Italy: the right way, part three

Pasta, pasta, pasta. I was worried that that was all I was going to be eating. I had heard it was served with every meal. My reality was that I only had pasta few times, fluffy gnocchi in pesto, fettuccine with lobster and some unknown pasta with pumpkin and eggplant, which sounds questionable but was very tasty. How could I resist the Caprese salad? Each restaurant has a different take on it, mozzerella had different textures, big tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. I was surprised at the popularity of cherry tomatoes in all the seasonal dishes. I had always though of them as the poor relation to the roma tomato. Alas cherry tomato, you have earned my respect!

Seafood is fresh and abundant along the Amalfi coast. Since I do not eat it regularly in Texas, but do love it, I made it my mission to have seafood once a day. Squid, octopus, fresh grilled whole fish, clams, mussels, lobster...mmmmm. I adored their take on the seafood salad. Big, meaty no scrimping or KRAB instead of lobster or crab. My mother-in-law frequently ordered the "fish soup" which was not a soup at all but a delicious variety of shellfish, and fish.

One night, high above the town of Positano, we ate at a small family restaurant. A driver picked us up from the hotel and took us up the mountain. When we arrived and walked in the door Vinchenzo came and welcomed us to the restaurant. As far as I can grasp his mom and dad were the chefs. We sat down and all of a sudden plates of food started coming mozzerella, fried mozzerella, pasta with eggplant and pumpkin, eggplant, white beans and fish, garbanzo beans and something, thin slices of roasted pumpkin, caprese salad, salami, procuitto, spinach and so much more. It was wonderful not having to make a choice. We tried it all! Then papa came out and started grilling meat. just as we finished the first course, the meat was brought on a huge platter.

Breakfast was just as important as any other meal. I adore European muesli (granola to us). It is a snack in itself. We chose from fresh fruit, yogurt, breads, pastries and that did not even include the menu options. I ordered hot chocolate one chilly morning and was surprised to get a small pitcher with a very thick liquid. It was like drinking the chocolate from a chocolate fountain. I ended up dipping by strawberries and croissant in it. Husband used some for his coffee. I still did not finish this chocolatey sinful goodness.

We drank and drank. Our local red favorite was made with red Aglianico grapes. It was full and not fruity. It did not heat me up the way reds normally do. Prosecco was the ladies favorite in the group. Italian champagne. Some were sweet, some dry. My mother-in-law said she saw some thing suggesting putting lemoncello in the prosecco. It was very good. We drank that too much one night and had a nasty hangover. In Capri the desk manager asked what my sister-in-law and I were drinking because the prosecco looked cloudy. She proudly announced the creation. His look was priceless, it was if she said she was putting catsup on caviar. "Prosecco OR lemoncello," he said firmly, "Not both together!" I quietly hid my glass under the table and let her take the heat. She is a great sport and took it like a champ. We did try to blame it on mother-in-law but somehow it did not stick.