Category Puglia
Puglia in New Jersey
Blogging about one’s vacation is not without repercussions. If you go to cooking school in Italy, for instance, the friends and family who’ve been reading your blog expect you to cook for them when you return home. Last month, I spent a week at The Awaiting Table Cookery School in Puglia with my friend, Anne […]
Last words on Puglia
Saturday dawned, stark, cold and bleak; our last day at the Awaiting Table Cooking School. The sadness was palpable and despair loomed over us like an enormous fist, ready to crush our souls at any moment. Oh, wait. No, that was the polpettone from the night before, still sitting like a large lump in our […]
Rabbit, not cat
Thursday’s holiday from cooking was over, and it was time to head back into the kitchen on Friday. At the public market, Silvestro led us to the large meat case, the same one where we purchased our sun-kissed chickens on Wednesday, and directed our gaze to the long rabbit displayed behind the glass. It was […]
Field trip!
On Thursday we got a break from the rigors of our culinary curriculum. We met at the Caffe at 11 for our usual espresso or cappuccino, and then Giorgio, who is like Silvestro’s COO, took us to the market to buy picnic fixin’s: Prosciutto, cheese, ciabatta, arugula and tomatoes. Back at the scuola, we assembled […]
Pasta and architecture
Our second day of cooking school at Awaiting Table followed the same template as the first. Because we are now accomplished residents of Lecce, instead of congregating in the main Piazza, we met instead at the same Caffe from our first day (this has now become our “local”) for espresso or cappuccino before shopping. We […]
Back to Scuola
We started our cooking classes in Lecce on Tuesday morning. Our class met again on the main Piazza and then we went to a Bar/Cafe for espresso. We shared several pastries, including Rustico Leccese, which is a savory mini pie of flaky pastry stuffed with mozzarella. It’s served warm, so the cheese is soft and […]
Going for Baroque
We arrived in Lecce after a 5+ hour train ride from Rome. Why does train travel feel so much better than air? Our route took us through Caserta, Foggia, to Bari and Brindisi. The last two hours or so of the trip was along the coast and we had nice views of the Adriatic Sea. […]
6 days and counting
And so it begins again, preparing for another adventure in Italy. This time my destination is Lecce in Puglia, which, if you think of Italy as a boot, is at the end of the heel. I’m changing it up a little this time. Rather than roaming around to various towns and cities, I’m staying put […]
