Cooking with the Chef

 The power came back on around  8 so we were able to enjoy breakfast.  One of the couples in our class had arranged to take a cooking class with the hotel's chef and asked if anyone in the group wanted to join them.  We didn't have to be in Catania at a particular time so we joined them.

We met with the chef to discuss what we could make that we would all enjoy.  We had a loose plan before heading out to the nearby market.  We could use produce that the restaurant had but we bought several different kinds of fish from the fishmonger.  Before taking it bake to the hotel, we stopped at the raw bar booth to try a couple of different offerings.  We started with oysters on the half-shell along with a glass of wine (even though it was ten in the morning).  This was followed with a raw pink shrimp which I wasn't a big fan of, and finish with sea urchin which we enjoyed with bread.  

We meet back up at the upstairs kitchen where the chef gave us each assignments for the class.  I was in charge of the caponata, an eggplant and zucchini dish with tomato sauce and honey.  The men were put in charge of cleaning and fileting the fish, while gnocchi was made by the last member of our group.  The chef took charge of the finishing touches while we enjoyed the several courses we had prepared.  The chef kept reminding us that when you have good, fresh ingredients there's no reason to over complicate the preparation.  Let the ingredients shine in a simple preparation.  We finished the meal with a preprepared  tiramisu.    It was a really fun experience.

As soon as the class was over we met our driver to take us to Catania for the end of our vacation.  It took a little less than two hours to drive into the heart of the city.  We were staying at Palazzo Marletta House Hotel.  This little gem consisted of only seven rooms, a small lobby, and a little breakfast room.  There was a large metal door on the street where we had to be buzzed in to reach the second floor hotel entrance.

Catania sits at the base of Mt. Etna which has been (and still is) an active volcano.  This volcano destroyed much of Catania at different times in it's history.  Palazzo Marletta is interesting because it is still standing and is a historical building.  Originally built as a residence, it is now a small hotel that contains many historic pieces throughout the building.  Our room in particular had the feel of an old royal residence.  We had a small balcony that overlooked the plaza in front of the duomo.  It was a lovely place to spend our last couple of nights in Sicily.

We had dinner reservations this evening but we had time to look around the square.  We went into the smaller church of Saint Agatha.  There was a woman handing out brochures for musical performances that were alternating between a strings concert and opera.  That evening was the strings concert and I decided I would go after dinner.  The acoustics were pretty amazing.  I was so glad I chose to attend.

I would highly recommend Vuciata for dinner if you ever find yourself in Catania.  The food was fresh and delicious and didn't seem too much like a tourist trap.

Tomorrow: Sightseeing Catania