Saturday dinner at Luisa - a community ritual
B&B Luisa has been a dream. Francesca's family - her mother and father especially - have literally invited us into their home and made us part of the family. We have had opportunity to wash clothes, we've played in the yard, we've dined with them, drank with them, taken drives up the mountain with them. When we arrived Tuesday, we were told about dinner on Saturday - apparently a weekly thing that draws in quite a few folks from the surrounding area. The dining room at Luisa is large, but not huge. It can probably seat 35 people with more seating outside if need be. The place is full every Saturday and not just one round of people, sometimes a second round comes by later. There is no such thing as running out of food - this is not an option.
Dinner began around 8pm - we were greeted in the dining room with lots of different types of meat grilling on the fireplace. A very deep fire place where a grill sits on the hearth while the fire blazes behind it. Coals are rotated in and out of the fire under the grill to give an indirect cook to the meat. Its a slow process, but everything ends up perfect. I was told by Francesca that we had to try everything.
First course (Primi piatti) was bacon (yes, some awesome bacon), bread, and plates of pasta. One type was pasta with a flavorful meat sauce, the other was pasta with a red sauce and peas (less of a bite, but very smooth). Secondi was salad, grilled vegetables, and the many types of meat (ribs, veal, steak) all which were cooked to perfection, none requiring a heavy dose of sauce to drown in. Just meat and some spices all cooked to perfection. With secondi we were served a great red wine which complemented the meat, not overpowered it. The dolce arrived - first a course of local asiago cheese which went perfectly with a bottle of prosecco naturale that Jule and I had purchased earlier in the day over in Valdobaddiene (the home of prosecco). We had offered the prosecco to our hosts in appreciation for the dinner which was "on the house" and the adjusted in stride and served some cheeses meant to be eaten with that particular wine. We shared with a family from Tuscany who now lives nearby. I was told the prosecco we purchased was "va bene!" - approval from the locals! The real dolce arrived - a cherry tart and a lemon cake both made fresh by Francesca earlier in the day (you can guess how many of each of these she had to make with 35 plus people coming for dinner.
A different bottle of prosecco arrived to compliment the cakes. Italians really understand wine pairing to bring out the best in the foods.
Eating the cakes was fulfillment of a joke/promise to Francesca. As we connected on Facebook years ago now, everytime she'd post a photo of the many desserts she would make, I would always post the comment "save me some!" which she liked. Finally I was able to enjoy desserts made by Francesca. It was a special moment...a funny moment. Of course I took a photo of the dolce and posted it to facebook tagging Francesca with "save me some!" written in the comments.
Coffee and grappa and digestivo drinks (those meant to settle your stomach after such a feast) began to arrive. Unfortunately the illness I had been fighting was starting to win second by second. I used the excuse of putting the girls to bed and retired to our room. Yep, I was ill.
But this could not take away from a wonderful night at B&B Luisa as part of the Ceccato family.
Oh I nearly forgot. One of the guests was a local doctor who does a lot of favors for the family who in return host him quite regularly. They are very close friends. The doctor's daughter was to be married on Sunday (today as I type this). So this was a special dinner for them the eve before the wedding (I guess there is not "rehearsal dinner"). We had been told that some musicians may arrive in her honor - and yes, suddenly we heard guitar music and singing outside.
This was described in the previous post - the groom singing with his friend playing guitar. He stumbled through traditional Italian songs and it was really a sweet moment. Mind you, we had all finished our dinner for the most part when this occurred. After the initial serenade, the groom and friends all came inside and dinner began for them. Poor Francesca and her family - the work was not over. Then the butcher arrived - he had selected the best cuts for dinner and came to see how well it was cooked...and of course his full dinner began (oh around 10pm). Much later when I was upstairs, another group of wedding party friends arrived and service started anew for the Ceccato family. Their generosity is amazing and they openly welcome rounds and rounds of friends. I am proud to be Italian for many reasons, but this way of treating family as friends and friends as family is chief among them.
What a great experience - the singing went until midnight. Early for them. Luisa knew we were upstairs not feeling well and trying to sleep. She's a mother for all.
Dinner began around 8pm - we were greeted in the dining room with lots of different types of meat grilling on the fireplace. A very deep fire place where a grill sits on the hearth while the fire blazes behind it. Coals are rotated in and out of the fire under the grill to give an indirect cook to the meat. Its a slow process, but everything ends up perfect. I was told by Francesca that we had to try everything.
First course (Primi piatti) was bacon (yes, some awesome bacon), bread, and plates of pasta. One type was pasta with a flavorful meat sauce, the other was pasta with a red sauce and peas (less of a bite, but very smooth). Secondi was salad, grilled vegetables, and the many types of meat (ribs, veal, steak) all which were cooked to perfection, none requiring a heavy dose of sauce to drown in. Just meat and some spices all cooked to perfection. With secondi we were served a great red wine which complemented the meat, not overpowered it. The dolce arrived - first a course of local asiago cheese which went perfectly with a bottle of prosecco naturale that Jule and I had purchased earlier in the day over in Valdobaddiene (the home of prosecco). We had offered the prosecco to our hosts in appreciation for the dinner which was "on the house" and the adjusted in stride and served some cheeses meant to be eaten with that particular wine. We shared with a family from Tuscany who now lives nearby. I was told the prosecco we purchased was "va bene!" - approval from the locals! The real dolce arrived - a cherry tart and a lemon cake both made fresh by Francesca earlier in the day (you can guess how many of each of these she had to make with 35 plus people coming for dinner.
A different bottle of prosecco arrived to compliment the cakes. Italians really understand wine pairing to bring out the best in the foods.
Eating the cakes was fulfillment of a joke/promise to Francesca. As we connected on Facebook years ago now, everytime she'd post a photo of the many desserts she would make, I would always post the comment "save me some!" which she liked. Finally I was able to enjoy desserts made by Francesca. It was a special moment...a funny moment. Of course I took a photo of the dolce and posted it to facebook tagging Francesca with "save me some!" written in the comments.
Coffee and grappa and digestivo drinks (those meant to settle your stomach after such a feast) began to arrive. Unfortunately the illness I had been fighting was starting to win second by second. I used the excuse of putting the girls to bed and retired to our room. Yep, I was ill.
But this could not take away from a wonderful night at B&B Luisa as part of the Ceccato family.
Oh I nearly forgot. One of the guests was a local doctor who does a lot of favors for the family who in return host him quite regularly. They are very close friends. The doctor's daughter was to be married on Sunday (today as I type this). So this was a special dinner for them the eve before the wedding (I guess there is not "rehearsal dinner"). We had been told that some musicians may arrive in her honor - and yes, suddenly we heard guitar music and singing outside.
This was described in the previous post - the groom singing with his friend playing guitar. He stumbled through traditional Italian songs and it was really a sweet moment. Mind you, we had all finished our dinner for the most part when this occurred. After the initial serenade, the groom and friends all came inside and dinner began for them. Poor Francesca and her family - the work was not over. Then the butcher arrived - he had selected the best cuts for dinner and came to see how well it was cooked...and of course his full dinner began (oh around 10pm). Much later when I was upstairs, another group of wedding party friends arrived and service started anew for the Ceccato family. Their generosity is amazing and they openly welcome rounds and rounds of friends. I am proud to be Italian for many reasons, but this way of treating family as friends and friends as family is chief among them.
What a great experience - the singing went until midnight. Early for them. Luisa knew we were upstairs not feeling well and trying to sleep. She's a mother for all.
Comments
Post a Comment