Che strano! What an odd sensation to connect with Ginny at MIT: we had first met in a bucolic setting in Italy, in Scheggino, a tiny mountainside village on the Nera River in Umbria’s breathtaking Val Nerina. Ginny, host of my mid-March talk at MIT, had participated in the Berkshire Choral Festival group musical week in Umbria last September…
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Snow flurries arrived in Chicago about when I did. Icy roads, slippery sidewalks and cutting chill outside. But I only felt warmth during my four days there… and right from the moment of arrival: Rich had read my articles on Italian Notebook and had written me about a possible 2012 Chicago cooking event as a benefit. We decided to meet to discuss all…
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Never put a loaf of bread on the table upside down: porta male (“brings bad luck”). Everyone will jump up to turn it over, making the corna sign (“horns”) against the mal’occhio (“evil eye”). Bread is sacred. Never throw out leftover bread. Porta male. Countless Italian dishes with breadcrumbs as well as bruschetta and panzanella (old-bread-cold-salad) solve the challenge of what to do with stale bread.
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“No words to convey what an incredible evening full of delicious food, wonderful conversation and new friends… I thank you for your energy, spirit and passion. Much gratitude…”, wrote Scottsdale host, Jana, after our February 25th event in her home. Jana, I thank YOU and Cheryl for a most wonderful evening of sharing in the “joy of cooking”.
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“The school is held at the beautiful home of Chef Barbara Fenzl and every month she gets an extraordinary chef in and teaches you several recipes which you then get to try…”, says a review of Les Gourmettes Cooking School in Phoenix. I was the “chef” for three events at the school on February 23 and 24th. Owner Barbara Pool Fenzl, trained in France and renowned cookbook author who has appeared on cooking shows on PBS, booked the classes months ago, filling them immediately.
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About two days before my scheduled arrival in Phoenix, Angela, an old friend from my Santa Clara University days, emailed to ask if I would enjoy a “real Mexican dinner” with her upon arrival in Phoenix. I emailed back “great!”. Three hours or so later, Angela emailed to ask if I would like to do a cooking class instead for twelve of her friends at the home of another friend!
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