Il malocchio – the evil eye – added spice to the 2011 Houston cooking class with Mary and Brownie. This year, our evening together was a candlelight dinner – and Mary and I did all the cooking beforehand with the help of Lynn. While Mary was out doing last-minute errands, I soaked the eggplant in…
Cooking links people – and Mike, host in Ruston, LA. of two events, put the concept into practice in two delightful events he hosted. He summed up our evenings like this: “Thank you so much for making your way to Louisiana to spend time with Argent Financial clients and friends. Everyone had such a fantastic…
Well, Mike, you certainly did make it happen! My first trip to Louisiana was an unforgettable one and the comments from the Sheverport women’s cooking group say it all (below). Mike and his wife Gina – of Ruston, Louisiana – had toured a few Umbrian hill towns with me a couple of years ago. We’d…
Donna and Stephen, Shannon and Alison, seems like yesterday that we were sharing Umbrian goodness at the “Black Celery” festival in Trevi. [lcaption]Our veal dish soon coming up![/lcaption] But so grateful that we continue to connect – over Umbrian flavors (and not only!) – here in Denver. Thanks so much, once again, for hosting my…
“Umbria” was all over Cathy and Jim’s Longmont home at our cooking class – and even before we started! A ceramic dish of the Perugia chocolates, Baci, was right there in the midst of all the vegetables, pots and pans, spoons and cutting boards on the countertops ready for our class. I recognized, too, a…
My Tucson Arizona cooking hosts, Kathe and Brenda, both know: cooking is a community cultural experience, cooking should take time (“slow cooking”) and the kitchen should be filled with laughter and conversation (as well as enticing smells, the kaleidoscope of colors of fresh vegetables, herbs). Their notes to me at the end of their Tucson…
What a joy to be the “excuse” for a family reunion! I had been the tour guide for Ron and Liz on a couple Umbria trips – and Umbria recently came alive in their Rancho Santa Fe (California) home through a cooking class for their eight children (and spouses). Our class started off with an…
Tracy, Mike and I first cooked together years ago when they both participated in a San Diego class hosted by a business associate of Mike. A couple years ago, they decided to host their own cooking class in their El Dorado Hills home: a delightful gathering of Mike’s business colleagues (mostly). They live back in…
Janel and Eric’s Livermore (California) kitchen recently filled with family and guests cooking together in an event that spanned the generations. 93- yr-old “Nonna” Josephine mixed the ricotta and mascarpone for our tiramisu, surrounded by relatives of all ages. Italian roots in this family so cooking and eating together were certainly part of the family…
What’s the link that can bridge over four decades? A chance encounter in an Assisi cafe’ on a dark day, rain bucketing down outside. Last spring, I was there working on my computer – “americani” were at the next table. One of them – Molly – and I started chatting a bit, our conversation soon…