Friday, January 02, 2009

GINA'S NEW YEAR FEAST

A wonderful lunch yesterday at Gina's. I'll take you straight to the food:



First, there was her famous dish of tagliatelle al forno, this time made for 15 people and even more delicious and crispy as it was cooked in a wood-burning oven.



Next, the main courses: polpettone of minced meat, omelette mixture and chard



and cotolette of chicken and veal



and good old Italian salsiccia



accompanied by orange salad



and peperoni



and cipolline in agrodolce [little sweet and sour onions].

There was also a green salad plus patate al forno or "Gina's chips". She cooks them in the oven in olive oil and rosemary. I remember the first time she served them when I was there some years ago and everybody wanted some. "But I've only done them for the children", she cried. "Ma noi siamo bambini!" ["But we're children!"] came the reply from all the adults present. She now makes plenty but yesterday they disappeared before I could snap them!



For dessert there were just-picked mandarins and oranges so sweet that they are called "vanilla oranges" here. Yes, they really do taste of vanilla!



Then there was gel al limone [newer readers might like to know that the recipe is here],



then these dolci



and of course, panettone.

Grazie, Gina!

And those of you who've read to the end get Gina's recipe for the sweet and sour onions:
Peel some very small onions and wash them well. Sprinkle some flour over them and fry them in a little olive oil. Then add some white wine vinegar to the pan [about a tablespoon to a half kilo of onions] with some salt, black pepper and sugar [about a dessertspoon of sugar, I would say]. Cook over a low flame for 15 minutes. Buon appetito.

16 comments:

Crushed said...

The Polpettone and the Salsiccia loook nice...

Anonymous said...

What a feast , it looks amazing

Luce said...

I also had panettone on xmas day, before I eat it I give it a good smell.........close my eyes and I feel like if I'm back home.
Love eating it but makes me feel so homesick.
Gina's food is amazing!!

Portlandier said...

oh my goodness- this all looks so good! You know how to eat right!

CherryPie said...

Those onions sound interesting :-)

Trubes said...

Wow every bit of Gina's feast looks delicious...You are truly blessed Welshcakes to have such talented and kind friends.
I do hope Simi had a doggie bag!

Di.xx

Dr. Christopher Wood said...

EEE by gum, what good food you have!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

They were, Crushed - it all was! Hi, VM. Amazing is the word! Hi, Luce. There is something so comforting about the aroma of panettone, isn't there? Hi, Miss B. Yes, Sicilians certainly do! Hi, Cherie. They have a very unusual taste. Ciao, Trubes. I am blessed indeed and there was plenty for Simi! Hello, Dr Christopher Wood. By gum, we do!

James Higham said...

They all look scrumptious but N2 looks the best to me.

Dr. Christopher Wood said...

Welshcakes Limoncello> thankyou!

I'm just blown over by the food - "Fe, fi, fo, fum, I smell 'finger licking' good cooking!"

'Aye laddie'.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Jame. I like the cotolette best myself. Hello again, Dr CW. It certainly is "finger-lickin' good"! Hope you had a happy hogmanay.

Liz Hinds said...

Those onions do sound nice. And did Gina cook all that food?! What a feast!

Happy New Year to you and Simi!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Ciao Liz and buon anno to you, yours and George from Simi and me. Gina did most of the cooking. Her mother-in-law helped a lot. The tradition here is that the guests take a dessert.

Nunyaa said...

I am getting my passport, packing my bags and I shall be right over Welshcakes, well a girl can dream lol :) Happy New Year to you and Ms Simi xx

Dragonstar said...

I'm drooling!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

OK, nunyaa - waiting for you! Happy new year again from Simi and me . Hi, dragonstar. I'm drooling remembering it!

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