The Friday Afternoon Club
An answer to “What did you do during the lockdown and curfew?”
We all have searched for the answer to the aforementioned question and the responses would vary greatly from person to person and group to group. With the legal limit of persons allowed to congregate at six, we (four of our British friends have lowered their standards to allow a couple of Americans to join with them) have started meeting each Friday afternoon for late lunch, which would be a normal time for a Spanish group. With Julie on hiatus while house or cat sitting, we five have opted to continue the long lived tradition (going on a month now) and this week it’s my turn. Having just completed my second novel which is set primarily in Italy, (release of the first is pending completion of artwork for the cover) I opted to test my culinary skills with a menu start to finish with foods attributed to the culture of our neighbor to the east. And since topics have been scarce, I am going to share with you the process and the results.
The first two courses, eggplant parmigiana and short ribs Italiano are heavy dishes. This prompted me to opt for a light finishing course, gelato with almond biscotti dipped in Amoretto. Why am I starting with the dessert course? Because rather than going to Carrefour and searching for a familiar brand (to vex me they would have changed the store around again and the biscotti would have probably landed in the cleaning products) I decided to make them. Therefore, the preparations for Friday’s lunch began Thursday morning. Biscotti must be baked twice to assure the proper crunch when dunked in Amaretto or coffee and therefore my morning walk was sandwiched around the biscotti’s schedule and not my own. The end pieces never are quite as appetizing to look at as the others, so they became my reward after the promenade.
We meet at one (that’s 13:00 world time), and the short ribs must cook slowly for hours. Therefore it was necessary to cut veggies needed for the dish ahead of time. That occupied much of Thursday afternoon, but saving an end piece of the biscotti and opening the bottle of Amoretto for a good dunk (only a basketball coach could appreciate the choice of words) made the work an enjoyable interlude. Other preparations included assembling the glasses necessary for a proper lockdown lunch. Flutes for bubbly, beer glasses for the guys, white wine glasses for the Pouilly-Fume and red wine tumblers for the Fitou and local Malbec as well as glasses for the gelato and cups for the tea and coffee needed to be assembled. Making sure plates and serving dishes are washed is another do ahead task.
Enough early prep work makes Fridays more relaxing. At five am I was grating cheese and browning the ribs. That sounds early but it’s rare for me to sleep beyond that hour. Thanks to Thursday’s work, the process went smoothly. By nine thirty I had the ribs simmering in the sauce and had walked to the boulangerie for a baguette, vacuumed, and the eggplant (aubergine for most of you) was cut, fried and assembled with sauce and cheese (3 kinds). It rests in the fridge until near the time for guests to arrive.
I have no hope of outdoing either of the chefs with whom I socialize. Gill and Cam are the best and John’s lamb smoked in the pizza oven is fantastic. My desire is not to embarrass myself, a modest goal but very realistic. As I sneak tastes from the braising liquid in which the ribs cook, my self-esteem is reassured…it’s pretty damn good.
My friends arrived on time and drinks were served with obligatory munchies. I wish I had clever anecdotes to share but everything went smoothly. No gravy was spilled on anyone and by the time dessert was finished we had solved the problems of the world.
My hope is that the group will continue to meet each Friday regardless of the curfew, lockdown or return to normal, if there is such a thing. Each day brings hope of that return to normal, but life as it was may never be enjoyed again. Our scenario is just one response to the question what have you done to survive the lockdown, shutdown, and curfews, but we’ve had a great time joining together even if it ends earlier. Keep the faith, I feel a fete coming on and the signs for the Tour stop are everywhere. Let’s party like 2019.