Big, Traditional Italian Meal

September 6, 2008

Big Italian Dinner

I promise I will not explain every good meal in Italy…but why not? That is what I want to remember! Mama invited over one of her friends who is also a host mom and her two host sons. Patricia came over around 8 with her two sons in hand, Nick and Jay. Not surprisingly, I knew both of them. Jay is a classmate of mine at Whitman (one of the two other ones), he also speaks about as much Italian as me. Nick and Melissa both speak a little Italian but are a little shy. So for all ten of us, it was me and Melissa, our Mama, her son, Patricia, her two real sons (in their thirties), her two host sons, and her husband. Here was the fantastic menu:

First Course:
Bread with this olive oil/anchovy paste/capers spread
Baked bread with salami
Salami and fresh figs (picked at the Villa this morning)

Second Course:
Pasta in meat sauce with tomatoes

Third Course:
The most juicy, succulent, tender, moist pork chops
A full bowl of salad that was left untouched (how can you go for salad when there are pork chops!)
Potatoes cut into small pieces and roasted—of course, I find we have potatoes every meal.

Fourth/Dessert Course:
Apple Crisp!

By the time we had finished eating, two hours had gone by. The meal was…it is hard to describe. Do you know the feeling when you’re so full, it hurts to breathe, but all you can do is think about taking that one last bite? That was how this meal was. I was so full after pork chops but I managed to have three helpings of Apple crisp. Finally, a culture where my large appetite is rewarded! Mama constantly asks to give us more helpings…well she doesn’t really ask me anymore because she knows how much I eat and that I feel fine about taking extra helpings. She does push food to Melissa because she eats like a normal person. I however don’t know anyone outside my family who eats as much as I do.

After dinner, we watched the Italy versus Cyprus soccer game around the television. During half time, we walked Forrest Gump dubbed in Italian. Haha. It was wonderful. The four of us went out on the town after dinner, but I didn’t stay out to late because I was so full. I took a taxi home at one which is pretty much the equivalent of ten in the States because everyone goes out so late.