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Although every weekend for the rest of 2015 is booked out with weddings, travel, or special family celebrations, Alessandro and I managed to squeeze in one more fun and out of the ordinary experience last weekend - the one last free weekend that I had. And it was amazing! Together, with our friends, Steve and Vicky, we hosted a traditional balsamic tasting event for twenty-eight guests. Important sidenote: This was all Alessandro's idea. Never in my wildest dreams could one imagine him suggesting that we host such an evening! He is always cautioning me that I put too much on my plate, tend to overdue dinners, make too big a deal of hostessing, but this time the whole idea was his. Wow! Never saw this coming, truly! Not to mention, we had so much fun collaborating together. Sadly, I was too busy in the kitchen to actually photograph the pairings, but I did manage to capture a small essence just as we got the evening started. Here's what we did:
Similar to champagne, only true traditional balsamic comes from one particular region, Alessandro's homeland of Emilia Romagna. While Alessandro gave a very informative presentation on how traditional balsamic is made, Vicky's daughters and I passed around small-bite pairings. We started with a straight up mini-spoonful of balsamic so that our friends could taste its depth and sweetness. Then, the following were paced throughout the night and drizzled with various grades of traditional balsamic vinegar...
2nd tasting: chunks of parmigiano reggiano
3rd tasting: mortadella slices
4th tasting: caprese salad
5th tasting: roasted pork tenderloin
6th tasting: vanilla gelato with strawberries
desert: cannoli and ricotta torte
Relishing in these fun moments together. This is life for me - being in the company of friends and loved ones and sharing good foods al fresco.
I hope you have a lovely weekend planned, but if you're working like me, I hope you are able to carve out some special time with people you love.
xo