Sorrento- Stop 1

Here's the first of several updates on my culinary trip to Italy. This is a school function, but I'd hardly call it that now. What was advertised as ten to fifteen students was booked with four students, a teacher and a tour guide. It's now three students and a tour guide. This is actually quite nice in that there are less people providing input (and complaints) and I don't find myself waiting around on people. It's also nice that everyone on the trip is above the age of 40 and no one is itching to get to the closest bar and check out the local dating scene. (I know, if you're single and/or young you are reading this thinking... BORING!)

After an average flight over, we arrived in Italy. In route to Sorrento, the group stopped at Pompeii. I'm not one typically into ruins and ancient artifacts. I find they all look the same. This was mildly interesting however. The entire city is from so long ago yet despite volcanoes and earthquakes remains largely intact and extremely modern for its time. I've seen current day disasters with modern engineering that didn't fare as well and modern communities not nearly as advanced as this one apparently was. (There was even an engraved sketch of a penis in the sidewalk pointing the direction to the town's bordello, which upon arrival still has drawings of the positions available for request. Customers could point and order.)

In Sorrento, where I've been for a few days, I'm taking some cooking classes. These are taught in English and cater more technically to the home cook. We had a woman from Vancover in our class yesterday, plus my group's three students. Of course we were required to bring and dress in our uniforms even though this is not a requirement of the kitchen here. I'm sure pictures taken during class will reveal certain gaps in my uniform that would forbid my entry in class back in Atlanta. I suppose, that's the result of an absent teacher. From my perspective, Italy in general is much more laid back than the States and I'm only blending into the culture by relaxing other aspects of my daily routine.

I find wearing the uniform in general labels me as overly enthusiastic and as having a superior attitude, particularly when we are wearing chef hats and no one else in the kitchen has anything on their hair. Wouldn't a self-selected cap work in this situation just as well? (I should note that there was a hair pulled from the ravioli we made that day. The chef stated it wasn't his because he has no hair. I blame it on the Vancover woman since she had no hat and the rest of us did.)

There are several culinary students here longer term and I've seen no uniforms to date, other than an extremely worn jacket the actual chef wears. A girl from Kentucky was the sous chef in our class. She literally had on four pieces of clothes as follows: a tank top, no undergarment-- leggings, no undergarment-- shoes and an apron. To the men in my life back at home, you would have really liked this girl! When she bent over to pick up things my classmate and I wondered if that's why she was selected by the chef for longer term placement. I certainly won't be selected for such a position in my chef's jacket! What a disadvantage! (I'm not sure that outfit on me would help me out however. That might be a greater disadvantage than the chef's jacket.)

In class we chopped veggies for an antipasta plate. This included julienned red peppers cooked with capers (rinsed), olives and bread crumbs. I think the dish would have been better without the crumbs, but some others seemed to like them. There was also a zucchini dish, disks fried in sunflower oil, salted and dusted with white wine vinegar and chopped mint leaves. I liked this combo, but think less vinegar would have been better. This was one of Miss Kentucky's favorites dishes. There were carrots cooked the same as the zucchini. There was blanched cauliflower which was then sauteed in garlic butter. This surprisingly was one of my favorites.

We also made ravioli. This was interesting because it was made from only flour and water, no egg. The filling was ricotta, parmesan, smoked and nonsmoked mozzarella, plus oregano. It was tasty, but not as tasty as my lunch ravioli with ricotta and lemon.

Last there was a grilled swordfish. We made the topping, a tomato salsa, but class was over for grilling. Good thing because I couldn't be blamed for the overcooked dry fish.