This weekend was our neighborhood's annual "block party." When we as Americans think "block party," we think of grilled burgers and hotdogs, chips and a cooler full of soda...not in Italy! We were in for a huge treat. Don't get me wrong...I love an All-American barbeque, but this was SO cool! The morning started off with an American Pumpkin Carving--the Italians don't carve pumpkins, trick-or-treat, etc. It was fun to watch all the Italian children carving pumpkins! Appetizers started rolling off the grills by late morning...bruschetta with sausage or salami. The first course of a homemade pasta was gobbled up quickly and the children even stopped playing long enough to run and grab a plate! The men started the polenta cooking while the final pumpkins were carved. Mac and I LOVE polenta! It was so fun to watch some of the men from our neighborhood cooking the polenta from scratch with a giant wire whisk and a paddle. Mmmmm....it smelled so good! Then we all enjoyed burgers (Italian style--no buns, sauce, nothin'....straight up meat!), more sausages, ribs, grilled fresh cheese, and polenta. Desserts consisted of tortes, strudels, fruit, and biscotti. Chestnuts (that we had gathered together the day before from a neighbor's house) were roasted and munched as everyone enjoyed milling around and visiting. The day was a blast! Good food, awesome view, and great friends! Ciao!
*Please forgive the poor quality in the below photos...they were taken on Tim's phone...I forgot my camera! :)
Bradey carving his pumpkin.
Mason & Federico carving pumpkis.
The carving table
Sausages on a rotisserie griller
Giampiero stirs the polenta with a paddle...OH YUM!!!
This is a chestnut roaster made from a washing machine drum.
My good friend Ranae...her sons Giacamo & Gabriele are in school with Mason & Bradey.
All the kiddos & their pumpkins.
Paolo preparing chestnuts for the roaster. All the chestnuts had to have a slit cut in them to prevent them from exploding when they were roasted...some did...much to the delight of the children!
Claodio putting the chestnuts in to roast.
Bradey was anxious to see the roasting process.
The final step in roasting...the chestnuts were salted and browned on this grill plate.
We brought our American bean bag toss for the families to enjoy.
Mac loved the sandbox!
The view! We love Marsure, Italy!!!
