Croutons, Calamari, and Cannoli

This weekend was the final time I was traveling within my program. We have three days left in class and finals next week. Time has truly flown by! I spent Saturday and Sunday in Palermo, Sicily. The weekend started out less-than-stellar, as our flight was delayed by four hours :( We did get some free airport food though, for whatever that is worth. After our late arrival though things started to look up. We wandered through the streets and saw many of the city's main sites including Teatro Massimo (where part of the Godfather was filmed), Quatro Canti (Four Corners), and San Giovanni degli Eremiti.

Our first meal was at a little osteria off the main street. I had croutons for the first time in months!

While they didn't come with a salad, and weren't even exactly croutons-- they were amazing! It was more like still warm, deep fried bread in olive oil. Yum. Yum yum yum. They also gave us those apertifs free of charge, in addition to another whole basket of bread! Carbs should have been the fourth "C" of my title haha. For the main course I ordered a shrimp risotto with zucchini. The heads were already cut off and I was so excited! It was beyond delicious!

I also, admittedly, stole many-a-bite from Clare's fresh fried seafood platter. I have a weak spot for breaded calamari and it was too good to stop! The difference between fresh and frozen seafood is truly remarkable. In the last couple weeks I have grown to love seafood more than I thought possible while in the oceanless expanse known as the Midwest.

Finally I was so excited to try some authentic cannoli! It was entirely delicious and delectable! The ricotta mixture was creamy and the dough crispy and flaky. I would honestly have eaten ten!

It was great to end my study abroad travels in an authentic area of Italy! There was a whole new culture to explore and definitely great food to digest. While technically I could end my food blog after this weekend, I think I am going to continue it throughout my boyfriend and family's visits. So don't quit checking it yet!

Ciao!