Italian Accents

Just recently, we have enjoyed a spate of Italian food. We met GuyRene at Poggio last Monday for a catchup date and superior food. My Beloved literally moaned with pleasure over their version of linguini and clams.

The other morning after swimming, as I stopped in to Little Louie's to get morning coffee for My Beloved and the worker bees, I decided to order some biscotti to go along with the coffee, it being a Friday and meriting something a little special. As I ordered, the guy behind me in line corrected my pronunciation - "Not bis-cah-ti!," he said, "Bis-coh-ti!" He had just returned from a trip to Italy and was high on the experience. I stand corrected.

Our pal Sari cooked a splendid dinner for us of Mediterranean lamb, a killer concoction of simmered sweet tomatoes and onions slathered over a beautifully cooked lamb roast. It just sang of Italy and warmth. To go with her dessert of roasted figs with caramel sauce, we stopped into Kermit Lynch to buy a bottle of Moscato d'Asti, another Italian name to get my tongue around. It was well worth the trouble - my new favorite dessert wine!

And we met Cousin Jan in Petaluma at Sugo; "sugo" in Italian means juice or sauce. They have an appetizer of bruschetta that would easily be lunch if you didn't share it three ways as we did. From about eight possible choices, we chose these: smoked salmon with red onion and capers, Brie cheese and Granny Smith apple with sliced almonds, and traditional with fresh tomatoes, basil pesto and Parmesan cheese. My Italian pronunciation was corrected gently on the menu, where they explained that they are not "brush-etta," they are "broo-sketta." 

My Italian accent may not be authentic but my appreciation for Italian foods and wines is second to none!