Community Chat

[sunshine45]

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@Mj12 wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

we have friends from southern italy and they own several restaurants in the area. we LOVE their antipasti boards that they do in the restaurants and at home.......dont even need anything else to eat. i enjoy the salty, bitter, sour items, not so much anything sweet.

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@sunshine45 O/T - have you been to La Scala in Baltimore?  Fantastic. : )

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@Mj12

no i have not.....have been to a lot of the ones in little italy though.

will have to make a point to try this out.

[Deb665]

What a wonderful memory!  Thank you for sharing with us!

I understand what you mean about the olive oil dripping...I'm Southern and we love our fresh corn on the cob with lots of butter!  (No judgements please!). You can't bite into the corn without that butter running down your chin!  LOL

[Cakers3]

Let's clear up some misconceptions:

Antipasto singular

Antipasti  plural

When antipasto is served is means the meal has begun.  Some may refer to it as an appetizer but it really is a meal course by itself.

Pasta (primo) is NOT the main meal. That is the Amercanized version.

It is served after the antipasto. Soup or polenta can sub for pasta.

Il secondo is the main course-chicken, fish, meat.

Contorno are your veggie sides and can be served along il secondo. This includes your salad.  We always ate our salads last.

Dolce-dessert.

We do NOT pile huge amounts of pasta smothered in sauce (gravy)  and refer to it as our main meal. Again, that is the Americanized version of "Italian" food.  

And yes, my maternal grandparents were from Italy.

[151949]

I am familiar with going to restaurants and being served antipasta as an appetizer - or first course. BUT that is not what I'm discussing in the OP. This is the meal. All that is served. IT is HUGE. You couldn't possibly eat this and then eat other courses. This is a meal served on hot , steamy summer days when you don't want to cook or eat hot food. I still have the large round  tray my gram would serve this on - it is over 3 ft across. The only other thing was a tub of ice with wine, water and beer in it, and eventually a tray of cookies would be brought out. As I said in the OP - I doubt many Americans would have ever seen this and so would not understand the concept.I tried to explain the concept, but I suppose I failed. It is more than foods & eating.It is FAMILY. It a FEELING. For a child it is feeling part of this wonderful group of people you love, of total love & acceptance & security.

[Qshopper1991]

Yes.  I've made it plenty of times.  I am lucky enough to work in Philly, so I am close to the Italian Market down here.  They sell all of the cheeses, meats, good imported extra virgin olive oil and even figs for a beautiful and delicious antipasta.

[151949]

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@Deb665 wrote:

What a wonderful memory!  Thank you for sharing with us!

I understand what you mean about the olive oil dripping...I'm Southern and we love our fresh corn on the cob with lots of butter!  (No judgements please!). You can't bite into the corn without that butter running down your chin!  LOL

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Every year we can't wait for the corn to start coming to market - then we pig out on it while it lasts.I'm glad I'm not so uptight that I'd miss a great experience over a little food  getting on my chin.

[QueenDanceALot]

Yes, in Italy.  

I would love to go back.

[Drythe]

@tansy

Yes, I had a knee replacement 11 years ago, MD messed around about doing it so long because 'I wasn't old enough'.  Eventually it became infected & then it had to be done under not good emergency conditions.

Now it is loose,  makes it very unstable to walk on.  It must be replaced, but NOT by the original Ortho.

Sorry you are dealing with this.

[ROMARY]

Yes, in Roma.  'Mama mia'.............Was it delicious!  Huge plate.  Underline 'Huge'. 

[hckynut]

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@151949 wrote:

My family is from the mountains of northern Italy. My grandpap had blue eyes ! Anyway his sisters - my great aunts - came from Italy to the USA as teens so they still had many old ways of doing things. In the summer when it was too hot to eat hot food they would make antipasta

- OMG a tray about 3 ft across covered - and I mean covered til you couldn't see the tray underneath - with sausages , cheeses, peppers , pickled vegetables and fresh vegetables and fruits.Esp. figs - my favorite but also grapes , cherries & melon slices. And lots & lots of bread cubes. Good tuscan hearty bread. In the center - a bowl of seasoned olive oil which everyone would drag their vegetables through and esp their hot peppers.

You would eat the bread to cut the heat of the peppers and the sausages or dip it in the oil and eat it. By the time you were done eating you had olive oil dripping all over your face and clothes. Everyone drank wine - grandpap watered ours down with soda water. Then would come out a tray of desserts - usually cookies.

I made an antipasta for DH & I yesterday , because it was so hot & humid yesterday I didn't want to light the stove. My DH is delighted when I make this. Usually I make it when we are in Pittsburgh because I can get better Italian sausages & cheeses there.But I did my best. Don't need much for just 2 of us anyway.

I think most Americans have probably never eaten an authentic antipasta, and honestly , I can't imagine many Americans sloshing down tons of wine, with olive oil soaked food , oil dripping off their chin while everyone else eats from the same bowl of oil , everyone talking and carrying on and laughing.

My dad (Irish) hated this and would make himself a plate to eat from - grandpap & his sisters would just shrug. My Mom was right in there with her family though.My Dad called it pigs at the trough.

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