Welcome to the flavors of Italy's heartland . . .

AMORE SAPORE - TO LOVE FLAVORS

The following Amore Sapore menus are a sampling of our most frequently requested dishes. We enjoy working with our guests to create a menu together. The meals may be prepared in your "Italian home" or they may be cooked in our kitchens and delivered to you. Or you might enjoy a cooking lesson while we create the meals in your kitchen. The following menus vary from a simple meal requiring three to four hours of preparation time, to more elaborate celebration meals requiring five to seven hours of shopping, cooking and clean-up.

Menus

From the flavors of Umbria and Tuscany

Antipasti

  • Assorted bruschette (including truffles and porcini mushrooms in season)
  • Fresh mozzarella and sliced, summer tomatoes, with virgin olive oil
  • Homemade torta (round flat bread) with home-cured prosciutto or roasted vegetables
  • Panzanella, a light summer bread salad with summer vegetables
  • Fried fresh zucchini blossoms, stuffed with mozzarella

Primi Piatti

  • Tagliatelle or gnocchi with duck sauce; or with fresh pesto
  • Pappa al pomodoro, summertime tomato bread soup
  • Ribollita, a hearty peasant dish of vegetables, beans and bread
  • Polenta with fresh herbs, mozzarella and tomato-vegetable sauce; or with wild boar sauce
  • Spaghetti alla carbonara

Secondi Piatti

  • Roasted chicken or stuffed quail cooked on a spit over hot coals
  • Pollo arrabbiatto, Italian fried chicken
  • Roasted duck, porchetta style
  • Homemade grilled sausages with grapes
  • Steak Florentine, featuring our famous, local Chianina beef
  • Roasted rabbit

Contorni

  • Asparagi alla Fiorentina (asparagus with eggs)
  • Tuscan beans with sage and olive oil, or with roasted chestnuts
  • Grilled vegetables in season

Dolci

  • Biscotti di Prato with vinsanto
  • Chocolate-walnut cake with decadently-rich "Perusia" chocolate icing
  • Applesauce spice cake
  • Panna Cotta "Paola" with berries (a featured Amore sapore website recipe)

 

Menus

From the flavors of Sardinia

Antipasti

  • Homemade ricotta with Sardo flat bread, known as "carta di musica" or "sheet music"
  • Fava beans with home-cured pancetta
  • Special pecorino cheeses with pear slices
  • La coratella, an old-world dish made with lamb organ meats, which must be eaten with bread to soak up the sauce
  • Sweet and sour red and yellow peppers

Primi Piatti

  • Penne with pecorino cheese sauce
  • Ravioli filled with potato and pecorino cheese; or ricotta and spinach; or ricotta, lemon zest and saffron; served with a fresh tomato-vegetable sauce
  • Zuppa di latte, a milk-based soup with peas, potatoes, beans and pasta, guaranteed to induce sweet dreams

Secondi Piatti

  • Fresh lamb roasted on the family spit in front of an open fire
  • Pork steaks, ribs and sausages alla griglia
  • Bocconcini Melchiorre, the chef's hearty and spicy mutton stew with homemade pasta
  • Nonna's coucous made with vegetables, beans and meat

Contorni

  • Mixed salad of sweet and bitter greens
  • Thinly sliced fennel served with orange slices in a viniagrette
  • Artichokes stuffed with a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and olive oil, and simmered

Dolci

  • Tiramisu, made with biscotti Sardi
  • Fresh sheep's milk yogurt with seasonal fruits
  • Cheese wrapped in fresh pasta, fried in olive oil, and sprinkled with sugar or honey

 

Fish

We also cook a variety of fish specialties:

Marinated fish
Sardinian-style fresh sardines, marinated in wine, garlic, parsley and olive oil

Stuffed fish
Baked calamari stuffed with bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, and olive oil

Fish with pasta
Spaghetti with mixed seafood (frutti di mare)

Whole steamed or grilled fish
Such as John Dory, sea bass, bream or trout

Steamed mussels
Poached in wine, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and olive oil

Some comments from our guests:

"Best dinner we've had in Italy, best lamb we've ever eaten."

"Melchiorre's notion is that food to the cook is just like marble to Michelangelo – it is up to the artist to bring out what is already there. What a concept for living life!"

"Wish we had enough days to sample all the menus"

"Thank you for creating such a special and luscious vegetarian meal for us."

"Our evening with you was the high point of our trip."

"Making cheese and sausages with Melchiorre was an experience our family will always remember."

"Melchiorre is a national treasure."