The Soul of Tuscany

As you may know this blog is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Kirkpatrick Hill, who inspired so many people and mentored many more. One such is our guest this week, Kathy H, so it is only fitting that this Monday Night dinner, the theme was Italian, in honour of Bruce who loved Italian food, music, wine, and its culture and made several trips to Italy with his wife, Stephanie.We were dining at Steph’s and it looks like the weather will not cooperate again this Monday, but Dave is undeterred and the main meal will be cooked on the BBQ while Shawn cooks the side dishes indoors.

Our guest, Kathy, arrives looking like a million dollars and there are exchanges of hugs and kisses all around. We are each handed a champagne glass of bubbly and we toast the evening and there are homemade grissini (parmesan breadsticks), Italian cheese and grapes to accompany our cocktail.

Grissini

The next course is the Panzanella which is a Tuscan salad of stale bread and tomatoes dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Our version is jazzed up a bit. The tomatoes are hollowed out and stuffed with bocconcini cheese. The bread, Vidalia onion, sweet yellow pepper and tomatoes are all cedar-planked until the bread is golden and the cheese melts. The bread mixture is tossed with dressing and the tomatoes are daintily placed on top.

The salad is delicious with so many different textures: crunchy bread and melt in your mouth tomatoes and cheese. Of course, we can’t forget the smoky flavour!  MMMMM  Smokey flavour…

The main course consisted of a Tuscan-bricked chicken, lemon risotto and grilled assorted vegetables consisting of yellow and green zucchini, red onion, red pepper and campari tomatoes. The chicken was marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, a Mediterranean spice blend and rosemary from our garden. The vegetables were also marinated with olive oil and the Mediterranean spice blend.

Dave cooked the chicken and vegetables on the BBQ while Shawn made the risotto indoors. The chicken was beautifully cooked and was moist and delicious; the lemon risotto was luxurious and creamy and the grilled vegetables were perfectly cooked.

The dessert course was the “wow factor” – the zuccotto. This dessert is traditionally made in a special pumpkin-shaped mold (Zuccotto means “little pumpkin” in Italian). It is widely believed to have been inspired by the dome of Florence’s duomo (the city’s main cathedral). Others allude to its shape as closely resembling a cardinal’s skullcap or zucchetto.  It has its origins in Florence. Pound cake is sliced and then brushed with a mixture of liqueurs – this time, with Gran Marnier, brandy and cassis. You can choose any mixture you prefer. The cake is then laid out in a pinwheel fashion around the bowl and  filled with whipped cream, toasted and chopped hazelnuts, chopped chocolate and almonds and filled with a further layer of whipped cream but with the addition of melted chocolate. It not only looks impressive but it is equally delicious.

Zuccotto

Zuccotto

Once we had a chance to digest our Tuscan feast we then continued with our customary evening of revelry around the piano: Shawn on pianoforte, Steph on violin, Kathy playing the Newfie ugly stick (google “newfie ugly stick” to see a picture) and Dave on spoons and backing vocals. I know what you are going to say “Where is the Italian music?” Well, sometimes you have to go against convention and play what you love, Newfie folk songs.

In closing, the evening was marked by some  funny anecdotes, some very fond reminiscing and there may have been a tear or two shed, but what we take away is sense of unity and togetherness, realizing that we are not alone and that we all need to make a concerted effort in maintaining our friendships and relationships with the people we hold dear in our lives. It turns out THAT is the soul of Tuscany, at least for us.