I cugini (the cousins)

I really should’ve thought out the whole scenario when sketching out a cooking class for my cousins (mentioned in the previous post) because in the end, the whole affair took on a life of its own when the first bottle of wine was uncorked. I hadn’t seen my cousin and her husband for over 2 decades, so when I asked her if there were any particulars about what they liked to eat, she replied with the following:

Hey Cuz,
We’re easy we don’t know the difference between northern/southern cuisine.

Silly me for overthinking a menu. That was the best response I could’ve hoped for. As you can tell from the photo, we made fresh pasta (for tagliatelle) using the manual pasta machine. To go with the pasta, there was a sauce of porcini with butter and sage. As a side dish, a crisp salad of puntarelle ‘shoots’ (a variety of chicory) with anchovies and olive oil. And for dessert, what else but tiramisu!

We started preparing dinner around 5pm and eventually sat down to eat 3 hours later. That was bound to happen with the wine. Regretfully, I have no other photos but know it was a success because somehow the limoncello emptied out (some of us just won’t say no to another pour!) and at our age comes wisdom and knowing when it’s time for some shut-eye.

---

This was two and a half weeks ago and tomorrow my cousins return back home to the islands. They leave this side of the pond and their month-long European vacation with fond memories of countless cultural experiences. Unless she changed her mind within the last week, ‘Cuz’ said she preferred Italy of all. I had sent her a message earlier today (they’re in Spain now), wishing them a safe return, and during our message session on IG, I was reminded of how lucky Moth and I really are, living in a place where it’s possible to savor a different country just a mere drive over the border.

It’s time to look beyond the usual rosé by the pool and stinky cheese run to France. We hope to speak another language in 2023!