We were supposed to be in Italy on Lake Maggiore right now. But since that was not possible, we decided to invite a friend who we would have been traveling with over for Sunday lunch.
Michele has been experimenting with cheese biscuits, so we had some of them to start. She made them with a mix of cheeses and lots of black pepper.
Cheese and Black Pepper Biscotti
Anchovies
A jar of Anchovies purchased in Rome was the inspiration for the next starter. 
Toasted ciabatta topped with stracciatella, a creamy blend of shredded mozzarella, and those anchovies.
With these we had Champagne
Champagne Pierre Gimonnet & Fils “Fleuron” Brut 2009 made from 100% Chardonnay from premier cru Villages mostly in the Cöte de Blancs. Fermention is in stainless steel and malolactic fermentation takes place, The wine remains on the lees for 84 months. The wine has hints of apple, floral notes a touch of lemon, with good minerality and balanced acidity.
Then Bucatini Amatriciana made with guanciale, cured pork cheek, tomatoes and pecorino cheese.
Then we had Pork in the Cradle with roasted potatoes. When we first moved to Park Slope in Brooklyn many years ago, Michele found a wonderful Sicilian butcher who would prepare pork loin this way by tying the roast onto a rack of ribs. When you serve it, you have a great combination of sliced pork and tasty ribs. The butcher returned to Sicily many years ago, but Michele still likes to do pork this way tucking seasonings — fennel, garlic, rosemary — over and under the meat. When the roast is done, she lets it rest while the ribs go back to the oven for additional crisping. 
Pork, ribs, pan roasted potatoes and broccoli rabe.
We had one of my favorite red wines to go with this feast.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2001 Emidio Pepe 100% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The winery is organic and Bio-Dynamic. They belong to the Triple “A” Agriculture Artisans Artists. Both the tendonne method and the cordon spur method are used for training the vines. In vintages when the weather is very hot the tendone method is better because the leaves form a canopy to protect the grapes from the sun. When the weather is not too hot, the cordon spur is better because it allows more sun and air to reach the grapes. 1 hectare of tendone has 900 vines produces 90 quintals of grapes. That means that each vine produces from 6 to 9 kilos of grapes. In one hectare of cordon spur trained grapes, there are 3,300 vines and each vine produces 5 to 6 kilos of grapes. The grapes are crushed by hand and the juice placed in glass-lined cement tanks of 20/25 liters. Only natural yeasts are used, there is no filtration or fining. The wine is transferred to the bottle by hand and the corks are placed in the bottles by hand. The wine has deep red fruit aromas and flavors with hints of cherry, spice and leather. I had the 1982 a few weeks ago and the 2001 has the same profile but needs more time.
Michele had planned a simple dessert of homemade lemon ice and cookies, but our guest brought us a fruit and custard tart from a favorite bakery. It was very beautiful.
But we also had lemon ices, topped with grappa, as a digestivo but the picture did not come out. Can’t imagine why.
Charles Scicolone on Wine 