6/5 – Sunday Jim and I had a cooking class with Rosaria (Rosy) and her mom Annabella, learning more about the Abruzzo style of cooking. I am very familiar with it since my grandmother, from Abruzzo, cooked in this style when I was growing up. Rosy took us back to the days when she learned how to cook with her nonna (grandmother) which of course, took me back to the days a few years earlier still when I watched my own nonna in the kitchen.

She started our day at 10:30am with a beautiful table set with the most delicious appetizers, as you can see from the photo. Rosy served us on her patio beginning with a roasted pepper and egg frittata and pollatte with bread of course. Then came eggplant and bruschetta, homemade ricotta, a salami and sausage platter and a cheese platter with a sweet jam, a hot pepper jam and homemade mozzarella. Each little course, served with a very nice, local and organic, champagne.

By the end of our appetizers, I was already stuffed. Thankfully it was now time to head to the table for our cooking lesson. The table was set with everything we needed to make our meal.

Rosy made the sauce the day before because it had to sit overnight since it was made with her jarred fresh tomatoes. It was a simple sauce but she explained how she cooked it. Next it was time to make the pasta dough and let it sit before making the pasta. While the sauce simmers and the pasta dough sits, we made the meatballs.

It was time for me to dig into the bowl with my very clean hands (definitely washed our hands a lot so as not to mess with the flavors of all the foods). Photos of the meat before it became meatballs then of course, the meatballs which were not left as round but which we flattened a little into an oblong shape so they cooked evenly throughout. Now this was new to me since I’ve never done that before. This does not change the flavors though, if you were wondering.

Once the meatballs were done it was time to go back to the pasta dough and make the noodles. We made the spaghetti using a Chittara (it’s a pasta cutter that has strings like a guitar.) It is really fun to make spaghetti this way. Check out the photo.

After this was done, mama (Annabella) and I made the cookies. This took no time at all since it was the Italian Biscotti and they really are easy to make.

Time to clean up the table so it could be set for our lunch. Rosy’s husband, son and dad came home about this time so everyone pitched in to get the table set up so we could all sit together and enjoy a delicious lunch (pranzo.) Rosy brought out her grandmother’s plates and oh, were they beautiful, and for her, a great memory.

The table setting with the pasta and meatballs on it looked great. After that, it became very crowded with all the wine bottles, after dinner drinks, dessert, coffee – it looked like a happy table that fed seven people who enjoyed a wonderful meal.

Rosy and her family made us feel like members of their family — wonderful, friendly and making sure we had a good time. It is easy to tell from the photo below that we truly are one big family. I honestly can say this day was so much fun and one I will never forget.

The class was fun but I learned my Abruzzese cooking from my Abruzzese grandma. And now, having spent probably 11 weeks over three visits right here in Abruzzo with my family, including now Rosy and Annabella, I know they really do have the same style of cooking as I learned from my Nonna. The only difference is that I must use ingredients I get in the States whereas the ingredients here are fresh, literally right out of the ground or off the plant, and that makes all the difference in the world. Any time though you can eat together as one big family adds to the pleasure of the meal, regardless of ingredients.