November is Birthday Month

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In November, I was supposed to write a foodie post for the C.O.S.I group; unfortunately I have been much too busy celebrating my birthday. I am not sure how I manage to get away with it, but much to Mrs Sensibles dismay, I manage to squeeze 2 or 3 birthday parties into the month and a couple of celebrationary meals with friends.

So to keep everybody happy, I will start with a brief foodie post on traditional Piedmontese food.

Bagna Cauda

November is cold and wet in Piedmonte, so to stay warm and cosy your average Piedmontese sits down to a bowl of Bagna Cauda.

Bagna Caulda

Bagna Caulda; a sauce made from garlic, anchovies, more  garlic a bit of  olive oil and more anchovies.

Bagna Caulda is a hot dip, made from anchovies, lots of garlic and olive oil. It is served with a selection of raw vegetables, peppers, potatoes, carrots etc. The object of the meal is to dip the raw vegetables into your sauce and cook them. The conversation around the table normally goes something like this.

P N: So I dip the potato in here?

Mrs Sensible: yes but be careful the sauce is hot.

PN: Is the potato supposed to stay crunchy?

Mrs S: Tsk! leave it a bit longer.

PN: Can you pass the red wine down this way.

PN: Oww!!!

Miss Sensible: I told you it was hot!!

PN: Quick more wine.

An added bonus of enjoying the delicious  dish of bagna caulda, is you never have to explain to your friends or colleagues what you had for tea the night before…. they will smell the aroma of anchovies and garlic as you walk across the carpark.

OK back to my birthday.

One of my birthday dinners was an impromptu meal with some friends, as usual we started with the swapping of the presents and the opening of a couple of bottles of wine. We then moved onto a fine selection of cheeses and salami.

Our hosts trying to open the bottle of wine I brought

Our hosts trying to open the bottle of wine I brought. (amazing what fun you can have with a bit of superglue)

Mrs S asked me if I would like a little more salami; of course I nodded and said I prefer the darker salami. She promptly added 3 more slices of meat and added “mmm the asino is tasty”

Some of you will know what asino is, for the rest of you let me enlighten you.

Asino is another Piedmontese delicacy.

Sagra d' donkey

Sagra d’ donkey !!

We have sagra’s dedicated to the humble donkey, it is available as meatballs, agnolotti and of course salami. It has taken me 7 years to remove the image of the Blackpool Donkey from my mind when a slice of asino is added to my plate.

Blackpool donkeys, I don't think I know these young ladies

Blackpool donkeys, I don’t think I know these young ladies

For many years I refused to eat Asino, occasionally I would unknowingly eat it, only realising after I was asked “did you enjoy the meat”

To finish with

1) If you want to search for Bagna Caulda on the internet, please spell it correctly, my first attempt was bagno caldo and google provided lots of pictures of women in the bath

2) Where are all my presents and birthday cards?

3) If you are a donkey, Italy is probably not a good holiday destination.

Fancy a holiday in Italy?

Fancy a holiday in Italy?

 

Normal food posts by the C.O.S.I group

 

 

 

54 thoughts on “November is Birthday Month”

  2. Yes, happy birthday to both you and I—I did not manage to have multiple dinner or parties—2 dinners was sufficient with an accompany pretty bauble. Baubles beat a dish of asino any day!!!!
    Happy Birthday my little black sheep 🙂

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  4. Hippy bopdie, PN! All the best people are born in November. I seem to remember you having lots of birthday parties last year, too – then you went on a diet.
    The French eat practically anything that moves, too – and since they discovered that there was horsemen in their “beef” lasagna, the horse meat trade has got more customers too.

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  8. Happy Birthday a tad late. Glad to hear you celebrated all month. I tend to do that too and December is mine! ALL MINE! Well, as much of it as my new, very large, black cat (I call him il Diavolo because he’s a handsome devil) will allow.

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  12. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…..yada yada yada! Enjoy the celebrations and keep the foodie posts a-coming! Oh and may I be the first to wish you a very happy christmas!! ;o)

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  17. Can’t believe I missed this post, happy belated birthday to you my dear. I was probably just too busy celebrating my own birthday, also November, and my son’s, also November, and my brother in law’s, also November. We’re quite unoriginal in this family!
    So anyway, donkey sagra. Bleeeeaugh!
    Do they also eat goats up where you are? And trick you by calling it “lamb”, until after you have eaten through a plate full of urine flavoured meat, then suddenly start casually talking about the goat meat as if it’s no big deal and practically the same thing anyway?

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    • Happy Birthday to you to. All the best people are November people, except of course Mrs S who is August.

      Funny enough two weeka ago I was fed ‘meat’ at a friends house. I said to Mrs Sensible there was a lot of meat on that lamb and she said it is because that lamb in goat….. Blurgh

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