For lunch, picked up a prosciutto piadina at a bar (which means cafe, not bar like we think of it).
For dinner, I had some absolutely fantastic food after Solveig's chorus concert. You see, this is what, for me, makes Italian food so that wonderful, welcoming and satisfying. After the concert, we were led to the downstairs of the church where concert took place to be greeted by a beautiful array of food that the chorus members had provided (by which I mean homemade, or in the case of the incredible salami, home-cured). There was just the most beautiful, and tasty, selection of foods to eat. And lots of it. There were about seven tables like the one pictured below filled with foods, desserts and wines. They included homemade savory tarts of spinach and cheese or mushroom and ham, amazing foccacias of red onion, pancetta or olive, salty, flavorful pieces of mortadella, home-cured salami (out of this world good), bread, seasoned nuts, pieces of parmigiano cheese, mini pizzas with sliced garlic, fried dough with raisins, pine-nut tart, chocolate tart, cookies and more. The food was beautiful and abundant.
The quality of this food was truly fantastic, as is always the case with Italian home cooking. There is a reason why food here is so much better and why the existence of high quality, delicious food is as ubiquitous in this country as a Starbucks or McDonald's is in the United States (though yes, McDonald's does exist here, and yes, there is a lot of good food in the U.S.). Good cooking and good food here begin at home. I know this is no revelation or surprise to anyone that good Italian food is made at home. But it is something that is difficult to understand coming from the United States where we do not have the same associations with food, family and home (if in part because here, everyone, and I mean everyone, knows what good food is and the importance of good food eaten together at home). Food here is so important and so consistently well-made because it is learned, understood and created in the larger context of Italian family life and community. The food at this reception was created to be enjoyed with others, it is part of what sustains relationships and of being together.
For tomorrow's post, I will post pictures of a meal my roommate made for his friends that I joined. We literally sat for three hours over the meal, eating delicious food and talking on a Sunday afternoon. In Italy, good food is important not only because it feeds the body, but because it feeds conversation, community and family as well. It's not to say that other parts of the world, including the U.S., do not often enjoy food in a similar manner. But the Italians just seem to really have it down. These people know how to cook, how to eat, and how to make enjoying a meal, whether post-concert snacks in a church basement or a full four course meal in a candle-lit dining room, the most wonderful experience in the world.
