Surprise Smile

Today I received a surprise in the mail.... which made me smile..... as in from ear to ear and I can't wipe it off my face kinda smile!  My wonderful sister in-law (Linda) and her wonderful husband (Bob) sent me the most thoughtful gift for my recent culinary school graduation.

Last weekend Bob and Linda went to Bristol Virginia to attend a book signing for Adriana Trigiani, who just happens to be one of my all time FAVORITE authors!  Linda actually introduced me to the writings of Adriana Trigiani when she lent me the book "Lucia, Lucia"...... I've been a HUGE fan ever since!  And of course Adriana Trigiani is also Linda's FAVORITE author too.  Linda had several books autographed and her photo taken with Adriani.  It was a priceless weekend spent on a date with her husband.

I'm sooooooooo super touched that they thought of me while on their special weekend.  They bought and had personally signed for me her family cookbook "Cooking with My Sisters".  What a priceless treasure!!!!!  A very prized piece of my cookbook collection!  THANK YOU Bob and Linda!!!  I'm thrilled beyond words!!!!

Both sets of Adriani's Grandparents are original Italians... but they come from different regions, and both Grandmothers were excellent cooks and seamstresses.  So there are original recipes from each Italian region as well as recipes converted and adapted..... a blend of American and Italian so to speak.  Cooking wasn't just a task to be done in order to feed and fuel all the hungry mouths and tummies..... it was a time to share in the labor, a time for lots of conversation, and a time to unite as a family.  This is the way it is with my own family.  We always gather in the kitchen.... all of us have different tasks we do to prepare the meal.... we all sit, eat and enjoy the meal together, while never dropping the flow of conversation from the preparing of the meal to the eating of the meal.

I have been enjoying this book all evening.... it's like I can't wait to finish reading it.... yet I want to take it slowly and savor each morsel too!  It is actually a family history book with their centuries old family recipes included.  In her inscription to me in my autographed book.... she suggested I try the meatballs.... so I will.... and then I will have a blog about them with the recipe included.

Buon Appetito!!!