Richmond's birthday is in June, when the farmers' markets are starting to fill up with fresh veggies and Strawberries are at their peak.

This feast was one of my four-part Exploring Italy series, set in northwestern Italy: Piedmont, Liguria, and Valle d'Aosta. Most of the dishes came from Anna Del Conte's The Classic Food of Northern Italy with a couple from The Silver Spoon Cookbook.

We had:

• We opened the meal with an antipasto of Fontina Valle d'Aosta cheese and artichoke hearts, white anchovies, and olives, refreshed by a bottle of good Lambrusco, and some Martini and Rossi Dry Vermouth on the rocks.
• This was followed by the Ligurian Cappon Magro, an awesome structure of seafood on a mound of steamed vegetables, held together by a fabulous piquant green sauce.
• Next came a Roast Beet and Cheese Ravioli with Pesto alla Genovese and a Green Bean Tourte.
• Then came White Truffle Risotto, a classic Piedmont flavor, accompanying a rich Chicken with Mushrooms and Cream featuring multiple types of mushrooms.
• With the meal we enjoyed a Batasiolo Barolo 2001 and an Alessandria Barbera d'Alba 2009.
• We finished with the non-Italian but seasonal Frozen Strawberry Torte.

The feast was held on Sunday, 19 June 2011.

Attendees were John and Lorna, Richmond and Annette