Sooz, I hope you will post your menu once it is finalized. I'm sure you will get help from the forum. They are the best!

Hi Sooz, what a nice thing to do for your friend. I hope he/ she knows how lucky they are:-)

Hopefully I can help answer some of your questions.

Antipasto is singular, and antipasti is plural. It literally means "before" the meal (anti is "before" in Italian). If you are having multiple appetizers, then antipasti is appropriate.

Again, primi is plural, which you would use if you are having more than one first course. You will typically see that term on an Italian American menu for first courses, such as pasta or risotto. Technically, il primo is one first course, but either usage is OK.

I Secondi is plural for second course(s), usually with meat or fish. Again, if you are serving only one meat dish, technically it should be il secondo, but you will see the term i secondi used on menus where there are several second courses being offered.

Vegetables are le verdure, the term for roasted is arrostiti. Singular for vegetable is la verdura, which would literally mean "the vegetable". The vegetables are usually green, though not salad, which is l'insalata mista (mixed green salad). I'm sorry I'm not familiar with the Italian word for steamed.

Dessert is i dolci, which is plural. Singular (one dessert) would be il dolce. If you are offering a variety of desserts, you can call it il piatto dolce (dessert course). The Italian word for chocolate temptation is correct - tentazione al cioccolato.

Good luck with your menu, I'm sure it will be molto delizioso!!!!
DONNA

It's L'antipasto And Il primo and Il segundo and Il dolce...
But I would leave off all the articles....we don't list "The first course" on a menu...we just say "First course.
And it's ensalata...
Linda c

Thank you all sooooo much for your help!

I'm going to "center" the menu and laser print it (really nice font, italicized food), cut it out with deckle-edge scissors for a really pretty edge to the paper, punch two holes in the top and affix the menu to a colorful piece of cardstock (also has two holes punched in the top) from the art store with a gossamer ribbon.

Here's the rough draft of the menu--feel free to correct me!

Antipasto:
Sopressata & Asiago

Primo:
Fettuccini Alfredo

Segundo:
Roasted Rosemary Lemon Chicken (thank you for the recipe!)

Verdure:
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Roasted Sweet Red Peppers

Pane:
Crusty Garlic Bread

Ensalata:
Salad Caprese

Dolce:
Tentazione al cioccolato

Smiles and ciao!
Sooz

I found this thread very helpful. We have lots of Italians in Australia, but wherever I've lived, they've lived somewhere else, so I've never been able to ask them what I want to know!

How about a lesson in correct pronunciation of Italian words, such as 'tagliatelle', and 'parmesan'.

And is is 'lasagna' or 'lasagne'?

An Italian Meal
As Italian cooking depends on theme, variation, and quanto basto (just enough), so too with the classic Italian meal. Save for the rare exception (such as ossobuco e risotto, served as one dish Milanese style), there is no dominating main course. Instead, a series of small courses that play off each other are presented. During an ideal dinner, participants experience the crisp and the soft, the complex and the simple, the pungent and the mellow.

To whet your appetite, and to introduce a theme, antipasti are sometimes served. This could be prosciutto di Parma with melon, Tuscan crostini smeared with liver spread, or vegetables dressed with olive oil.

The first course (primi or minestra) can be a risotto, a soup, or a pasta served in a broth or sauced. No matter what is served first, it is served in a bowl, and it always, always precedes the meat, fish, or fowl course.

When dining out in Italy, the choice of a second course (secondi) is made after you've eaten the first course. This way, a diner can evaluate the experience of the first course and decide on its best counterpoint for the second. One or two vegetable dishes (contorno) often round out this course.

After the vegetable dishes are cleared, and the second course completed, salad is served.

The meal closes with a sweet (dolci), often fresh or marinated fruit.

For example, "fish" is the theme of this meal composed by Marcella Hazan. The antipasto is tiny boiled shrimp served warm and seasoned with lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. Next (primi) comes a squid and clam risotto to make "peppery comments." Then (secondi), a turbot baked with potatoes and garlic is served. After the turbot, a bitter salad of radicchio and field greens cleanses the palate. The closing course is fresh fruit sliced and served in wine.

For more on classic Italian cooking, dip into Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, by Marcella Hazan (Knopf, 1993). See especially pages 649-665.

When planning an Italian meal, whether it be a casual, family dinner, or a formal party for twenty, one needs to understand the individual courses that may be involved. Many people have the impression that an Italian meal is a very complicated, multi-course affair that takes hours to prepare. Though formal meals like this are enjoyed in restaurants, or eaten in the home at holidays or when entertaining, this is not typical of everyday home cooking. Italian meals today are very flexible, consisting of one or two courses that are meant to compliment each other. Formal meals, can consist of a multitude of courses, combining many of the following:

Antipasti: Appetizers
Antipasti literally means "before the meal". Though generally not part of a typical family meal, these dishes play a very important part in a formal dinner, or a celebration.

