Basement parties

Hi Again!

Today it's rainy and yucky out. I'd rather rain than snow any day though that's for sure. Just starting my day and thinking about food again.

This new blog has taken me back. I've been remembering many childhood memories. A lot of the memories I remember growing up in an Italian family in Toronto take place in basements! ha ha...yes I said basements. Cement block basements! They were usually cool and you got to wear your shoes!! Can any of you remember doing the same? When we were younger, my parents and their family and friends had many parties.....and by parties, you know that meant FOOD!

My parents and family and friends always loved getting together to maintain their sense of family. That meant calling people over to your house on a Saturday night and having wonderful parties. The ladies cooked all day! Friends would come over and we would set up banquet tables in the basement...hey the basements were all unfinished and there was plenty of space...don't laugh! 

These were the days of multiple courses too. There was always an antipasto that consisted of slices of salami, or capicolo, (usually made by your dad or one of your uncles or friends), cheese (come on...we all had wheels of cheese from Gos & Gris in our cantina's) and olives, or "antipasto" (in my house "antipasto" was a jarred delicious medley of canned carrots, celery, olives, tuna & oil, and other goodies that my mom would make & can every autumn...mmm). Then we would have a pasta dish or soup if it was cold out...brodo with a nice fine pastina of sorts, either little balls or little pastina that looked like rice with a big sprinkling of grated grana. Then the meat dishes would start coming out. Roasted chicken, duck or goose for sure and usually a roasted beef of sorts. These were always accompanied by various veggies (never corn...that was for pigs) and salads of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers all grown in our backyards, or radicchio...again from our backyards. All this washed down with great big bottles of wine. My dad and his friends liked keeping their wine in the big washed out glass bleach gallons (remember those?). The kids had pop from the pop shoppe of course! Oranciatta or brio....those were our favorites. And the ladies had ginger ale with their wine...they were too refined to drink the wine straight up! Soon after, the coffee served with brandy or grappa (home made) served in it came out. Espresso coffee was served but we also had "Canadian coffee" too. Our favorite desserts were the venetian cream horns! And of course we also had homemade Italian cookies too...."fritulis", or "crostolli" were also crowd favorites! And did I say wine....wine flowed ALL NIGHT!

I remember many fun evenings spent around eating a ton of food! Don't forget this was the 60's...they also drank & smoked cigarettes...yes in the house....yes with the kids around. We all survived! And then ultimately, someone would take out the accordion and then the party would really start rocking!

Ah the memories!...I'm sure I have a picture of a basement party somewhere...let me go look. I'll post if I find it....

Till next time......