At our home in Umbria I tend to do a lot of entertaining in the summer, when the weather is warm enough to eat outside. A large marble table under a shady vine covered pergola makes having people over for lunch or dinner a no brainer. And picking most of the ingredients from our garden means that the menu planning is taken care of.
When the weather turns colder my entertainment tends to veer towards the city, with small groups of friends gathered around our table in Rome. But this past weekend I flipped things around and had a dinner party for 14 in our dining room in Umbria.
The occasion was that Sophie and are hosting our first Week in Umbria tour and the welcome dinner was at our house. Domenico designed an extension for our table so that we can now fit a larger crowd. I took this new table size as the perfect excuse to buy not only a few new tablecloths (necessary) but also a new set of dishes (not really necessary but….well, what can I say?)
Here is the menu: definitely warm and cozy and perfect for the first chilly night of the season. Also, as is my way, everything was made and ready to go, so that by the time my guests arrived, I was able to get to know them over a few glasses of prosecco without any last minute dashes to the kitchen.
Primo: At first I was going to make some sort of legume soup – beans or lentils – but then I realized that I hadn’t made farro is ages and it was about time. Also, it’s something you rarely see in the States, and I wanted to treat my guests (all from America) to something typically Umbrian. Here is my recipe which is a little different from the one I made, but just as delicious.
Secondo: The recipe for porchetta is one that I developed for my next book, The Italian Dinner Party Handbook. I’m really sorry, but you’re going to have to wait for that one until the book is published. In the meantime, you can deliciously and very easily substitute this recipe for pork roast.
Contorni: The carrots I served follow the exact same recipe as this one for potatoes and rosemary, but with carrots in place of potatoes. The radicchio salad is this one that I make in various versions all winter long, this time with apples, hazelnuts and dried figs.
Dolce: The quince cake is Marcella’s pear cake recipe, but using poached quinces from our garden instead of pears or apples. And I served mascarpone with whipped cream folded in on the side.
Drinks: 100% Umbrian. Pink Rosario Prosecco from Madonna del Latte, which I love and
Montefalco Rosso from Adanti which is one of my favorite producers in the area.
Setting the Table
I really went all out for the center piece. I wish I could say I grew all these beautiful gourds and squashes, but I actually bought them at Eataly in Rome, which had a massive display that I couldn’t resist. Also? They are all edible, so we’ll be eating quite a bit in the coming weeks.
I had the table cloth made to order by Pardi, in Todi. They have beautiful linens, all made in Umbria.
The dishes are the pattern Siena and were made my FIMA in Deruta. I’ve been coveting this pattern for about 20 years, ever since I first saw it while writing my first book on ceramics.
Glassware: Just cheepo glasses by Bormioli that I buy in the supermarket. Really. They are so incredibly durable and inexpensive, while at the same time completely classic.
Flatware: Are you going to judge me if I tell you it’s the very cheapest pattern from Ikea?
The Porchetta is gorgeous.
I buy the Ikea stuff several boxes at a time. When a piece inevitably gets lost it doesn’t really matter. In fact, I think I’m going to get some more before I host Thanksgiving!
i am loving your dinner parity posts. I enjoy seeing your gorgeous tables. I too like to take a lot of care to set an artful table. I’m particularly interested to see your menus that are hostess-friendly and don’t require a lot of time in the kitchen during the party. Even if I prep everything ahead, I still feel that shuttling food in and out of the oven, and plating/garnishing on serving platters, still takes up a good portion of the appetizer time. I’m wondering if you have the same experience or how you manage to get the hot food on the table.
It does take a little time, but I try to keep it to a minimum.
BELLA, BELLA, BELLA. I LOVE ALL OF IT. AND YUM, LOOKS DELICIOUS.
Beautiful photos, and the menu sounds delicious.
The pattern is also one of my favorites…just lovely.
Wow!
The dishes are wonderful. Love Deruta and it is hard to choose. They do look perfect.
And the table was gorgeous. Thanks for sharing and for giving us the sources.
Enjoy the Umbrian autumn!
Loved the menu and adored the table setting. I have never made a faro soup with zucca, but now will attempt this version.
I just wish we could have been there…it looks so cozy and inviting! And…I have to agree with you about the new dishes…my absolute favourite pattern…have been in love with it since first spotting coffee mugs in a shop in Siena! Would love to know if there is a shop in Roma that carries the pattern. What an absolutely lovely setting for a wonderful dinner!
No, I don’t think there is a place to get them in Rome. But you can certainly order them from Fima.
This just makes me that more excited about our trip to Umbria next October! Thank you for promoting such beautiful, delicious, and calming vicarious living 🙂
Well, I can’t help it, my favorite picture is of that sweet dog—
. I love that farro soup recipe with the butternut squash–thanks for the reminder, this weekend will be perfect for that. I live in constant warm weather but I didn’t always, and fall is the best cooking season as far as I’m concerned–I’ll just pretend there’s a nip in the air and make some lovely soups.
Your table is gorgeous, thanks for sharing it all.
Beautiful table, Elizabeth! Loving this series.
Going to make the farro soup and the cake (but with pears).
It’s great with pears!!
Lovely post and sounds like a wonderful dinner party. I live in Portland, OR and farro is easily found here — grown in Washington State at Bluebird grain farms — and we eat it often. Also wanted to mention we have linens from Tessitura Pardi and went on a tour of their factory a few years ago. I love textiles so I emailed and asked if we could see the linens being made and they said yes. Off we went to Bastardo, where we had a lovely tour, then to their shop in Montefalco, then to their Cantina to taste wine. Then we were invited to stay for lunch as they were hosting Kathy McCabe (Dream of Italy) and friends. It was a fabulous day!
I’ve never been to their mill, I’d love to go too!