Every morning, my Nonno would pick us up from my aunt's house and take us to a small coffee bar in the city. We would order a stuffed cornetta (croissant), an espresso for Sam, and a cappuccino for me. These cornettas were so delicious, and filled with sweet ricotta cheese, nutella, or vanilla custard. Hmm, wondering which one I got EVERYDAY? Nutellla all the way :)
Another summertime breakfast, which Sam especially enjoyed, was granita with bread. Granita is a frozen lemon mixture similar to sorbet or italian ice that is served with bread or brioche for breakfast. It is cool, sweet, and refreshing, especially when it is so hot out! One morning my grandfather went and bought a 2 kilogram container of it for us- I think Sam had 2 or 3 servings that morning.
After breakfast and beach time, we would come back to one of my aunts' houses for lunch. For us, lunch has always been something small- a sandwich, soup and salad, something filling but not overwhelming. Even though we had visited Sicily before, we had forgotten our mantra, "there is always more after the pasta." The first day, my aunt brought out a huge bowl of delicious pasta with red sauce and eggplant. I stuffed myself; it was just so good! Then, my plate was taken away, and chicken cutlets were brought out. Of course, I was given a plate with a perfectly made breaded cutlet. It is one of those comfort foods that my grandparents have always made, and I absolutely love. After finishing that, I didn't think I could fit another thing!
But, then my Aunt brought out fresh fruit, cheese, and bread. Well, cheese, bread? I am Italian after all. How could I pass these up? And the fresh pears from my uncle's tree? They were the sweetest and most delicious pears I have ever had. And after all of this, there was also a gelato cake! And of course, more espresso. So much for my diet. After living alone all summer, I think this was the most food I had eaten in one sitting in months! It was just so good though.
Pasta + Meat was our usual lunch combination, while dinner was usually eaten later in the evening and consisted of something a bit lighter. Since Sicily is a port city, there is always plenty of fresh fish. My nonno loves fish, and wanted to make some for us while we were visiting. He took us to the local fish market one day to pick out some things for dinner. All of these fish were brought in daily from the local fisherman.
Sam and I were horrified at the sights of these rays. I couldn't believe they had faces! Of course Sam and I are off snickering to the side about how we could absolutely not eat something like that when my nonno orders three of them!
Apparently the catch of the day was a sword fish. I guess I had no idea how big a sword fish was until I saw it all chopped up on the back table.
Our meal that night consisted of these tiny little fried fish, octopus, salad, and the rays. The octopus was delicious, steamed with parsely, lemon juice, and olive oil. The little fish were also good, but Sam and I were just not very good at eating whole fish. These ones were fairly manageable because they didn't have any small bones, but some of the other fish meals were a struggle. Usually, a family member stepped in to debone our fish for us before we ate. Oh, the silly Americans who don't know how to eat fish...
Nonno posed for me while I took a picture of our meal. On a side note- there was always Coke to drink with dinner (never diet), as well as beer and some wine. I was very rarely offered any alcohol to drink, unlike Sam who was offered some at every meal.
Speaking of alcohol...Grappa is an after dinner drink that is supposed to aid in digestion. My mother's cousin offered us a bit of some after dinner one night. I had had it before, but this aged variety was delicious. Grappa is pretty strong- so we only had a shot glass full.
One thing I absolutely love about the my families' kitchens is they all had wood burning or brick ovens. As a special treat, one of my great aunts made muffuletta for us using her brick oven.
Muffuletta is a type of sicilian bread that is used to make sandwiches. The bread is seasoned with different spices and then topped with sesame seeds. It was amazing to watch my family first make the buns and then my aunt and uncle slide them into the oven to bake. There was definitely plenty for the whole family!
We stuffed the muffuletta with salsiccia (italian sausage) and tuna. The dinner was delicious, but the atmosphere was also perfect- my whole family sitting around outside eating the food with music playing and kids running around. Eating in Sicily really was all about spending time with family, one thing that I think Americans don't always embrace.
This trip was so amazing, and I know it is something that Sam and I will always look back on. The family time, especially with my grandparents and great aunts and uncles, is absolutely priceless.
