Thursday, February 24, 2011

food in italy

This is my unscientific,unquantifiable,untested and all the other "un's" view on Italian food and why the people aren't gigantic. First, take at least an hour and a half to eat your meal. The first night Daniel and I finished our 4 course meal in 30 minutes. Can you say,open the hatch and shovel it in :) it was quite embarrasing to see the Italians sipping their wine and enjoying their appetizers. Make sure you talk alot, enjoy the company of the person or people you are eating with. Scoot back your chair,stretch out your legs and let your body language say "Tell me what's on your mind, I'm listening" For the Italians the meal is the final destination, there not rushing to get anywhere,not thinking what they need to do next or more importantly what they should be doing at that moment. So, basically take your time and enjoy. Second, they don't serve huge portions like Olive Garden :) Their servings are basically half to one-third that size. NEVER eat bread with pasta,it's unheard of. Bread is served as an appetizer with different olive spreads,and I'm not talking bread sticks, their tiny rolls or crusty bread slices. There is also no such thing as Alfredo sauce, the Italian joke is "Who is Alfredo and how much money is he making from his sauce?" Which leads me to my next point, any sauce/oil put on the pasta is very light and sparse,the flavor is mild. Most importantly, pasta is usually a side dish and not a main course.Lastly, you must have wine or water with your meal, anything else kills the flavor of the food. So I think I am actually losing weight while I am here :)

2 comments:

  1. Well Darleen who would have thought you would be forced to become skinny through such a change in portion sizes, the bread and pasta reveal, etc. Soooo, when I visit, does that mean in order for me to keep up with robust American appetite, and used to US portion sizes etc., I have to order 4 meals????
    Just kiddin!!!!! :)

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  2. It was the same for us in France!

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