La Taverna del Leone

We ate our way through Rome, and then we cooked our way through the Amalfi Coast.

Not knowing what to expect, we signed the family up for a "cooking vacation."  It turned out to be a great medley of cooking, sightseeing, and down time.

And in a stunning setting, to boot.

The cooking class was in Positano, the famous, postcard-worthy village, known for it's steeped cliffs, tacked with pastel-bright houses.  We alternated days of cooking with excursions to Ravello, Amalfi, Sorrento and Pompeii.

We can't thank our hostess-chefs at La Taverna del Leone enough for such a memorable experience.  Filomena and Fortunata were our darling leaders, not only guiding us through the technical aspects of southern Italian cooking, but also taking us on a journey toward understanding the historical significance--agricultural, cultural and personal--of each ingredient and dish.

There's no farm-to-table movement here.  Everything is locally sourced, and ingredients are always whatever is in-season.  Here's a sampling of our week-long menu, all of which we made all by ourselves!

Day 1:  Pizza, of course!! 

And all kinds of other dough . . . bread dough, pasta dough, cookie dough, pizza dough.

With stuffed eggplant rolls and stuffed zucchini flowers as a starter course:

Day 2:  Ravioli Capresi and Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina:

Rolling the gnocchi . . .

 Local yumminess:

Bring on the dolci:

GELATO!

SPONGE CAKE!

ALMOND FLOUR CHOCOLATE CAKE

TIRAMISU