Last Sunday, I prepared a Tuscan meal with Florentine focus for 13 members of our family, including three visitors from the frigid north. (Given the warmth of our visitors' personalities, I'm surprised the north is so cold.)
The menu I created was Tuscan and Tuscan influenced. Three key dishes were Florentine style. I chose dishes which were relatively easy to make and delicious. I also chose several I could make in advance.
The following is the menu I created:
Appetizers / Antipasti ("Antipasto" means "before the meal." The plural form is "Antipasti.")
- Crostini with soft goat cheese, fig jam, prosciutto and basil leaves.
- Crostini with olive "pâté" (a mixture of chopped black olives, lemon, and olive oil - prepared a day in advance.)
Primo (First course)
- Carabaccia - Florentine Onion Soup, which some say is the predecessor of French Onion Soup. (Prepared the previous evening.)
Secondo
- Arista alla Fiorentina - Florentine-style pork roast
Contorno - vegetable
- Carote in Stufate - braised carrots with pancetta
Dolci - Dessert
- Semifreddo alle Fragole - Strawberry Semifreddo (Prepared several days in advance.)
- Schiaciatta alla Fiorentina - Florentine-style cake
Formaggio - Cheese
- Tuscan pecorino cheese from Vicchio in the Province of Florence. I found it at the fantastic cheese department of Mazzaro's Italian market in St. Petersburg, FL.
The wines I served were
1. Red
- 2012 Redi Argo et Non Briareo Rosso di Montepulciano (from Montepulciano in Tuscany, not Montepulciano d'Abruzzo)
- 2011 Vecchia Cantina Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (The same winery which produces the first wine.)
- 2011 Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico
2. White
Michele Chiarlo Le Madri Roero Arneis (This white is from the Piedmont. If I'd have given it some thought, I would have picked up a Vernaccia di San Gimignano from Tuscany.)
The coffee I served was an Italian roast from Mazzaro's Italian supermarket.
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