More Sorrento

On our next day of classes there were just the three of us. I noted there is much fried food here, but according to the locals "it's not fried in animal fat and no proteins are fried." I guess that makes it okay. We made eggplant parmesan, first frying the eggplant in sunflower oil. This is stacked in a layer, with parmesan and mozzarella, a few speckles of tomato sauce and the layers repeated three times. This is then baked in the oven. It was the highlight of the meal.

We also made two types of gnocchi, each with two parts riced potato and one part flour. First was a traditional means in small dough balls cut from a line of dough and served in a tomato sauce. The second was more interesting and I thought more tasty. The same dough was rolled out like a pie crust and cut into small circles with a biscuit/cookie cutter. These were filled with mozzarella, folded over and served in a pesto sauce.

We also made lamb chops. These were seasoned, coated in dijon mustard and then in bread crumbs, parmesan and parsley. Last they were "sprinkled" in olive oil and then baked. These were delicious, but had they been thicker the lamb flavor would have been more prominent. As an avid lamb lover, this would have been better. (However, who am I to criticize the Italian way??)

For dessert we made chocolate lava cakes. While these provide a spectacular presentation, every time I've eaten them the flavor is lacking. The same rang true here.

Tomorrow we go to market with the chef. I think this will be a fun trip!

My main problem here is I cannot eat this much food. Every meal I am not hungry, but have to taste and eat something. Skipping breakfast doesn't quite cut out enough food either. I'm tired of feeling stuffed.