Feast!

So what is a "feast" post doing during my supposed low calorie regimen? Well one thing I decided when starting the long-term calorie reducing plan was that I was in this for the long haul and that I wasn't going to beat myself up when occasionally I decided to enjoy myself...just so long as I didn't fall off the wagon.

As it turns out while I was in Chicago this week, there was a special event at one of partner Lakeview Coffee's favorite restaurants, Sapori Trattoria. A winery from Tuscany was bringing in wines and they were doing a special meal with 11 courses matched up with 4 different wines.

We had a very good time and drank way, way, way too much wine. Here is what they served.

Antipasti:

• Assorted crostini with bruscetta, a chicken and bean, and sweet bread, fennel sausage and gorgonzola cheese
• Pizza rustica
• Prosciutto and Gran Padano cheese

Primi:

• Homemade rigatoni with roasted butternut squash, pumpkin, sage, and pancetta with prosecco butter
• Handmade fresh ricotta and spinach gnocchi in tri-meat ragu

Secondi:

• Veal Ossobucco in six hour veal reduction sauce
• Hicory smoked Wild Boar Ribs

Dessert:

• Almond Biscotti
• Saratoga Dark Chocolate
• Fresh Raspberries
• Sweet Whipped Cream

PICTURES - Please forgive the quality...the light was very low!

Lakeview Coffee and very Lovely Laura talking to the Wine dude when everyone still quite coherent - not the case in another hour or so. By the way this meal took three hours!

Pizza Rustica

Some of the Crostini - Most of the time we remembered to take pictures only after eating most of it :(

Rigatoni & butternut squash - Magnifico! Sapori does such a good job with pumpkin and squash.

The Gnocchi

The Meats - The Ossobucco was great too.

Dessert

Good thing I went home on Friday and will be out for a long hike on Saturday.