This amused him. ;) He clearly loved the kids and based on their joking and playful interactions, it is mutal.
The Pignotti's church is near the cheese man, so we stopped by to meet their priest. Mass had just ended and we thought we had missed the priest. But we hadn't. And I'm so glad we got to meet him. He immediately gave me and Byron a hug and then hugged all of the kids. He then promptly smacked them all upside the head. Hard. Max and Nicholaus were a little stunned, but they immediately picked up on Oleg and Ivan that this was a term of endearment. The priest was younger than I expected and their church is very modern. It was beautiful. The priest asked if we were Catholic. I explained that we were Protestant and he asked if the boys had been baptized. I explained that yes they had, but that in our church, baptism is by immersion not sprinkling. This amused him. ;) He clearly loved the kids and based on their joking and playful interactions, it is mutal.
Following our fish, cheese, and church excursion we headed home, but first stopped by the home of Melisa's cousin (Melisa's mother's sister, her daughter and her family). Nicholaus had already been visiting with Ivan and had met them all. Immediately upon walking in the house, we were hugged by everyone there and told how wonderful Max and Nicholaus were and what good boys Oleg and Ivan are. The Aunt (sorry, I couldn't make out her name) is quite old and Melisa shared with me that she is in poor health. But she clearly loved all of the boys. Shortly after arriving, Maura (the cousin) told me that her son, who lived on the 3rd floor, was on his way downstairs and that HE SPOKE ENGLISH. 2 people in one day! So Marco came in and greeted us with a "How you doing?". So we chatted with him and his girlfriend who is studying to be an OBGYN in Rome in English for a bit. He cracked us up with the admission that he learned English by watching Friends on DVD. How funny. Meanwhile the cakes and pastries start appearing on the table. And the coffee and drinks. Such hospitality. Interestingly enough, the Aunt shared with me how Ivan comes to visit her EVERY.DAY. I can not tell you how much it warms my heart to hear that like our 2, they are also compassionate kids. Amazing.
In the photo, you will see Maura (Melisa's cousin), Maura's husband Frankie, Ivan and Max, and Maura's father, Primo. And if you look at the top left of the photo, you will see some hand crocheted flowers. The Aunt gave me a bunch of these as a gift when we were leaving. So generous
In the photo, you will see Maura (Melisa's cousin), Maura's husband Frankie, Ivan and Max, and Maura's father, Primo. And if you look at the top left of the photo, you will see some hand crocheted flowers. The Aunt gave me a bunch of these as a gift when we were leaving. So generous
So after some cake and lots of hugs and lots of conversation (that was soooooo loud. I LOVE it!) we said our goodbyes for the night. Such an amazing extended family. Who clearly love Oleg and Ivan and already love us.
When we got back to the Pignotti's house (which is literally across the street), Ivan's Godfather (who is also Quinto's cousin) was waiting to say hello. He was most intriqued by the kids playing Uno. And he also came to invite us for dinner tomorrow. He seems genuinely nice and clearly loves Ivan as evidenced by the numerous hugs and love taps. ;) It's been a good day. I must say that I have learned so much about the Italian culture on this trip. They truly know how to treat guests. I have never been treated with such hospitality. It's humbling. And also about the value of visiting. It seems that people visit constantly. It's nice and makes me miss that we live so far from our family at home.
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