AMALFI AND PALERMO – 2010
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
September 2010
Produced by Frank Puleo
This journey was a journey into Frank’s soul. He took us from the serene calmness of the Amalfi Coast to the cacophonous symphony of the streets of Palermo. We had incredible dinners in the best-of-the-best five star hotels on the coast – and a dinner on a secluded beach, only available by boat or a short flight of just over 400 steps through the mountain. We ate at an agriturismo, a working farm and at a Norman fortress and on a beach in Sicily with a Greek temple in the background and Africa in the distance. In Amalfi we watched pastries being made by Italy’s most famous pastry chef, Sal DeRiso – and in Sicily we watched cannoli being made by a 70 year old former nun, Maria Grammatico, who is known throughout Europe for her cannoli. We ate Caprese Salad in Capri… and drank marsala in Marsala. Plus, we had gelato everywhere, including on a brioche in Sicily with flavors like bitter almond, wild walnut, jasmine, marsala, persimmon, prickly pear and citrus flower. We saw an opera at the famous opera house of Palermo – and had a midnight dinner following it (like real Sicilians). The markets of Palermo offered us spleen sandwiches and blood pudding. (Not for the faint of heart.) We ate at a Friggitoria in Mondello where everything was fried: rice balls, potato croquettes, calamari, zucchini blossoms – and even pizza. We had pasta with sea urchins and pasta with sardines – and had mozzarella wrapped in lemon leaves and grilled. At Planeta Vineyards, we drank several of Sicily’s finest wines, with a multi-course dinner. We had marzipan in the most interesting fruit and vegetable shapes. We watched how salt was captured from the Mediterranean – and learned how and why couscous is so popular in Sicilian cuisine. In nine days, we ate a lifetime of memories.
