Primo, Secondo, What's that mean, anyway?

My pasta with artichokes.

What's a "primo"? I get that question a lot from from people who aren't Italian. Well, it's one of the first courses in an Italian meal. The "primo" (first course), usually a plate of pasta, risotto (rise dish), or gnocchi (little potato dumplings) which comes after the antipasto and before the "secondo" (the main course) the meat with a vegetable side. "What? That sounds complicated" they say. "No", I say, "It's easy". Here in Italy it's all about the food.
 Look, if you were invited to an typical Italian meal here in Italy it would go something like this:

Typical antipasto.

1.  The Antipasto: cold cuts and cheese, usually, a variety of salami, prosciutto( a cured ham), all kinds of cheeses, a variety of olives, maybe some grilled vegetables like eggplant or artichokes, the options are endless.

Pasta with clams.

2.  A Primo: (first course) any pasta dish, or risotto, gnocchi or, maybe, soup.

3.  A Secondo: (main course) beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, rabbit, fish, or pork, etc. and a side dish of any kind of vegetables.

Cannolli, OMG!

Mmmmm Cake.

Profitorol, to die for!

4. My favorite....Dessert or "Il dolce": Which could be a ton of things like, tiramisu, gelato, cake, amaretto cookies, a variety of pasteries, etc, etc, ect.! (So plan on saving some room for it. Good luck with that!)

5.   Cafe': An espresso coffee (never, ever a cappuccino, that's only for breakfast or mid-morning).

6.  A digestive liqueur, like, amaretto, grappa (a sort of moonshine made from the grape skins after they've been used to make wine), or an amaro (a bitter liqueur made from herbs or even artichokes to aid in digestion).

• All of this would be accompanied, of course, by local wine, usually red, or sometimes white, depends on the area.

Now if it were a fancy occasion, like a wedding or a formal lunch or dinner, or you could just meet up with your friends at  a local cafe around 6 or 7 in the evening, you would start everything off with an "Aperitivo". A lightly alcoholic drink to spark the appetite (cause you're going to need it) like Compari, Aperol, or a sparkling white wine, or even Spumante. Served with something salty like olives, chips, or crackers.

Typical aperitivo

See, easy-peezy!  You are now an expert.

Buon Appetito!