A taste of Italy in Kennebunkport
On February 3 and 4 we hosted an italian immersion weekend in conjunction with the Institute for Italian Studies in Portland. As lovers of anything Italian ourselves, it was an incredible experience to have a taste of Italy at our own home. Tony has gotten to know Paola D'Amato, the director of IIS, from an italian class he took last year. The idea of having an italian immersion weekend was born then, and we finally realized the dream last weekend.
We had a total of 11 participants, including ourselves, and 2 italian instructors, Paola and Carola. The immersion session began at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, and continued until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. To facilitate the learning process, in addition to formal lessons, the participants were also invited to play games such as scrabble in italian, proverb translation, venti domande (20 questions to guess the object the player is thinking about), and so on.
To bring an authentic Italian flavor to the experience, in addition to the Italian lessons, the participants also had the opportunity to help Paola prepare authentic Italian cuisine for dinner and lunch. As the Italians would say it, "Che bontà!", "What a treat!" We prepared a full 4 course Italian dinner, with antipasti (tortino di peperoni - sweet pepper and potato pie, bocconcini di zucchine - baked morsels of zucchini, graten di finocchi- baked fennel with cheese), primo piatto (torta di melanzane - eggplant parmesan), secondo piatto (ossobuchi di vitello - osso buco in tomato sauce) with contorni - side dishes (patatine arroste - roasted potatoes, verdure cotte - grilled vegetables) and of course, dessert! ( cupola di ricotta, cacao, e arance candite - ricotta cups with chocolate and candied orange, and zabaione al marsala - marsala zabaglione).
Breakfast was the usual full-course Green Heron Inn breakfast, with the participants having to make a tough choice between the panettone french toast with mixed berry sauce, or the roasted tomatoes and applewood-smoked bacon frittata. The homemade granola and the cranberry pumpkin bread round up the menu for the morning.
After a couple more hours of intensive Italian lessons and games, some of the participants went back to the kitchen to prepare our Italian lunch. We had a lighter lunch fare than we did for dinner, but no less delicious, with Paola and the crew preparing Crostini toscani con patè ai fegatini - crispy Tuscan bread with liver patè, pere al gorgonzola - pears with gorgonzola cheese, and risotto ai gamberi e funghi porcini - risotto with prawns and porcini mushroom, and dessert was the very delicious panna cotta con albicocche - yogurt pudding with honey apricots.
Shortly after lunch, the immersion weekend came to an end. The memory of the warm hospitality of Italy will surely help us stay warm during these cold winter days!
We had a total of 11 participants, including ourselves, and 2 italian instructors, Paola and Carola. The immersion session began at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, and continued until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. To facilitate the learning process, in addition to formal lessons, the participants were also invited to play games such as scrabble in italian, proverb translation, venti domande (20 questions to guess the object the player is thinking about), and so on.
To bring an authentic Italian flavor to the experience, in addition to the Italian lessons, the participants also had the opportunity to help Paola prepare authentic Italian cuisine for dinner and lunch. As the Italians would say it, "Che bontà!", "What a treat!" We prepared a full 4 course Italian dinner, with antipasti (tortino di peperoni - sweet pepper and potato pie, bocconcini di zucchine - baked morsels of zucchini, graten di finocchi- baked fennel with cheese), primo piatto (torta di melanzane - eggplant parmesan), secondo piatto (ossobuchi di vitello - osso buco in tomato sauce) with contorni - side dishes (patatine arroste - roasted potatoes, verdure cotte - grilled vegetables) and of course, dessert! ( cupola di ricotta, cacao, e arance candite - ricotta cups with chocolate and candied orange, and zabaione al marsala - marsala zabaglione).Breakfast was the usual full-course Green Heron Inn breakfast, with the participants having to make a tough choice between the panettone french toast with mixed berry sauce, or the roasted tomatoes and applewood-smoked bacon frittata. The homemade granola and the cranberry pumpkin bread round up the menu for the morning.
After a couple more hours of intensive Italian lessons and games, some of the participants went back to the kitchen to prepare our Italian lunch. We had a lighter lunch fare than we did for dinner, but no less delicious, with Paola and the crew preparing Crostini toscani con patè ai fegatini - crispy Tuscan bread with liver patè, pere al gorgonzola - pears with gorgonzola cheese, and risotto ai gamberi e funghi porcini - risotto with prawns and porcini mushroom, and dessert was the very delicious panna cotta con albicocche - yogurt pudding with honey apricots.
Shortly after lunch, the immersion weekend came to an end. The memory of the warm hospitality of Italy will surely help us stay warm during these cold winter days!
Labels: Bed and Breakfast in Kennebunkport, Italian Language, Winter Activities