Primi Piatti: First Courses
This course, or primi piatti, often consists of either a soup, a pasta or a rice dish. Pasta, considered the Italian staple, can be prepared in numerous ways. One can combine a dried pasta with a simple fresh sauce cooked in minutes, or take a little more time to prepare a fresh pasta, and either layer it, roll it, or stuff it with the ingredients of choice. Risotto, or rice, is also used as a first course. Another dish often eaten at this point in a meal is gnocchi, or dumpling, which can be made from anything as simple as the common potato, or something more exotic as ricotta mixed with herbs or spinach.

Secondi Piatti: Entrees
The secondi piatti, or second course, usually consists of a meat or fish dish. Because an Italian meal is usually started with a pasta dish, this serving is usually small. Italians eat a wide range of meats, particularly veal, rabbit, and poultry, and find many ways to prepare them, to bring out the natural flavor and taste. Seafood of all types are also eaten, though only the freshest of each season are used.

Contorni: Vegetables or Side Dishes
Contorni, or side dishes, generally consist of the vegetables that will compliment the meat or fish course. Italians excel at cooking vegetables, and find endless combinations that meld together into an amazing final dish. In Italy, most vegetables are served at room temperature, which enhances the taste considerably.

Insalata: Salad
Salads in Italy are usually served after the final course, which seems both to refresh the diner after a heavy course, as well as clean the palate before the desert course.

Frutta: Fruit
Usually, fresh fruit kept ice cold in a bowl of ice water is served, however a selection of dried fruits and nuts may be available as well.

Dolci: Desserts
Deserts or dolci, are an indulgence after a full meal. Often a typical meal at home will be followed by a fresh bowl of fruit, but on a special occasion, after the fruit dish, a little sweet is offered. The meal is completed with a coffee, usually an espresso. Cappuccino, typically thought to follow a meal, is actually considered a morning drink, rarely seen afternoon.

Hopefully this brief discussion of the various courses that may be used in planning your next Italian meal has been helpful, and will inspire you to develop your skills in Italian cuisine.

Buon Appetito!
By Deborah Mele 2002

Hi Sooz,

Your menu sounds really delicious!

Segundo is the spanish word for second. In Italian it's spelled secondo, plural secondi. For salad, the word is insalata (salad), or l'insalata (the salad). I forgot to add when I posted originally that you had the word correct for bread, it's pane.
Good luck!
DONNA

Wonderful menu Sooz! Enjoy....you are a wonderful friend.

I know that in English we drop the articles, but in Spanish they use them. I wonder if it is the same in Italian?

Donna, are your relatives still here from Italy, or have they gone home? They'd be proud of you!

Annie

The article isn't usually used for a menu.
I think your menu sounds wonderful!
Wines? Cafe L'Americain? Strega? Grappa?
Linda C

Thanks Annie - I'm still recovering from the whole Italian immersion thing! I miss my cousins terribly, Italy is just too far away and that 8-10 hour flight is awful. I'm still thinking and blurting things out in Italian, and freakishly enough, the boys are responding properly to me when I do! How's your supply of grappa and ice wine these days? I'm the only one in my family that doesn't love wine. It's an embarrassment for an Italian family. They think I was switched at birth:-)

Sorry I hijacked your thread Sooz! Can you share the chocolate temptation recipe when you have a chance?
DONNA

Sooz: The meals vary from Northern Italy to Southern Italy.

We prefer the Mid to Southern Italy. I imagine that's because most of my relations are from the south.

I'll not comment on the menu except for the soup and Chicken.
First Course: Our families like Italian Wedding Soup.
( Rich Chicken Soup with small Meatballs )

Second Course: we might have Roasted Chicken. Either Stuffed ,
or Thighs and Legs roasted in a large pan with stuffing in the center.
Chicken can be marinated in Italian Salad Dressing and used to Baste while cooking.

The Chicken would be served along with Ravioli, Sausage and Meatballs and Sauce.
Salad is last or if you prefer ,you can serve it with the Chicken.
Of course there is wine with the meal.

Next comes the Deserts and Coffee. Use your imagination.

I am not a noted TV Chef but these are some things everyone likes and I would serve at a special dinner.
Of course I might have some Clams Casino or Steamed Mussels
before hand and add a few more items to the main course,
like a Baked Ham and Braciolle's in Brown Sauce or Tomato
Sauce.

Hope I didn't comment too much ????? and helped a little.

LOU

Sooz: You don't have to get all caught up in Learning Italian. If you are feeding friends they will have fun interpreting.
My grandmother didn't want anyone to talk to her in Italian, including my father,
because she was in the United States now! and wanted to learn English.
So I grew up not learning too much of the language.
Later I picked up a little here and there. I would probably get by in Italy, for a visit.
Concentrate on getting the food right. If you don't understand or say it wrong,

Just throw up your hands and say "EH!"

LOU

Great comments and info, everyone! Love the gesture followed by "EH!" Too funny!!!!

Thank you thank you thank you! I'll try to take some pix and post the chocolate recipe--but the dinner is next month, so be patient!

Ciao,
Sooz