October 28, 2010
Yay for Thursday! D had signed us up for a cooking class. Now, the classes don't just take place at the base. Your group buses over to a predetermined location where you are sure to have a truly authentic experience. We got a somewhat early start, and D got us to the meeting spot with a little time to spare. We rode the bus for over an hour to get to a private farm that is in the process of becoming an agriturismo (more on that later).
A wonderful Italian woman taught us how to make pasta (cavaletti, I think). I'm not talking about tossing pasta in a pot and preparing it, mind you. We actually hand made every noodle. We got some other information from our guide from the base, Andrea. Then, it was time to eat. (We got to save the pasta we made to take home.) This lunch was quite a feast. But before I get into that, I almost forgot that upon our arrival, we were given a drink and asked to guess its contents. Sam nearly nearly got unintentionally tricked. Initially, Andrea told us the drink was non-alcoholic. Then he amended his statement with, "It only has a little bit of gin." It turned out to be a celery-based concoction. I'm not generally a fan of celery, but this was pretty tasty, and quite refreshing.
Anyway, back to lunch! It started out with a bunch of appetizers. Fresh cheeses, salami, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, bread and the best bruschetta I've ever had. OMG! The fresh ricotta cheese was also amazing! It was super delicious; super light and creamy. It was worlds away from the stuff you get at the store. Then came pasta, which was the same kind we had made, with two different sauces - pesto and pepperoni (note-in Italy, pepperoni refers to peppers, not the meat). I preferred the latter, though both were very tasty. Next came the meat. There were two types of sausages and some sort of roast. While these, like the rest of the meal, were very good, we were getting too stuffed to finish this course. Also at this point, there were some side dishes - a pepper and onion dish, fried up with breadcrumbs for added texture, some spinach patties, and another type of patty, whose contents I'm unsure of (perhaps egg and potato?). Toward the end of this course, they brought out a simple orange salad. Fresh, tart orange slices with green onions. As everyone sat there, completely stuffed, there came some homemade candy that was basically a hardened jam. Sam compared it to a chunk of Fruit Roll-Up. Throughout the meal, there was wine aplenty, made right there on the farm. They were selling it for dirt cheap, so we got a few bottles to bring home, both for us and as gifts. As the meal was wrapping up, everyone started picking at the centerpieces - lovely platters of perfect fresh fruit.
Finally, the time came to pay for this most scrumptious experience and make our way outside. And there, waiting for us, was a huge tray cannolis and little chocolate candies. Upon inquiry, we found out these chocolatey morsels were an invention of the chef's, and consisted of mascarpone, Nutella, biscotti and hazelnuts. They were heavenly! As we all stood around stuffing our faces and drinking espresso, our hosts brought out two huge baskets of fruit, encouraging us to take some home. Unable to consume another bite, we rolled ourselves to the bus and got on the road. I have to give our bus driver some major points for mad driving skills. He navigated the bus down streets so narrow, I would have been nervous to drive a car down them. The ride home was fairly uneventful, except for when we hit a bump and our butts cleared the seats by a few inches. Sam was cradling our bottles of wine at the time, and was a bit nervous.
D picked us up from the base and we went home. We spent some time digesting out feast and zoning out. It wasn't terribly long before D was fetching us for dinner (does the eating never stop in Sicily??). It was make-your-own panini night. We were still quite stuffed, and it was hard, but we persevered. We made it downstairs and shared a ham, pepper jack and avocado on ciabatta.
After a brief break, during which the baby got a bath, Sam, B and I went bowling. We were supposed to be joined by at least one other person, but they canceled. I started off with a strike, which was pretty awesome, but went downhill fast. Despite a few good shots, I scored in the high seventies for all three games. Both guys consistently scored over 100. I am a skilled bowler, no?
After bowling, we headed into Motta for some gelato. B took us to their (his and D's) favorite gelateria. I got Nutella and strawberry. YUM! The ridiculously tasty treat was a most spectacular way to wrap up the evening.
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