I love a good Italian picnic. When I was growing up, Sundays in the summertime were about getting together with friends (our friends were our family since most of our real family lived in Italy) and heading to the lake for a delicious Italian feast al fresco. You see, in our tight-knit Italian circle there were probably about 6 or 7 families with children of similar ages that would meet almost every weekend at the lake for a day of fun and food. And being that we were Italian, we never did anything the easy way. Hotdogs and hamburgers, yeah, that would have been easy...we didn't do that...instead, there'd be baked lasagna, roasted turkey, baked ham, stuffed bread and of course sausages and peppers, pasta with broccoli, stuffed shells, frittatas and the list goes on and on...
I have to admit it was embarassing whenever American famlies would stroll by "Camp Italia" (basically 10 picnic tables side by side, complete with linens and Mario Villa blasting on the casette player) and stare-- but you know what, I wouldn't trade those great summer memories for the world.
Today, I still love a good picnic, however, as a busy mother of 3 one of my new priorities is getting everyone fed easy and efficiently. Instead of elaborate Italian feasts my family enjoys the basics, which in our house include crusty bread, a delicious dry salami, a wedge of piave vecchio, olives and of course, panzanella salad (which if you have never tried it you must --we make it ourselves at Giacomo's and it's sooo fabulous)...Other wonderful picnic must haves: melon and proscuitto, a delicious caprese salad, and of course, my favorite drink: san pellegrino limonata. If these sound like your kind of eats, stop in today and we'll get you ready for your own Italian picnic!
When are the Italian festivals in Maine?
Posted by: Scott Olsen | July 30, 2008 at 11:34 PM