Together Amanda Lanza and I prepared a dinner rooted in the foods of our families. Dishes we grew up on, flavors that are nostalgic to us, cookery that’s inspiring, all married together in one menu that felt like a big warm hug.

Arancini is basically risotto that rolled and stuffed, breaded and fried. In Sicilian culture it’s typically a snack that’s made ahead and taken to the beach, served with salsa verde. Our take on this dish included yellow squash from the farmers market, cotija cheese, cumin, and also pecorino romano. There is quite a bit of overlap in both Italian and Mexican dishes, in this dish the use of cheese and squash were the parallels.

Hand rolling pasta for the lasagna was quite a process. Kneading, resting, crying (just kidding) but seriously working the dough was labor intensive and frustrating for me as it was my first time. But Amanda was encouraging and patient with me in showing me the ropes of the process. We layered the lasagna with slow roasted mushrooms and slow braised traditional mexian carnitas. For this we use tomato sauce, another huge overlap ingredient between our cultures.

The salad was our homage to being Californians, but also using vegetables that are common for Mexicans and Italians to pair with savory dishes. According to Amanda, Italians eat their salad AFTER having a heavier entree. Me? I still eat my salad first.

The tiramisu! Horchata! Wow! It was a star dish, and my first time making a dessert for one of my ticketed dinners. Normally desserts scare me, but I was excited to infuse this dish with fresh made horchata, that was infused with ginger, nutmeg, a touch of cayenne and coconut milk in addition to traditional use of cinnamon, rice, and vanilla. We use imported lady fingers that Amanda insisted on, and for good reason. I went a little crazy with the mascarpone but personally I like a cream that a little more dense. It was loved by all and I’ll definitely be making this dish again.

Having all our friends together for this meal was a dream come true, felt like cooking at home but on the beautiful land of Moonwater Farm, a healing container for which to gather within.