Maiya's: Taste of Italy in Marfa,TX

Taste Italy in Marfa, TX with local tomatoes for Caprese salad, Pecos canteloupe with proscuitto, and arrugula salad with Texas ruby grapefruit. Local and Italian at its best in Texas!

Venice Biennale and Palazzo Grazzi

The Venice Biennale is underway, but instead of being drawn to the eclectic and bazaar entries that define the Biennale's "art in the park" setting, I'm instead longing to see the recently installed "Frog in Hand" sculpture by American artist, Charles Ray. The 8-foot sculpture is the new beacon for Palazzo Grazzi, Venice's newest art venue created by Christie's owner, Francois Pinault. Contemporary art lovers have a new reason to re-visit the Grand Canal.

MOVIE: Shadows in the Sun

In search of a quick "trip" to Italy this weekend, I rented SHADOWS IN THE SUN (2006) to enable the escape. My movie visit was simple and uncomplicated with stunning Tuscan countryside settings, including Rocca d'Orcia. It was a simple, no-surprises movie (except for the scenery!) with good music and blatant mushy romance, but I loved it.

Helping L'Aquila Earthquake Survivors

The lingering impact of the L'Aquila earthquake remains on my mind. If you're interested in helping the people of L'Aquila and in the surrounding small hill villages where many elderly live, then here's a good resource to learn ways to help affected L'Aquila's earthquake victims. www.lifeinabruzzo.com/donate-help-laquila-earthquake-victims/

The SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT also established a dedicated appeal so that farmers in these villages receive needed food in the mountain areas surrounding L'Aquila. Their form is in Italian, so for non-Italian speakers you can donate via Global Giving with a form in English; funds go directly to Slow Food Movement.

Harold in Italy at Priello

My dear friend, Harold Partain, is on his way to Italy as I write this. After a few days in Rome, he's headed to Priello near Anghiari, a hilltop Tuscan farmstay that he will share with a few adventure-goers destined for great times; I know, I've been there! One morning at Priello, Harold and I scrambled eggs and shaved a truffle on top to start the day! Brent, one of the owners of this unusual agritourismo, makes cheese at his nearby goat farm, so that's surely on the "to do" list too. Harold is a delight to travel with and he's a champion at finding charming, off-the-beaten-track destinations filled with local food and wines via local artisans.

www.epicopia.com/harold-in-italy/down-on-the-farmitalian-style.html

La Bella Lingua

Travel memoirs are my favorites reads, so Dianne Hale's LA BELLA LINGUA is personal enough to fit the bill with flying colors (of the Italian flag of course). I can't help but admire a woman that has dedicated so much time, so many years, learning the most beautiful language in the world. Miserably so, my own attempts learning Italian have failed; I simply "get by". This book inspires me to embraced a renewed challenge with this declaration: Some day I will speak Italian beyond noun to noun and verb to verb! Some day I will conquer real sentences!

Trigiani's "Valentine" Novel

Adriana Trigiani has done it again with a story that inspires, gives room to dream, and then takes you to Italy. VERY VALENTINE follows the love-laced career of a young shoe designer and her energetic endeavors in carrying on the artisan traditions of her Italian-American shoemaking family in Greenwich Village. Valentine's eventual eye-opening visit to Capri charms and seduces in a way that is armchair travel at its best. "Please keep your promise, Adriana, on making VERY VALENTINE the first installment of another of your "trilogies"!"

Amaracord: Marcella (Hazan) Remembers

Speaking of Hazan. Reading Marcella Hazan's autobiography, AMARCORD: MARCELLA REMEMBERS, is delightful for anyone who loves "chef-memoirs," my self-appointed genre for such books. Marcella's son, Giuliano (talented per his own cookbooks and cooking classes), kindly wrote a blurb for my ITALY FEVER book jacket, making the book doubly fun for me to read the Hazan family story.

What's Cooking at Villa Giona

Each year, my friend Giuliano Hazan, offers cooking classes at Villa Giona, a fabulous villa near Verona. Oh how I miss my own days at villa (with an attic room to die for!), sketching and taking photos and cooking too. I've also attended classes when Giuliano traveled to Texas from his base in Florida. See www.giulianohazan.com for current classes and news of his cookbooks, including the more recent, HOW TO COOK ITALIAN.

My Water Taxi to Marco Polo

View Toward St. Mark's Square

San Giorgio Maggiore (by A. Palladio)

This is the last stop on my Palladian pilgrimage and the day is as gloriously stunning as Palladio's temple front design.

Departing Murano

More Colorful Glass

A Walk in Murano

Puff Pastry Pear Strudel with Hot Chocolate Sauce

Risotta with Pumpkin Puree and Amarone Wine Reduction

Another Wine Tasting

Grande Slicing "Toy" for Dream Kitchen

Another Kitchen Equipment Store

This shop specializes in cutting blades, mostly knives and scissors, but it's the big red slicer that catches my eye.