and 16, and 17.... Federico's birthday was Sunday, and that lucky guy had
3 birthday parties, all of which I cooked for. The first was for the family. I made
Caponata (actually I made this at Il Bacco - l'ho rubato),
pepperoni gialli con bagna cauda - yellow peppers roasted with bagna cauda and a slice of tomato, and
piccione al tartufo - squab with black summer truffles. The squab was the same that i made last month - it was so good - had to have it again! For dessert, I got a beautiful fruit tart and cannolis (I just can't resist them) from Giglio, my favorite pasticciere.
The gift? A little wine refrigerator. Its over 100 degrees here today, and lets just say our apartment doesn't exactly feel like a wine cellar. ;-(
For party number 2, I made a buffet style dinner for 25 of Federico's friends - it was a pool party. I made
Insalata di Caprese with Mozzarella di Buffalo from Battipaglia in Campania;
Pepperoni Gialli con Bagna Cauda;
Insalata di Farro;
Melanzane Ripiene - eggplant stuffed with rice, pine nuts, anchovy, capers, raisins, and tomato; and
Maiale Arrosto - roasted pork with fennel, rosemary, and sage. For dessert
Zuppa Inglese - I'm not exactly sure what this was supposed to be - but I made a custard, and poured that over savoiard biscuits dipped in coffee and rum, and topped with
Alchermes, a strange red liquid food coloring, who's creation is said to be attributed to Catherine de Medici. It was originally made with lady bugs! Anyway, like most of my desserts, this one turned out truly ugly, but delicious. I put the birthday candles on the watermelon - seemed more appropriate.
Party numero tré: Last night, back at our house. Giuseppe (from
La Fornace di Mastro Giorgio in Gubbio) brought the best gift - oysters from France - it was a war trying to open them, but they were fantastic! And, I learned a new way to eat oysters - stab them with your fork, and then pour Champagne over, so that it seeps into the holes in the oyster -
che buoni...I made,
fiori di zucca fritti - fried zucchini blossoms;
pepperoni gialli con bagna cauda - yet again, but worth it - they're good;
insalata di caprese, melanzane ai funghi - eggplant cooked with garlic, rosemary, and pepperoncino (in the style of mushrooms), and I made
spiedini di maiale - skewers with pork, onion, red pepper, and apricot. I highly recommend trying pork with grilled apricots - the fruit becomes a beautiful sweet tart sauce for the meat. For dessert - this time just fruit, Cantaloupe, Mango, and the
Viscioli (sour cherries) that I put under sugar last month. They turned out very well - kind of like the best cherry pie filling you have ever eaten. Plus we did a tasting of my distillery experiments - limoncello, nocino, and amarena. I'm very excited for the nocino to be ready - right now it is a completely black liquid with a strong clove perfume, and a taste of cinnamon and lemon.
>
Per bere: Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Brut, a magnum of the '99 Caprai Outsider (limited edition), and Tattinger Prestige Rosé Champange. Not bad - is it time for my birthday again???
Recent Comments