di reston
Sous Chef
When I lived in England, we usually served three - four courses. Typically, they would be:
Appetiser - nibbles with drinks
Hors d'Oevres - first course, typically a smoked salmon dish First course - stuffed mushrooms, soufflè and such like
Second course - some kind of grand style of main course dish
like Chateaubriand etc
A dessert designed to balance out the rest of the menu.
Where I live now, it's a nightmare. They're all brilliant cooks, and the tradition is 6 + courses, so we would start with something like:
Aperitivo. Vital. Cocktails and Martini' s and the like with nibbles (frittata (Spanish style omelette cut into small pieces and spiked with the obligatory toothpick, bruschette of several types, baked savouries and so on). Vital because Piedmont is the home of apertif drinks like Martini.
Antipasto: Chicken and vegetables in aspic (for example)
First course: Veal tongue with salsa verde
2nd course: Consommè of chicken
3rd course: veal in tuna fish sauce
4th:course:either fish risotto or something like gnocchi with Bolognese sauce
5th course: Brasato al Barolo (Braised topside of beef marinated in Barolo wine)
6th course: selection of cheeses
7th course: a dessert such as Piedmontese 'Bunet', a dessert made from
amaretti, cocao, whipped egg whites, brandy and milk
Finally, after-dinner drinks!
The custom is that all the wives of those invited turn up on the day and set to preparing it all.
You wouldn't find that in the Italy's cities. It's very much a country tradition. The problem is, that it ends up as being the meal for the week, but all that's compensated by the feeling of togetherness that you don't really get in the city.
I'm not really expecting any contributions to this, but I just wanted to share this experience with you, I suppose it's like you're 'pot luck' (is that right?)
Appetiser - nibbles with drinks
Hors d'Oevres - first course, typically a smoked salmon dish First course - stuffed mushrooms, soufflè and such like
Second course - some kind of grand style of main course dish
like Chateaubriand etc
A dessert designed to balance out the rest of the menu.
Where I live now, it's a nightmare. They're all brilliant cooks, and the tradition is 6 + courses, so we would start with something like:
Aperitivo. Vital. Cocktails and Martini' s and the like with nibbles (frittata (Spanish style omelette cut into small pieces and spiked with the obligatory toothpick, bruschette of several types, baked savouries and so on). Vital because Piedmont is the home of apertif drinks like Martini.
Antipasto: Chicken and vegetables in aspic (for example)
First course: Veal tongue with salsa verde
2nd course: Consommè of chicken
3rd course: veal in tuna fish sauce
4th:course:either fish risotto or something like gnocchi with Bolognese sauce
5th course: Brasato al Barolo (Braised topside of beef marinated in Barolo wine)
6th course: selection of cheeses
7th course: a dessert such as Piedmontese 'Bunet', a dessert made from
amaretti, cocao, whipped egg whites, brandy and milk
Finally, after-dinner drinks!
The custom is that all the wives of those invited turn up on the day and set to preparing it all.
You wouldn't find that in the Italy's cities. It's very much a country tradition. The problem is, that it ends up as being the meal for the week, but all that's compensated by the feeling of togetherness that you don't really get in the city.
I'm not really expecting any contributions to this, but I just wanted to share this experience with you, I suppose it's like you're 'pot luck' (is that right?)