We awoke to another beautiful morning, ready for breakfast and another day of activities. The breakfast that greeted us was awesome. There were several kinds of quiche, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, two kinds of juices, and any kind of coffee or tea you may want.
I neglected to mention that yesterday, Giuseppe, our driver for the day, took us to some nearby ruins. They date from centuries ago. It was an opportunity to get to know the other members of our group and enjoy the beauty of the area.
Today, we went to the town of Arpino, the land of olives about 45 minutes away, where we visited a traditional family-owned olive oil mill. We were schooled on the making of extra virgin olive oil by Vincenzo, whose family has been manufacturing oil for along time. He said they are a small producer with 20,000 olive trees. He, and a large contingency of others, hand-trim the trees after harvesting in the fall so they produce the most olives per tree. The care and love shows.
Afterward, we had a light lunch at the mill, made by his mother. Everything was fresh and delicious, like a farro salad, lupini beans, bruschetta with tomato sauce, polenta, grilled onions, and cheese. Vincenzo showed us how to test the freshness of the oil by taking a small sip and swishing it your mouth to get a grassy flavor and then sniffing it to feel the spiciness in the back of your throat. He also said that olive oil should be kept in metal or dark glass containers, not in plastic, to maintain freshness. Oh well… so much for buying olive oil at Costco in giant plastic bottles. I may have to switch to smaller glass bottles of oil.
We returned to Casa Gregorio to relax until 4:30, when we had our first class. Today, we made cookies and desserts with Luca. We each have a work station with aprons. The names of the cookies/treats are posted on the chalk board and we have a QR code to download all the recipes.
It is amazing how many treats you can make with the same dough. It just takes some finesse.
We had a break afterwards to have a glass of wine until dinner. Then, we were treated to a wonderful risotto, followed by a meat loaf roll, and finally, the completed cannoli. You want to eat everything in the first course, but then you wouldn’t have any room for the second course! Fortunately, there is always room for cannoli!
Tomorrow, we head to the local farmer’s market to experience how the locals buy fish, fruit and vegetables, but more importantly, share the local gossip! We have a few stops, and then return to make antipasti for dinner.
