Festa d’Autunno
18 October 2024
Ever since I met Susan, about twenty five
years ago now, we have been going to
banquets and the Italian Cultural Center
in Burnaby. It’s a thing they do in Italy and
in Canada it took on additional meaning
because it was a time when Italians could get
together and speak the old language and talk abut the
old country and feel a little bit at home in a strange country.
Italians place great importance on one’s town. It is an historical thing. If you
look at an Italian wine label it will say the town the wine comes from but not the province or county. Just the town.
In Canada the Italian immigrants formed associations or clubs where people of a town or region would get together and every so often host large banquets that included lots of food and dancing. And Susan and I have gone to these evenings at the Center for twenty five years now. You all probably know that but I have never actually shown you one of these events in words and photographs.
The main hall at the Italian Cultural Center is a great place for a party. Over the years we have gone to hundreds of different functions and parties here. Through doors on the far left is the kitchen which can prepare complex meals for hundreds upon hundreds of meals, as we shall see.
This past Friday we went to the Pugliese Fall Party, La Festa d’Autunno, at the Center. Puglia is a province in Italy and is basically the “heel” of the country. This time, why don’t you come with us!
Normally we arrive about 6:30 in the evening. That gives us at least half an hour to settle in, greet our friends, and I like to have a beer. There is a bar which does a good business all evening even though traditionally the meal includes wine.
I like to have a beer before dinner arrives while were are greeting and chatting with friends. We have come to know so many people that it can take a while.
Dinner usually begins with the Antipasto. This night we got a generous portion of Burrata cheese whic is positively delicious!
The wine for the evening was Pugliese. Primitivo is a wonderful grape that gives a wonderful full bodied deep red wine.
First Course, il primo piatto, is always pasta. In this case Cavatelli, in a rich tomato sauce. This was really nice.
The table also got a platter of Orecchiette, made with semolina, cooked with Rapini. This is a dish I really enjoy. Rapini is a delicious vegitable.
Are you still with me? These dinners usually two and a half hours or more of good food and great conversation. Normally we arrange to buy tickets with friends so that we have our own table and are seated together. Susan has her network of friends and she looks after that. We do go to some banquets alone but by the end of the evening you have new friends.
Not all of the meals we go to are really great but this one was truly excellent. I loved the burrata cheese on the antipasto plate. It was a real treat. We seldom buy it for ourselves as it does not keep well. It is made by taking fresh cows milk cheese, making a fist sized pocket with it and filling it with bits of mozzarella and fresh cream and then tying it shut. When you cut into it the texture is soft and creamy and the flavour is out of this world. But what do you expect cheese and cream to taste like?
The pasta were above aveage. I like cavatelli and the tomato sauce was rich and flavourful. The orecchiette was cooked with rapini and tossed with cheese. The rapini is slightly bitter and balances the sweetness of the pasta, olive oil, and cheese. And the best part is that they served generous portions.
The main course was braised beef that I was able to eat with only my fork. The meat had been cooked until it fell upart under the fork and it was rich and tasty. With it was served a beautiful salmon platter. The fish was perfectly cooked, which means not very cooked at all, and in a butter sauce with lemon wedges. None of that went back to the kitchen.
When all of that was done the cappuccino bar opened and desert was served. As with the rest of the meal, the cake served was crispy layers with cream filling. It is a good thing that we got one piece because I could have eaten that all night!
Cake for dessert and it was fantastic. An cappuccino in a paper cup. It does not get much better than that. Well, more cake would have been better.
Main course, the Secondo Piatto, was braised beef with mashed potates and gravey. The meat was cooked until it was tender and could be pulled apart with a fork. And there was lots of room on the plate for fish.
Salmon was delivered on platters to the table. It was done in a butter sauce and it was excellent. It was not over cooked and fell apart at the touch of a fork.
When the meal was over, about 10:00, Claudio, Ermidio and the girls started the music and everyone was up to dance. The sound was excellent but I would have preferred more Italian style music and not so much rock ‘n roll but I must have been in the minority because everyone got up. “Jump up and down” music gets very boring for dancing because there is only one thing you can do to it: jump up and down! But in an evening of excellent fare this was but a small complaint.
After dinner, about 10:00, the band began to play and everyone got up to dance. The Italians love to dance and the floor is usually crowded with people of all ages.
We have danced to Claudio and Ermidio as long as I have known Susan. In the early days they were the house band at Il Ritrovo.
Ermidio and Claudia had three girls singing in the style of the Andrews Sisters from the 1940’s and they were pretty good.
The band played mainly rock music for which I have limited appetite. We found some pieces to dance to but we were completely appreciative.
John and Sue at our table.
And that is a banquet at the Italian Cultural Center. The menu changes a little from one to the other, and some nights the music is better than on other nights, but this was a pretty typical evening.
If any of my readers would like to join us one evening at the Center let me know and we’ll tell you when the next one comes up. We generally go to one every two months but they happen all of the time. Just let us know.
You can follow events at the Center on their website although their Events Calendar is often out of date. Notwithstanding that, it is a way to keep in touch and they do have an occasional Newsletter which you can subscribe to.
Hope you enjoyed this evening togther. Ciao!
At our table was, from the left, John, Susan, Sue, Tony and Josephine. And that is me behind the camera.
The “Marr Family Pictures” is created by me, Flynn Marr, and is a private photo album of the Marr family and it’s offshoots.
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