WHAT A FIVE HOUR LUNCH LOOKS LIKE
The arrangements for Sunday lunch kept reconfiguring over the course of the previous week. First we were delighted to be asked to what we thought was going to be a Sunday lunch for five at a restaurant on a lake with Stefania and Alessandro. Then when our former nanny changed her plans on coming for a short two-day visit that would now include Sunday we were forced to cancel. Our nanny, Angelina, had changed her plans so that she would now be traveling on Saturday but then she got sick at the airport calling us to let us know she would have to cancel. So we were now free again for Sunday brunch and excited to be reinvited. Sunday morning came and both Rick and Emmy woke up sick, but for different reasons. Rick was forced to bale but Emmy decided she could stick it out. We didn't want the Saraceni's plans to have to change another time. When it was time for us to get in the car I thought that Alessandro and Stefania would drive and we would ride along. This is when we found out we weren't going to be the only ones going to brunch. Alessandro's friend Mirando was going with his wife and seven of his relatives. It was actually a party of twelve now minus one, Rick. They gave us the choice of two ways of getting to the restaurant; one moderately curvy and the other twisted like a slinky. The slinky was going to be faster so we stupidly went along with their recommendation - mistake, mistake, mistake. Emmy might have made it to about the halfway point when all of her last night partying came to make a return visit. That tequila that seemed so much fun the night before didn't look quite as pretty served in a plastic bag in the backseat of the car.
Being the trooper she is she did a full recovery by the time we reached Passignano sul Trasimeno, a beautiful lake side town more like a beach town in southern Italy than a town in Tuscany.
We started out with a walk along the promenade at the water's edge. The lake shimmered in the sunlight of a perfect day. Many cities situated near bodies of water have their manmade water features: Copenhagen has its little mermaid, Geneva has its water spout, Passignano sul Trasimeno has its contemporary sculpture that serves as a turning point marker for sailboat regattas.
The restaurant they had reserved was a white jewel across from the promenade with a view of the lake. It was nothing like what I had imagined.
It's all white interior and sophisticated styling was a contrast to the rustic and historic restaurants we had chosen before.
The restaurant's specialty was fish, not fish from the lake but fish from the sea, and that's were our five hour nine course meal followed by cappuccinos and grappa began.
Course one: A presentation of smoked salmon and crostini with caramelized oranges. What a way to start.
Course two: Oysters on the half shell brought out individually on a plate of ice garnished with lemon and strawberries for color.
Course three Grilled octopus with a tomato confit served on an oblong plate swirled with a creamy olive oil sauce. This was so delicate and my favorite dish. Preparing octopus without having it ending up tough is a culinary art and this octopus was melt in your mouth perfection.
Course four: Equally impressive was this dish of salmon pralines with burrata rolled in pistachio nuts and laid on shards of purple cabbage.
Course five: It was now time for mussels served as a soup with a tomato based broth. Emmy and I couldn't figure out why we, being the only non-Italians, were given a separate plate for our shells and with my pigeon Italian I guess we'll never know.
Course six: We had now moved onto risottos with raw and cooked prawns and a dollop of stracciatella di bufala. Amazing but by now I was beginning to feel the stretching of my stomach against the waistband of my trousers. The saving grace was we were given ample time between servings
Course seven: It was time for the pasta to be served, a cappellacci with prawns in a curry sauce. Spicy and not my favorite but certainly a new taste combination. In Italy a pasta dish is considered a prima piatto not a secondo. Hoping for the end but knowing there was still more to come.
Course eitght: This course was served family still, three huge trays of frutta della mar on a bed of lettuces with lemon wedges. I believed we had made it to the end of the food menu but there was still dessert. I think Mirando's niece displayed the perfect reaction
Course nine: A creamy lemon sorbet served in a coupe
We all rested a bit before the cappuccinos and espressos arrived.
As I thought we might be leaving the waiters arrived with grappa for the men and limoncellos for the women. Emmy and I looked at each other as I passed her my grappa in defiance to a tiny bit of sexism. We were in Italy.
The drive back to Armena was nothing but spectacular. The sun was at the golden hour giving the landscape a special chartreuse tint.
We had to stop several times along the way to get out of the car and just admire the beauty of Tuscany in the spring.
Even the dusty gravel road leading up to Armena was a blaze of ambers and golds, the perfect ending to a perfect although fat inducing day from a meal plus wine and drinks for sixty euros per person. Match that New York.
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