ITALIAN FOODIES

 I thought I'd give you a little snippet into our eating habits when we are in Italy for any of you planning on going there this summer. In the south of Italy where we go they are very passionate about their food and very strict about their eating times, I remember sitting on the beach around 1 o'clock during one of my earlier visits and looking around wondering "where was everyone gone"?.It was like a mass exodus, they'd all gone for lunch. I think the heat of the day affects when people eat, 12-4 is the hottest part of the day so they have lunch then, unlike us where we just have it when we can,  normally driving the car or sitting at a desk.  There is no such thing as a quick sandwich either, it's the whole works. The longest lunch I ever had was for Bru's Zia(aunt) Franca' birthday, 1 to 6pm, I thought I was going to die!!!! i think we had 6 courses. I had a great excuse for my 10 limoncellos, I had to digest!!!!

As you know from previous posts we are addicted to our coffee so of course  when we are in Italy every morning starts with a cappucino and a cornetti(croissant). In Atina there is a little cafe called Cafe Del' Arco on the village square, it's just around the corner from the apartment so we go there for breakfast every morning. The village is really small so we usually end up meeting the whole family and sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. If we're at the beach we'll usually have breakfast in the hotel or find a Lido(beach bar).

The one thing I always notice about Italians is they don't pick, they save themselves for their next meal whereas here we think we're going to die from weakness and starvation if we don''t eat(well I do anyway). I've gotten better though when I realised I was eating more between meals than Bru and then could never finish my lunch or dinner!!

 Lunch in Italy is rarely served before 1pm and may begin as late as 2.30pm, a lot of the shops close for a siesta until 4 or 5pm but then they stay open till 7.30 or 8pm. If we're in Atina we always eat at Bru's cousins restaurant Il Viccolo and normally have just 2 courses, normally an "antipasto" and a "primo" which would probably be some cold meats and cheeses and then a pasta dish. If we're at the beach we'd go to the the lido again and just have a sandwich or a salad because it's always too hot. Of course vino would always be consumed, as they say"when in Italy........." we wouldn't want to be rude!!

One of the things I love about Italy is going to the bar for an aperitivo around 6pm and most bars are packed at this time as everybody does it. They always serve you olives or peanuts with your drink,  this is to keep you going until dinner because it's usually not until 8 or 9pm. Of course we always savage them down because we don't get it here and it's such a novelty for us. Once again I ruin my appetite! I always have a prosecco, bragetto or white wine as an apertif. The Italians drink a lot of Campari but I've never really liked it, it's very bitter. 

In Atina sometimes we go to one of the local restaurants for dinner or an agriturismo for a change!! Most restaurants in this area specalise in a particular food so you go to one restaurant for good meat, another one for fish, pizza etc which is great because you are getting fresh local produce in a family run establishment. Mamma or Nonna is normally in the kitchen cooking and Papa' or Nonno are on the floor serving the food and the local wine. We would normally have 3 courses for dinner; antipasto, primo, secondo(meat or fish) and a contorni(side dish)

There is great local wine in this area and in the summer there are loads of wine festivals. There is a big one in Gallinaro which is just 5 minutes from Atina, Paulo Tullio is from there. We went 2 years ago and it was one of the best nights ever.  You pay €5 and you get a wine glass and a holder for around your neck. There are about 30-40 "canteens", these are little rooms where they make their wine, you basically hold out your glass and they give you a sample of their wine. Yes, you can have as many samples as you want so you can imagine what you are like at canteen no. 40. Some of the canteens provide nibbles like parmesan cheese, breads, olives. It's amazing, it would never work here though, free wine, it would be gone in 5 minutes.  They had a local band in the square, I have never seen so many drunk Italians singing their heads off, it was brilliant. At the end of the night we had a porchetta(pork) sandwich and was served by a guy who had lived in Wexford for years and spoke with an Irish accent!!

Anyway after dinner we normally go to a local bar and have a coffee and limoncello. Dessert normally consists of a gelato and then a "passegiata" - which is a stroll to work off dinner. Up until now we would have went onto a few bars which normally serve until 3 or 4am but those days are gone with the arrival of the princess!! 

 BOMBONIERE - this is an Italian tradition where everyone is given a momento of the christening, it was a little bag with sweets inside and her initals on the front. It's a nice touch and was really appreciated by everyone on the day.

So the big day arrived at long last, 4 months to be exact. The weather was awful on Sunday and the principessa (princess) wasn't too happy about being dressed like a bride!!! The outfit came from Italy of course courtesy of Nonna(grandma), she even had the "little house on the prarie hat", she was so not impressed but looked so cute.

There was another baby girl being christened on the day and of course one baby was an angel and one had a heart attack everytime the priest came near her. She was so cranky, all she wanted to do was eat the prayer booklet which of course I let her, the child just wanted some pasta me thinks 

 At the end then we did the usual pictures with the priest etc and looked around to get the Italian family up to the alter for pictures and they were all gone!!! It was 2.30pm way past Sunday lunch so they'd all left to eat!! Only the few Irish contingent were left ready and waiting with their cameras. When it comes to food and Italians nothing stands in their way.

We got through it anyway and had the reception in the Piccola. Nonna had been preparing for days, Bru was drafted in on Saturday to scoop out potato balls which he thoroughly enjoyed, no potato cubes allowed at these fancy gatherings just posh potato balls. Only the best for the princess!!! Nonno Alfredo was the coctail master throwing together champagne coctails for the masses. Nonna had put together an amazing spread of food, we had:

antipasto - fish antipasti, parma ham, bean salad etc

primi - lasagna ( this is no ordinary lasagna, it's made with mini meatballs, boiled eggs, tomato sauce and cheese)

secondi - rack of lamb, roast beef, BRU'S POTATO BALLS and salad.

dolci - home-made cake made by nonna and zia Wilma.

It was so nice, our friends couldn't believe how much there was to eat they thought they were finished at the lasagna stage but soldiered on and ate a bit of everything. There is this stereotypical image of Italians, loads of them sitting around check tablecloth tables, drinking the vino rosso and shouting(they don't talk), it's all true. This is what it was like the italians in one part of the restaurant drinking the vino and talking with their mouths full and then the Irish on the other side saying "how do they eat all this food" with a couple of pints in front of them. The Italians finished the wine, the Irish finished the keg.

The drinking and shouting went on till 7, the elders went home and the "yung ones" went onto the Whitehouse for a bit of Irish music, and still managed to fit in a kebab and garlic chips at 2 in the morning even after all that lovely food. Actually, believe it or not Bru's cousins Pasquale and Paulo love kebabs and garlic chips, everytime they come here we have to bring them to Abbrakebabra. Their restaurant in Italy is a member of Slow Food, it makes you wonder!!! I'm going to name drop here, Paulo Tullio was eating there last summer when we were there. We were too shy to say hi, Bru's dad had a chat with him though.

Anyway I brought home the princess and the leftovers which we thoroughly enjoyed watching Lost on Monday night.

Till the next bambino!!!