What?Does this picture look fuzzy to you?Forget about it, it’s all that Limoncello, you’ve been drinking!Welcome to our Limoncello table!This is us, two years ago in Florence, Italy.There’s Kristin, next to her man and chef, Devon.See the stroller behind them?That’s Little Baby.We were so happy he did not get left behind any tables or under any trees.He was so good; it would have been easy to forget that he was there!He was a great little Italian traveler for five months old, except in the Duomo!(ya’ know you’ve started out a great culinary life, when you’ve been nursed in the Duomo!)My husband, Todd, took the picture, and I’m in the blue sweater, raising my glass of homemade Limoncello, a starter to a wonderful meal memory in Italy!
It was late.So late, that even the Italian restaurants were closing.On a curvy road, across the river we found a big house that had a restaurant on the lower floor that was willing to seat us.We hustled in, happy to have found a place.And, what a find!We were led around the back of the house and seated in the back garden at this lovely tiled table.It was warm and balmy.The garden smelled wonderful.Our view over looked the hazy glow of the lights of Florence.It felt like a dream.And, as we cooed over the view, the garden, and the blessing of this moment, our waitress placed in front of us, a little cut glass goblet filled with lemony liquid.It was our first homemade Italian Lemoncello!This was going to be a great meal!
It turned out our waitress was the wife.The husband was the chef.When it came time to order, they helped us talk through our meal through broken Italian (ours) and broken English (there’s).The chef soon came out with a big slab of meat, maybe three pounds. He motioned to us, that it would be the size for our table.How big?We were trying to understand.And, then in a rich Italian roll-of-tongue, he pronounced, “it’s a bey-bee!! (Meaning, the size of a baby!!)We all laughed, “Bring us that baby then!!”
As we enjoyed our meal, laughing and chatting and eating into the night, the chef proudly watched us as he cleaned his kitchen, which was open to the back of the house behind us, and then, hosed down his garden for the evening.It was the ultimate in hospitality, to be relaxed in your giving and the making of a meal, and to enjoy your guests’ enjoyment.We couldn’t thank him enough because there are meals and there are moments when food and friends come together, blend at the table, and create a life memory.
Do you have a meal memory that became a life memory?Then, leave a comment and share it at our table!(Also, coming soon, all about our Limoncello throw down, that involved, lemons, of course, and other secret ingredients.)
