To our delight, we were invited to partake in a meal at our good friends' home. Marco and Petra were the consummate host and hostess.
We arrived just as the sun was setting over the hillsides and farms of Sassuolo.
In their rooftop garden we sipped our aperitivo Prosecco and enjoyed antipasti of succulent sun-dried tomatoes, olives and taralli. Taralli is a crunchy biscuit bread with the delicate flavor of fennel, and it is a specialty of Puglia. It's light taste goes beautifully with the crispness of the wine and the salty bit of the tomatoes and olives.
Our meal progressed to a classic pasta course that Marco selected from La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene ("The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well"), by Pellegrino Artusi. (According to Wikipedia, the book was "first published in 1891, is widely regarded as the canon of classic modern Italian cuisine, and it is still in print. Its recipes come mainly from Romagna and Tuscany, where he lived.")
As Americans we have to learn to pace ourselves at the Italian table - it's all so good you can easily get carried away and get full very quickly!
For our next selection, Marco prepared Arrosto di Vitello al Balsamico with Fagiolini allo Speck and carved tomato flowers. The veal roast is wrapped in pancetta slices and slowly browned, then bathed in a rich sauce of milk, seasonings and balsamic vinegar. Unbelievable flavor!For dessert, we were treated to Marco's specialty - Crepes Suzette! They were light and delicious (some of us had seconds!), and were complemented perfectly by the dessert wine called Piccolit. Piccolit is sweet and very flavorful. A great choice to wrap up a lovely meal. Petra also brought out a bottle of a potent yet tasty apricot schnapps as a digestif.
We'll continue to share dining adventures together - and bring them to you!
