Eating Like Italians

Today we ate lunch like Italians (possibly because two of the three people eating actually are Italians). Our two hour- long meal began with pasta at 2 pm. The table was set with a lime green linen tablecloth and large plates rested under shallow bowls. These plates were not under liners. They would be used for the next course: roasted pork with grilled onions, broccoli rabe and roasted potatoes. If that was not enough, a bowl of fresh peaches and apricots rested at the end of our large table. Ice cream waited in the freezer.
We paced ourselves through the ravioli and approached the meat with the endurance of marathon runners. But by the time I ate half a peach I became the runner who stops short, clutching her side and collapsing in a chair. The boys plowed ahead. After the fruit, they tackled espressos which rejuvenated them for dessert. They shoveled through big bowls of the ice cream, licking their spoons at the end.
By nine pm my stomach was once again growling (though I did not expect it to). Gian Luca felt the same way, so we decided on having a light dinner. We called Stefano (our friend who arrived from Italy yesterday) because we figured that he didn’t have any food in his apartment. He came over and we settled around the table for round two.
This time Gian Luca cooked a broccoli and onion frittata, I made arugula and gorgonzola salad and Stefano cut the bread. It smelled so good that we couldn’t wait to sit down and eat. (Which is why there are no pictures again today—Sorry!).
After dinner the boys sang traditional Italian songs and, for a moment, I thought I was once again living in Rome.
Speaking of Rome, tomorrow we are invited to our friend Silvia’s “Pesto Party”. Silvia is from the eternal city and settled here about five years ago. Who knew there were so many Italians in Minneapolis?
Anyway, I just finished baking a dark chocolate and orange cake to bring tomorrow. I promise a recipe, pictures and a posting!