melanzane alla parmigiana....

a day in the kitchen with margherita provided unique insight into la cucina italiana....here is one of my favorite dishes that we prepared melanzane alla parmigiana or eggplant parmigian.....

ingredients (measurements are estimates as italians figure you should know)
1 large eggplant
tomato sauce, homemade is best (18oz bottle)
fresh mozzarella, like buffala, cut into thin slices (about 1 lb)
freshly grated parmigian cheese
breadcrumbs (seasoned with pesto, if available)
2 to 3 eggs beaten
serves 6-8 people as a first course

1. Prepare eggplant by peeling skin, then cut into quarter inch slices. Pass each slice through the bowl of beaten eggs, and then through breadcrumbs. Prepare all in this way and set aside while heating a pan of oil (preferably peanut oil or good frying oil on hand).

2. Fry eggplant slices, as shown then place on paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt....prepare all slices in this manner. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius (about 300 F)

3. Take a casserole dish and start by spreading a little tomato sauce along the bottom of dish, now add a layer of fried eggplant slices, and then cover with a few spoons of sauce (as shown). Spread tomato sauce over your first layer of eggplant, now lay several pieces of mozzarella slices over and sprinkle an abundant amount of grated parmigian cheese. Continue this order for 3 more layers (eggplant, sauce, mozzarella, parmigiano).















4. On final layer of parmigiana pour 1 to 2 spoons of olive oil over the top....now place in oven for 30 to 40 minutes until dish has a hard crust like top, turn on your broiler at the end if necessary).















5. Best if not served straight, and sometimes even better the next day. For a slight variation add some thin sliced prociutto cotto (cooked ham) as a layer before the mozzarella. Buon Appetito!

a river runs through it....

to keep mark feeling young and dangerous for his birthday we drove 2 hours north with

a band of 10 friends to go where few foreigners have gone before....

river rafting in italy..... our location was the river sesia in the gorgeous Valsesia...

canyon view of our two humble rafts...

our heroic guide and our team cruising through a level 5 rapid...

one euro ($1.58) if you can spot erin....

La Camminata fra i Ciliegie...

La Camminata Gastronomica fra i ciliegi in fiore, is literally the food walk through the cherry trees in bloom. Over 4300 people showed up for the 27th annual event on Sunday, April 6th, so ive been told by my landlord, the greatest gossiper in town, and mind you there are only 1500 people in Pecetto proper. People came from near and far for the non-competitive 8km race, that gave out a total of 15 prizes, including first Pecettese man, woman, and first three animals to cross the finish line....this was not just a walk through the beautiful hills that sorround pecetto, to attract these numbers, food and wine must be involved, and someone with a megaphone and a lottery. There were six tasting stops....degustazioni....starting with milk, hot chocolate, red wine, white wine (10am start), then it was onto the cherry marmellate on toast with wine, 3rd stop cherry punch with more wine...4th stop, panini with prosciutto and wine, 5th stop...fruit, dont think there was wine.....6th stop, toasted bread with olive oil, garlic, and finally some water.....finish!

elena, amy (still here!), and erin at the start

they are off! view from our balcony....

Cows beneath the cherry trees in bloom....

10.30am...time for cherry marmellate and wine. i was going to give up on the idea of toast when Amy, not having experienced the greed of italian grandmothers insisted to go for it....within 5 minutes the marmellate was dripping down my chin....i was so proud of my friend!

it became clear that we were not going to win any prizes when the golden girls lapped us....

march madess continues....

admiring a sinking mediterranean sun in cinque terre...

famous coletti meatballs on the back porch in pecetto...

amy enjoying her 3rd week in italy, after a day in milano

a look at pininfarinas exclusive car collection.....the girls have promised to come back in 2 years for a tour of southern italy and greece....arrivederci!

March madness spills into April....

mark and i had the honor of hosting amy and lacey, two good friends from LA. it started out with what seemed to be an ambitious itinerary, and grew even more ambitious from there. overall, it was great to have such easy going guests who love an adventure, and enjoyed torino as much as we do...following is a peek into our voyage....

florence turns on her lights as night falls...

first cup of gelato at first site of sun in san gimignano...

lacey licks the chocolate dessert plate at a little trattoria in siena

erin finds a mustard colored house on the island of burano in venice...

lacey enjoys a cappuccino in Al Bicerin caffe torino

how to celebrate a birthday in 10 days....

first have an italian lunch mid-week that lasts 7 hours at Rina's house...

have breakfast in bed thanks to your husband and a care package stuffed with bisquick&rice krispy treats!

take a day trip to the beach with a good friend...

with perfect weather in Portofino it doesn't get any better...

celebrate international women's day 3 days later with some ladies, champagne & pineapple...

a surprise dinner with 14 of your best friends...


including a tasting of 10 different kinds of homemade pasta!
365 days till the next one!!

the magic of the brown rock....

the first weekend in march, we had the pleasure of travelling to roquebrun with our neighbors Doeke & Anna who have a delightful cottage overhanging the french riviera. i had heard about this place for sometime, but this was my first oppurtunity to visit. the history of the place includes a stubborn grandmother who fell in love with the little medieval seaside town, and betrayed a promise to sell back the land to her nephew when we was able to afford it. thanks to Doeke's grandmother, his family, and now friends, have enjoyed the magic of roquebrun....

plenty of stone pathways to explore, and trees at the front door...

the knotty roots of the 1,000 year old olive tree inspires some modern artists...

mark awaits his companions casually in a mosaic, with a french loaf of tasty bread

doeke and anna meander through roquebrun proper

view of cypress, olives, lemons, and Monaco in the distance...

a couple of lads await their ladies...