An Amalfi Coast - Sorrento - Capri - Pompeii Dinner

My wife and I and two other couples alternate hosting dinners for the six of us. This month was our turn. I selected a southwest Italian theme covering the area from Pompeii to Ravello near Amalfi. The area contains some of the most breathtakingly beautiful scenery on earth, and has some very nice cuisine and good wines.

I called the dinner, "Una Cena Amalfitana" (An Amalfi Dinner).

Along the Amalfi Coast

The dishes and wines on the menu were:

Antipasto

Castelvetrano & Cerrignola Olives, Roasted Red Peppers, Marinated Mushrooms, Marinated Artichoke Hearts, Prosciutto, Baguette Slices Baked with Olive Oil

Paccheri Pasta con Salsa di Pommodoro di Mamma Agata

(Paccheri Pasta with Mamma Agata’s Tomato Pasta Sauce)

Pesce All’Acqua Pazza

(Fish in Crazy Water)

Insalata Caprese

(Capri Salad)

Dolce al Limone di Mamma Agata

(Mamma Agata’s Lemon Cake)

Wines

Foss Marai Prosecco

Lacrima Christi del Vesuvio White & Red

(Tears of Christ of Mt. Vesuvius)

The antipasto was not an authentic Amalfi area antipasto, but it had the right spirit.

The paccheri pasta has an interesting story. It is wide, short tubular pasta that was supposedly created by Italian farmers to smuggle their tasty garlic into Austria after Austrian farmers convinced their government to ban the Italian garlic.

There were two items in which I used the recipes of Mamma Agata  (http://www.mammaagata.com/), a remarkable chef in Ravello, near Amalfi. She has a cooking school, has a cookbook, and sells Italian foods. She has cooked for the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, etc., etc.

A view from Ravello, high above the Tyrrehenian Sea

I intend to post both of the Mamma Agata recipes I used, with my comments about each. The pasta sauce is simple and easy. The cake takes a bit of work, but it is fantastic!!!!

I previously created a post about the fish dish (http://viaggiviniecucine.blogspot.com/2016/10/fish-in-crazy-water-pesce-all-acqua.html), which is very easy to make.

Caprese salad was created on the Isle of Capri. located just off the coast from Sorrento. The colors of its ingredients - tomato, mozzarella, and basil - represent the colors of the Italian flag. The way I served it was with a slice of tomato, topped by a slice of mozzarella, topped by a basil leaf, and then another layer of each. It is served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Of course, the Prosecco wine was from the Veneto in northern Italy. The other two wines were from Mt. Vesuvius, just north of Sorrento. They were very nice. I wanted to serve wines from the Amalfi area, but could not find any locally.