Whew! That was quite the wine & cheese soiree last night. We ended up sampling 14 different cheeses, 8 different varieties of cured meats, Akemi’s home baked bread, and 5 bottles of wine. Considering only five of us were drinking, I thought we did pretty well all told.
Me plate – round #1.
By the time we cleaned up, put everything away, and discovered another cheese and four more varieties of cured meat we forgot in the fridge and never served, it was well past our bedtime.
I ended up sleeping in this morning. Thankfully, Suji was more than accommodating, lying sprawled out across the bed, oblivious to early-riser Akemi in the kitchen making herself breakfast, and only stirring after her requisite morning ear massage.
Then, Akemi and I took it easy today, taking the hour long bus-ride to join our foodie friend Natalie for lunch at Famiglia Baldessarre.
We arrived about five minutes before opening – to find a line had already formed. Once the door opened, things moved quickly. There is limited seating indoors, but you have the option of getting the pasta to go and eating outside.
The menu is small and, apparently, changes daily. A couple of feature pastas and a choice of three sides/starters. We went with…
The Fior di Latte – fresh cow’s milk mozzarella. Now THIS, finally, is a cheese Akemi can get behind!
Toni a la Matriciana
Toni a la Gricia – guanciale, pecorino, and pepper.
Probably the best pasta I’ve had in recent memory. Perfectly cooked al dente.
From there, we headed next door and checked out a sourdough bakery, then rounded the corner and visited an ice cream shop.
Akemi got a single scoop of the passionfruit while Natalie went with a single scoop of good ole’ vanilla. Both went with the sugar cones.
Me – not pictured, when two scoops – chocolate-peanut butter and Torta della Nonna (an Italian custard tart with pine nuts) in a cup.
We decided to walk home – which ended up taking us a little over an hour. Just in time to take Suji for her afternoon carpet run.
I plan to wrap up my day doing some reading, and doing a little near-future world building.
How was YOUR Thursday?
I hate when that happens! You are putting things away after a big dinner and discover something you forgot! Well it looks like you had enough anyway. Now you have lots of leftovers to eat and drink. Can you freeze cheese? Glad it all went well for you. That pasta looks heavenly.
Meats and cheeses, and some vegetables, are my favorite foods. I don’t actually care much for sweets other than chocolate and ice cream, within reason.
My Thursday was busy getting packed & ready for my husband’s & my trip down to Orlando, Florida, to spend a week helping my mother-in-law readjust to (hopefully) living in her efficiency apartment after an extended time in a crappy rehab facility, emergency hospital admittance, & 2 weeks of intense rehab at a much better & different rehab facility. She’s still not very mobile (much like your sweet Suji), but she’s been making incredible progress relearning how to walk on her own these past few weeks.
We’re also going to help set up & coordinate elder care assistance while my sister-in-law takes a much-needed & well-deserved Disney cruise with her two youngest. Meanwhile, our autistic son will be holding the fort down here in Maryland, taking care of our 15 year old cat & almost-15 year old dog. WHEW, managing affairs for a grown child & (on the opposite end of the age spectrum) a parent is a freaking lot of work!
Worth every minute.
We’re still wearing masks outside of the house, so here’s hoping we don’t get COVID… heh. Just wish I had the time to go swimming, as I’ve missed it greatly the past 2 years. Alas, the AirBnB we’ve booked has no pool, but at least I’ll be able to cook us some nutritious meals so we’re not eating takeout the entire time.
Glad everyone enjoyed the wine, cheese & charcuterie evening. We might have to do that soon as a nice change of pace.
What? You went to Famiglia Baldessarre but didn’t drop in the nearby Blood Brothers Brewing for their food by Beast?!
The food!!! All the food porn looks amazing! Once again, I wish I could follow you around for the scraps.
As for here, Thursday was busy and hot. Tuesday/Thursdays are usually: Swimming, errands, karate class, lunch, laundry, dishes and then cleaning the robo vacuums. I am a creature of habit.
Today: (Back Story first) When we came back from my Mom’s, I brought back a stain glass window I’d made years ago. She had it propped up at an odd angle, so the zinc frame was bent. It has a few broken pieces but the whole thing would have been trashed if not rescued. So today, I’ve started de-constructing the window. It is a LOT easier making a window, than taking it apart (without more breakage). I managed to get the zinc and the brace off today. I’ll wait until my fingers heal before I tackle removing more solder and gently, disassemble the pieces. It’s been a while since I’ve done any stain glass work. I’d forgotten how bloody it can be.
It’s a simple pattern. One of the first windows we (hubby & I) made. I have no idea what we’ll do with it after it’s repaired but I couldn’t leave it to be destroyed. https://twitter.com/jertam/status/1525207979376758784 This picture was taken right after it was soldered together. You can still see the piece numbers on the glass. 🙂
Gorgeous window Tam! Definitely worth saving.