Back home in the United States, a traditional dinner might consist of some appetizers to start, and then all the main courses, vegetables, and other sides combined into one plate. After dinner, you might have dessert. Here, in Italy, they have a more defined order to their meals. The courses of an Italian meal look like this:
Aperitivo: This is about an hour or two before dinner. Usually, it consists of a drink and some light snacks, such as crackers and formaggio (cheese)
Antipasto: This is the beginning of the meal, and consists of appetizer-like food. A very common antipasto is bruschetta, which is bread with olive oil, garlic, salt, and tomatoes.
Primo: This is the first course of the meal. A primo is usually a type of pasta and a sauce. One of my favorite things to order is Pasta al Pesto e Pomodoro!
Secondo: This is the second course, and it consists of either a meat or fish dish. The meat is served on its own. Veggies for the side are served on a separate plate.
