by Macki May 14th, 2011 // Swell Suppers

Swell Supper: Transported to Italy

I just finished reading Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. I love Gabreille Hamilton’s fascinating and often tortured retellings of her life and how she became a chef. My next trip to NYC will definitely include a visit to her restaurant Prune with a 3pm reservation (if you read the book you’ll know why). The last section of the book, “Butter”, transported me to the small seaside town of Puglia at the tip of the Italian boot heel; I can taste the mouth-watering, fresh vegetables prepared by Alda, her mother in law, and the cheese so fresh that it is still warm. So for this weeks swell supper I am going to Italy (in my head) and making Marinated Roasted Veggies, Mini Meatball Parmesan Grinders, and Upside Down Apple Cake for dessert because I have a few apples that are about to go bad and I want to honor the author and not put anything to waste.

Begin the meal by preparing the upside down apple cake. My daughter can’t get over the fact the we are making a cake that is upside down. And I can’t get over how delicious it looks and thankfully we have some apples in the kitchen that need to go. While the upside down apple cake is baking prep the veggies for the marinated roasted veggies. The recipe says to let them cool overnight, but we are going to skip this step and serve them slightly cooled straight from the oven. When the cake is done take it out of the oven and turn the temperature up to 400 degrees and put in the veggies when it reaches that temp. Remember to flip your cake over after 10 minutes of cooling!

Now it’s time to start on the mini meatball parmesan grinders. Heat the meatballs and sauce on the stove, then assemble the grinders on a cookie sheet. Take the roasted veggies out of the oven and trun the temperature down to 350 degrees. Put the grinders in when the oven temp reaches 350. Meanwhile plate the veggies on a big platter and set in the center of the table. When the grinder are toasted set one on each plate. Keep the upside down apple cake nearby so you and your family can sit around the table talking and laughing and sharing, just like a leisurely Italian supper. Now doesn’t that sound swell?