It's a wonder how no one in my family is morbidly obese!

I know that I have mentioned on a few occasions the Thursday night tradition that my immediate family shares. There is another weekly tradition that my extended family still carries on as well. When we were younger, we would sometimes go to my grandmother's house (Nonni) on Sundays after church where we would enjoy a wonderful pasta linner (lunch + dinner = linner). As time passed, these Sunday gatherings became more frequent and eventually we congregated in Nonni's tiny kitchen every Sunday. As Nonni aged, we started alternating by going to my Aunt Anna's house every other Sunday so that Nonni wouldn't get too burdened. Sadly, Nonni passed away 4 years ago; however, the tradition is still alive. Now, Aunt Anna and my Dad alternate preparing the meal, but the feast is always at Aunt Anna's house.

The menu usually consists of pasta (of course!), meatballs, vegetables, and another meat dish (chicken, pork, ham, beef, etc). That is followed by salad, then fruit, then dessert and espresso. Seriously, we eat like this EVERY Sunday! Here is a picture of today's smorgasbord:

Okay, this isn't the best picture, but here is what we pigged out on today (Dad's week to cook): rigatoni with tomato sauce, meatballs, pork parmigiana, veal stuffed with sage and prosciutto, mixed veggies, and a fritata (my aunt threw that in at the end).

Oh, we're not done yet...here are the desserts (emphasis on the plural!):Here we have a lemon meringue pie, a belated birthday cake for Jackie's 21st (chocolate with chocolate custard filling from Oakmont Bakery), s'mores squares, and a fat free pudding.

This is why I swim!