Burger - patty made with ground beef, chili and garlic powder. Over shredded lettuce and with cheddar and a quick BBQ sauce made with caramelized onions, ketchup, chili and garlic powder, cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce cooked down to the right consistency
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WHATTTTT. NO PIZZA???
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I was still full from that ridiculous lunch yesterday morning, so only had half a tomato for breakfast before we went hoofing around again, this time making our way to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini, one of exactly two things I’d remembered from my first visit to Palermo 30 (!) years ago. If you need to cool off from the Sicilian sun and want to be surrounded by an inordinate amount of mummies and corpses, this is the place for you!
Some might call it creepy, I thought it merely demonstrated the force of time and gravity 
All that leathery skin made us hungry, so we split a panino melanzane e crocchè - the latter being glorified, smooshed up tater tots for lunch, and the mandatory gelato for dessert.
Dinner was at a tiny trattoria we discovered drifting through town in the afternoon. A fennel & orange salad had caught my eye, which unfortunately wasn’t on the menu for dinner.
We split the very good caponata (natch),
then each had a primo: my PIC chose the incredible tagliatelle with veal ragú,
I got the spaghetti with local shrimp, zucchini, and pistachios. You could taste every single ingredient, the shrimp in particular. Heaven. And a LOT of food again.
I’m not sure if this is a new trend in Italian restaurants, but the size of the primi – especially when you get an antipasto do not seem to allow for a secondo…. We are healthy eaters, but we could barely finish the pasta. I’d noticed this in Italian places in Berlin, too, but figured it was a cultural adjustment, since many non-Italians consider pasta a main.
And so, we had to forgo what looked like a fabulous dessert: a seven layer pistachio magic 
A wonderful local white, a Carricante from the Etna region made for a great pairing.
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Thank you! I live in a beach town. Our summer is from the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend (this year May 23) through the day after Labor Day (September 3 when the last of the summer trash is collected).
Thursday
Friday
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I always want to reach into the screen and grab your meals. I’ve been meaning to ask you about the frequency of broccolini - do you grow it???
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Wow that’s some difference in traffic. I live in Ottawa, Canada and we attract a lot of tourists during the summer months especially since we are the nation’s capital. I always notice the influx of tourists in the spring but not as noticeable where you live. The population of Ottawa is over a million so it’s easier for the tourists to blend in.
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Looks fantastic !!!
I’m getting hungry just looking at that plate and I just finished breakfast
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Haha no, I don’t have a backyard. I just like broccolini and its easy to cook by steaming.
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Tonight’s dinner was stirfried asparagus, yellow pepper and beef stirfry strips served over spaghetti. I added a little garlic and dried oregano as seasonings.
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Invited a friend and her kiddo over for an impromptu playdate and heated up chicken taco filling and rice from the freezer. It’s one of her kid’s safe foods, too! Lol.
Various leftover birthday sweets were had, and just a decaf affogato for me.
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It will be like this until September. It can get somewhat annoying but as a former business owner that depended upon summer visitors I still love the crowds.
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Marcella Hazen’s 2 Lemon Chicken. Roasted garden asparagus with the pan sauce and a dab of dill-butter.
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Leftovers* fritters with a Kewpie lemon aioli and COTC
*minced leftover cod, shrimp, and sausage, mashed potato, with some cornmeal and egg, pan fried in olive oil.
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Yesterday may have just been The Most Perfect Day Of The Year. We met our friends at the station and took the train out to Casteldaccia, which is about a half hour outside of Palermo & has a tiny beach that only locals seem to use. Swimming prohibited bahahahaha. Right. Sure.
A restaurant nearby provided a mid-afternoon snack of lovely panini & ice-cold water.
When we’d had enough sun & beach time, our mutual friends staying at a stunning place just below a little castelo picked us up in their rental, and we spent the evening overlooking the bay and the mountains.
The view was so gorgeous it made me cry…. well, that – and not being able to tell my mom about it, who passed a year ago today.
The cherry on top was a school of dolphins that passed through the bay. For once, the culinary part of the evening was only secondary, but good: insalata,
polpette di vitello with pignoli,
burrata, fried zukes,
pasta with pistachio pesto (of course!), and lots of wine. We’d also picked up a frozen pistachio dessert that was in. cre. di. ble.
We never wanted to leave, but took an earlier train back as one of our friends was jet-lagging hard & fading quickly.
My PIC and I finally visited the cocktail bar down the road for a nightcap & a focaccina ai spinaci e melanzane.
The cocktail menu is folded up inside old pill packages. Clever. The cocktails are also named after various well-known meds.
I started with a frozen limoncello concoction that was perfect for a warm evening and bar.
News coming in from back home late at night made for a welcome celebration & required another drink 
- a very good martini with a local gin.
It’s our last day in Palermo, and we still haven’t had arancini or cannoli. Must remedy for lunch, and figure out where to dine. Might hit up the Botanical Garden in the afternoon cuz it’s gonna be a hot one.
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Wait until Saturday…
John will make a beautiful pizza and I’ll be envious of that pizza.
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I thought he was making pizza every day. If I had his skillz & equipment I would, too
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Semi/sorta salad niçoise for dinner.
No potato or beans, but there was tuna, anchovies and hard boiled eggs. Lemon/caper/anchovy dressing.
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I ran up to ribfest earlier and got a chicken and rib combo with some mac 'n cheese on the side. Tonight had the ribs with half the mac 'n cheese and some asparagus from my CSA. The chicken and the other half of the mac 'n cheese are in the freezer for a future dinner.
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June is going to be a tough month, if May 31st has anything to say about it. Can’t wait for this office move to be done.
As such, last night was a quick wine&app at https://www.tavernonhigh.com/ (Gawd, I love their steak & cheese eggrolls!) with a coworker, and tonight was my Friday Night Comfort Food: a steak tip from my local butcher, half a baked tater with TPSTOB&SC, and steamed green beans with toasted almonds.
Was there wine? You’re darn tootin’ there was!
And a bonus pic of the ab-fab gorgeous Rhododendron bush alongside my driveway from above on my deck. I don’t think it’s ever been so perfect!
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