dinner party: melissa clark in rome

I realized that I hadn’t checked in with a new dinner party menu in a while. But when I tried to decide what to write about I realized that there was almost too much to choose from. Our recent Week in Rome with Melissa Clark Food Tour was kind of like one long, never-ending dinner party. There was food, fun, wine and LOTS of sitting around the table with a great bunch of people. Which kind of defines my recipe for a successful dinner party.

But of all the meals we ate I think it was the final cooking class that Melissa taught that was my favorite. It epitomizes how I love to cook: look in your fridge and cupboard, see what you have, then go to the market and plan your menu from there. Melissa is the queen of improvised market based cooking, and showed our group how she does it.

She first took stock of what we already had at home. There were some fantastic cheeses sent up to us from Puglia, so that was a given. I also had some fabulous chickpeas grown by a friend up in Umbria which, which  Melissa was dying to use. With these elements in mind, Melissa lead our group to  the Via Baccina market, across the street from our cooking space Monti Kitchen,  where we picked up some fish, fruit and vegetables, to pull together the following menu. Which you can turn into a dinner party in the comfort of your own home. 

MENU

Aperitivi: 

We went through rivers of this Franciacorta last week. It’s the base line Contadi Castaldi, is very light and crisp and goes perfectly with fatty foods I love for aperitivi. While we were busy at the market Amanda (our assistant) prepared little crostini topped with porcini/ truffle and chicken liver spreads Sophie had bought in Orvieto the day before.   The culatello was made by a friend.

Antipasti

Farro Salad – This was a version of the recipe for Farro Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Mint from Melissa’s book, Dinner: Changing the Game (page 284) Chickpeas made a nice addition.

Burrata and Orange Salad: this brilliant salad paired the creamiest burrata from Puglia with blood oranges from the market. It’s a winter take on Melissa’s recipe for Burrata Caprese (which uses peaches) from Dinner: Changing the Game (page 344). It was actually stracciatella, which is the creamy mozzarella/heavy cream stuffing inside a burrata. Sophie’s cheese-making friends Caseificio DiCecca very kindly sent us up a kilo of what has got to be the most delicious straciatella I’ve ever had. 

Secondo:

Baked Orata: The Sea Bream were so sparkling fresh at the market, that we couldn’t pass them up. This gave Melissa a chance to teach our group not only how to bake a whole fish (a lot of people don’t know how) but also how to de-bone it before serving. A similar recipe appears in Dinner: Changing the Game (page 124)

Contorno:

Green Salad dressed with Olive oil, lemon and colatura. If there was one HUGE take away for me from a week spent in the kitchen with Melissa it was when she picked up the bottle of colatura in my kitchen and used it to dress a green salad. Colatura, which is the fish sauce made on the Amalfi Coast, added a depth and unexpected earthiness which was a revelation.

Roasted Broccolo Romano: We couldn’t resist the last heads of Broccolo Romano of the season. Dinner: Changing the Game (page 382)

Dolce:

Sorry: We ate the cakes we picked up at the market too fast to photograph! One was apple cinnamon (similar to this cake) and the other was chocolate pear.

But the main dessert was one of the best things we ate all week: a  fabulous cheese sent to us as a gift from Caseificio Dicecca. in Puglia. Called Amore Primitivo, it was a raw cows milk blue cheese topped with candied strawberries. We all couldn’t stop eating it!

SETTING THE TABLE

Plates: I got to use my new collection of vintage Ginori Mondovi plates all week long! I started collecting them last summer, and have built up a collection of various patterns, to mix and match. The dishes date from the 60’s and 70’s and were produced by Ginori when it was run by Gio Ponti. The plates are machine made, but each one is hand painted, which makes them each unique. I LOVE the rectangular and oval platters the best. It’s my first foray into Ebay and I am totally hooked. Yes, I admit I may have a bit of a problem, but I use it for work, right? So at least I have that excuse.

Water pitchers: Sbigoli, Florence

Table linen: I’m loving the raw linen line from Zara. I bought several sizes and natural colors so that I can use them even when I stretch our table out to seat 14. I mix and match the napkins. The great thing is that I can machine wash them very hot, to get out any stains, and if I hang them to dry they need no ironing. While they have more expensive linen lines, I like this one with barely a hem, since it’s extremely affordable. 

Glassware and flatware: Ikea to the rescue.

Centerpiece: Throughout the week I used a set of chunky blue goblet to hold low bunches of anemones. I had originally bought the glasses years ago,  thinking I would use them for water, but they are actually just a bit too thick to drink out of comfortably (everyone dribbles!). But they make perfect centerpieces since they are low, and people can see over them.

If you’d like to join me on a Week in Italy Tour just send me an email. We have a couple of spots left for our tour to Umbria in May 2018 and Rome in November 2018. And the trips in 2019 to Puglia, Umbria and Rome are already filling up fast.

If you’d like to cook like Melissa, it’s as easy as buying her newest book: Dinner: Changing the Game.

And don’t forget: I’ll be in the USA at the end of May 2018 and beginning of June, promoting my new book, Eating My Way Through Italy. Have a look at my events page to find out where I’ll be. Hope to see you!