Nonna at her finest~

Here is the last of the three videos I filmed with the Stefani family in Viterbo. I think this one really shows her spirit. She makes me laugh—a lot. The month I lived with them in 2005 was filled with laughter. The entire family is very humorous and they all know how to tell a good tale.

In this clip she is telling me that her mother didn’t like to tell Nonna her secrets, so when she gave Nonna a recipe she would purposefully leave things out. Nonna caught on and started watching her mother cook and when her mother noticed that she was preparing the recipe WITH the left out, secret ingredient she said, “Why are you putting that in, I didn’t tell you to do that!”

I must admit that I am not 100% sure of the translation, but that is the gist of the conversation as I understood it. And until I am corrected, that is my story and I am sticking to it. Remember, even on a perfect day, I only speak Italian at a 2-year-old level.

Regardless—I love this clip because you get the true flavor of Nonna.

On another video matter~

I am currently being featured on the blog dishKarma with a video of my “Ultimate Italian Meal.” It lists the dishes, mostly from Italy, that I love to eat. They have a pretty impressive list of other “Ultimate Meals” videos by Ming Tsai, Christina Pirello, Hagan Blount, and Stephen Fried to name a few. They also feature links to food charities and organizations that are helping to bridge the hunger gap in America. I hope you enjoy my piece and, more importantly, their blog.

Some exciting news about my manuscript should be coming down the pike soon. I am looking forward to sharing all of the details with you.

Until then…enjoy Nonna’a story, my meal, and dishKarma. 

Buon Appetito!

Mark