what an Italian dinner used to be like

Growing up dinner was a thing to look forward too.  Dinner used to be a big deal, where immediate and extended families would gather and not just eat, but EAT!  It used to be a place where you could get a meal, a lesson, advice, and always lots of memories.  Nowadays we're lucky to get a conversation in between shoving french fries in our face and commercial breaks. 

Here's the course list of a traditional Italian dinner:

1. L'antipasto - hot and cold appetizers
2. Il primo ("First Course"), usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or soup. There are usually abundant vegetarian options.
3. Il secondo ("Second Course"), the main dish, usually fish or meat (Pasta is never the main course in a traditional menu). Traditionally veal is the most commonly used meat, at least in the north, though beef has become more popular since World War II and wild game is very popular, particularly in Tuscany.
4. Il contorno ("Side Dish") may consist of a salad or vegetables. A traditional menu features salad after the main course.
5. Il dolce ("Dessert")
6. Il caffè ("Coffee") (espresso)
7. Liquors/liqueurs (grappa, amaro, limoncello) sometimes referred to as ammazzacaffè ("Coffee killer")

-Mario M.

Comments

[Alicat]

how interesting! I am going to have to bookmark this so I can do a 'traditional' Italian dinner someday. :)

[Joseph Lapierre]

Thanksgiving dinner will be Italian as per your course outline. Our restaurant is Giovanni's Taste of Europe. Giovanni's will operate a noon time cafeteria (food from a different european country every week) and evening fine dining.

[Sara Van Artsdalen]

This reminds me of the holidays where my family would sit down to a table filled with all the traditional dishes my grandmother made for us. When I moved from the east coast to the west coast my grandmother made a lunch for me that included all my favorite foods. The meal was for me and me alone and when I was done I got in my car and started on the long trip to California. This was the last meal and the last time I saw my grandmother. I miss her terribly and I thank her for all the wonderful meals and all the recipes and cooking lessons she shared with me. I love you Nana.