A Taste of Rome

Liquid Gold – tantalizing oils and vinegars at the Roman Table

I don’t know about you, but my all time favorite cuisine is Italian. Perhaps, it is because I grew up eating Nonni’s meatballs and cutlets. I love steaming dishes of Bolognese sauce covered with freshly grated parmesan cheese. I find comfort in crusty bread dipped in golden EVOO and and aged balsamic. Give me pasta tossed with torn basil, chopped tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and my heart beats a little faster.

The Roman Table in Scituate Harbor offers a little taste of Italy on the Irish Riviera! When you walk in to the shop, which was the original Scituate post office, you will feel like you are in Italy. The walls have an aged patina, the floor is terracotta in color with paint splatters and the shop is filled with Italian goodies. There are beautiful table linens, authentic Italian pottery, terracotta cookware and a whole section of aromatic oils and balsamic vinegars that you can taste.

On Saturday night a few friends got together for a relaxing and fun evening at The Roman Table. Calamity struck before the evening started with three couples getting way-laid. One couple almost had to take their daughter to the ER, but was helped by a doctor in the neighborhood. Another couple’s babysitter wasn’t feeling well. The third couple, spotted their neighbor’s cat dead in the road and had to bring the body and sad news to said neighbor’s door. Well, the evening got off to a rough start, but everyone got there. We enjoyed each others company and a wonderful evening at the Roman Table with owner, Cynthia Gallo-Casey.

Selection of wines, crusty bread, stuffed olives and goats cheese.

We started the evening with some wine (that we brought), some very delicious stuffed olives and the most amazing goats cheese (pictured below):

Are you hungry yet? Look at that goats cheese. Cynthia took her peach balsamic and reduced it until it was the consistency of a thick honey. The cheese coated in the balsamic glaze was a joy to eat. We went through two loaves of bread between us!

The great thing about having a private cooking class at the Roman Table is it feels very much like a home, much more intimate than going to a restaurant, and you are learning some fantastic tips from Cindy. Her exuberance and joy for Italian cooking is contagious.

Cynthia teach us.

She said we were welcome to wash our hands and put aprons on, and we did:

Our friend, Dave, looking like quite the chef and here I am chopping sprouts:

I love sprouts. I know sometimes they get a bad rap, but really they are so delicious and you will fall in love with them if you roast them in the oven. We tossed our’s with Meyer Lemon EVOO (to die for) and Black Current Balsamic (also to die for) and roasted them for 20 minutes. They were so delicious. We are going to make these for Thanksgiving this year!

Black Current Roasted Brussel Sprouts

We then mixed together a tangy arugula salad with roasted red peppers. I’ve made Cynthia’s salad a number of times at home and every time people love it. There is just something about the mix of the peppery arugula, creamy feta cheese, white canellini beans and the rich Fig Balsamic.

Abbie and Tom watching the demonstration.

While the sprouts roasted in the oven and the Bolognese sauce simmered on the hob, we enjoyed more crusty bread dipped in oil and drank more vino (of course).

The main course was Pappardelle all Bolognese and words can not express how delicious this dish is. Cynthia introduced the dish saying, “It is not for the faint of heart and not for people on Weight Watchers.” It is a rich dish because it uses not only pork, beef, bacon, Italian sausage meat, but also wine and heavy cream. At home, I usually use tomato sauce as a base but this recipe only uses one tablespoon of tomato paste relying more on chicken stock and wine. Cynthia learned this dish in Rome and this is the authentic Roman way. When in Rome…. Right?!?

We sat down in the middle of the shop on rustic benches to a long table and we were served this amazing meal family-style. The wine flowed, as did the conversation. We talked and talked about the delicious food, haunted houses and the Kardashians. Dessert was vanilla ice cream with a dark chocolate balsamic that had been reduced. Vinegar and chocolate don’t sound like they would go together, but it was amazing. Everything was delicious. A huge thank you to Cindy for having us in ‘her home’ and sharing all these incredible dishes with us.

If you haven’t been to the Roman Table yet, I think you’ll love it. Get a group together and head on down for some great food. I couldn’t resist stocking up on more oils and vinegars and also this sweet little dish. Thought it would be the perfect place to rest my wooden spoons between stirring the pot.

Ciao!